Is there any wine that can rival the impact on the nose or palate of a young vintage Port?

The inky color, penetrating aromas, high alcohol and huge concentration are unrivaled in the world of wine. In days past, I might have included gripping tannins in that list of superlatives, but now I find that the emphasis on physiological ripeness means the tannins are much more supple, the wines’ grip less apparent.

Today a small group of Port producers gathered at the venerable Four Seasons restaurant in New York to preview their 2007 vintage for the trade and media. (There will also be presentations later this week in Dallas, Chicago and San Francisco.)

The wines from The Fladgate Partnership, Quinta do Noval and Symington Family Estates showed uniformly well–to judge from these samples, 2007 appears to be a very successful vintage. Rupert Symington explained that like in much of Europe, July and August 2007 were cooler than usual. Certainly the wines didn’t show any of the roasted or baked character sometimes evident in the 2003s, instead showing great freshness of fruit, sometimes even resembling raspberries more than more typical dark fruit notes.

European Roger Voss will conduct our official tastings of the vintage and issue his report on the wines later this year, but my favorites included a classically proportioned, aristocratic Taylor Fladgate that outshone its stablemates–the voluptuous Fonseca and jammy Croft. The Symington estates were remarkably consistent, with the exception of Smith Woodhouse, which continues to lag behind. Dow’s, Graham’s, Quinta do Vesuvio and Warre’s were all excellent and true to their respective styles. Quinta do Noval was one of the most powerful wines on display, a brute that made a striking contrast to the more floral, feminine stylings of Quinta da Romaneira.

Port enthusiasts will find a lot to like in this vintage, which Symington compares to the ’66s, a vintage that has aged extremely well. Estimated prices for the top wines will be close to $100 per bottle, which may be a tough sell in the current environment. Still, with limited production levels, wines with a long track record of aging and appreciating in value, vintages only declared two or three times a decade and steady revenues from other Port styles, the Port houses can afford not to sell out immediately.