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Symington announces vintage ports

Published:  14 April, 2020

The Symington Family has announced its 2018 vintage Ports - to be launched via live video presentation for the first time.  

The Port producer said it has produced small quantities of vintage Port from six of its principal properties in 2018, which will be launched via a live video presentation on Thursday 14 May. 

It has selected two wines to release en primeur in 2020 – Quinta do Vesuvio and Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, with each of these estates having delivered "unique expressions of the lifted aromas that characterise the year", said Symington.  

The other Quinta Vintage Ports produced in 2018 – Quinta dos Malvedos, Quinta do Bomfim, Quinta da Cavadinha and Quinta dos Canais – will age in the Symington cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia for future release, it added. 

Following last year’s first ever back-to-back Vintage Port declaration, Charles Symington, fourth generation winemaker, said: “Each spring we taste the best young Ports from each of our top Quintas from the harvest of 18 months before. 

“This is the starting point from which we review each year’s Vintage Port potential and, from there, decide what to release, be it a super-blend from each of our Port houses’ principal estates – which we call a “general declaration” – or, as was the case in 2018, as the ultimate expression of Douro terroir as individual Single Quinta Vintage Ports,” he said.  

The young Vintage Ports represented “the absolute pinnacle of the year’s production - vinified on-site in small batches in our specialist wineries and I believe they will provide fantastic drinking for many decades to come”, he added. 

The 2018 Single Quinta Vintage Ports were the result of a “rollercoaster growing season”,  with a prolonged winter drought, a deluge in spring, and heatwaves through the final ripening period, said the  Symington Family.    

“Despite the challenges, the 2018 wines are characterised by a well-defined acidity and marked freshness, reflecting the characteristics of specific parcels of vineyard within each estate.”

The star of the year was the late-maturing Touriga Franca, it added, which it said “excelled in the warm harvest”.

“Yields were extremely low with just 950g per vine – 11% below the 10-year average from the Symington vineyards – resulting in wines with stunning concentration.”

Last week, Sogrape Estates declared 2018 a vintage year for its Sandeman, Offley and Ferreira estates.

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