Vintage Port Notes May 2018

Vintage Ports from 2007and 2003 (and Noval Nacional 1994)

The following vintage Ports were shown at the joint launch of the 2016 vintage by the Symingtons, the Fladgate Partnership and Quinta do Noval. The wines were predominantly in their adolescence, the period between their full bloom of youth and adulthood which sometimes distorts results in comparative tastings . Having said that the majority of the wines were showing very well and there may be something in the fact that the better quality spirit used in fortification since the early 2000s lends these wines more expression than used to be the case.

2016 Vintage Port – First Impressions

 There seems to be a race in the UK this year to get the first vintage Port offers off the ground. This may be due to the weakness of the 2017 Bordeaux campaign but also because of the glorious quality of the now widely declared 2016 Ports. Among the major houses only Niepoort and Ramos Pinto so far decided not to declare the vintage outright.  Quantities are small - which may also account for the unseemly rush - and demand for these wines is likely to be strong.