Quinta Do Vesuvio 2018 Vintage Port

Description

Quinta do Vesuvio 2018 Vintage Port.

2018 was a “rollercoaster growing season” with a prolonged period of drought (lasting 20 months) the weather broke in the Spring bringing several months of wet changeable weather. Fortunately the good weather arrived in July and this continued through to harvest allowing the grapes to reach full maturity. Despite the challenges, the 2018 wines are characterised by well-defined acidity and marked freshness, reflecting the characteristics of specific parcels of vineyard within each estate.

Quinta do Vesuvio is the flagship Single Quinta of Symington Family Estates (owners of Dow, Warre, Grahams et al.) In 1823 Quinta do Vesuvio was purchased by the well-known Port grower António Bernard Ferreira who massively renovated and improved the estate. It passed through family hands until is was acquired by the Symington family in 1989 and who immediately set about restoring and renovating the estate to modern standards. The main house and winery were restored and a large planting and re-planting of existing vineyard was undertaken taking the vineyard area to 136 hectares. All grapes are trodden by foot and only Vintage Port is made at Quinta de Vesuvio. Between the extraordinary variety of microclimates and the range of grape varieties grown on the estate, the Quinta is capable of making a great Vintage Port in all but the most challenging years.  The entire property is A-rated, the highest possible quality designation.

Vintage Ports are only made on very exceptional years (usually three or four times in a decade). After the harvest, wines of Vintage potential are put into oak barrels called ‘pipes’. Some eighteen months later a careful and painstaking series of tastings is held to judge exactly which wines of different vineyards merit inclusion in the final blend. If the ideal blend is achieved, the wine is then bottled without any filtration whatsoever approximately 24 months after the original harvest. Vintage Port must then be matured for some ten to twenty years in cool dark cellars as it gradually achieves the outstanding style of a great wine. The bottles should always be stored lying down. Vintage Ports deposit a heavy sediment or ‘crust’ in the bottle while maturing and must be decanted prior to serving.

Grape Variety Composition:

54% TourigaNacional
40% TourigaFranca & Alicante Bouschet co-fermentation
6% Sousão

Winemakers: Charles Symington & Bernardo Nápoles