Symington Family Estates has announced that it has bottled six quinta vintage Ports from 2019, of which two will be released en primeur – Quinta do Vesúvio and Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira.
The release will be accompanied by two limited edition cases from both estates, each containing the 2019, 2009 and 1999 vintage Ports.
The other quinta vintage Ports produced in 2019 – Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim, Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais – will age in the Symington cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia for future release.
When reviewing the top wines from 2019, the producer had felt the best expression of its grape varieties came from its six principal quintas, said fourth generation winemaker Charles Symington, who oversaw the 2019 harvest.
“These estate wines are always the starting point from which we judge the year’s vintage Port potential and, from there, decide what to bottle,” he said.
“In 2019, the various plots of vineyards within each of these estates delivered small volumes of wine with fantastic depth and complexity. We believe these wines could not have been enhanced by blending across each of our Port houses’ top quintas to produce a ‘classic’ vintage Port.
“Instead, we decided to blend the best performing components within each of our estates and bottle six quinta vintage Ports. These exciting and lively young wines represent the absolute pinnacle of the 2019 harvest.”
Charles Symington and fifth generation Port producer Harry Symington will present the family’s 2019 quinta vintage Ports via Instagram Live on 22 April in discussion with five guests
Symington’s announcement follows Sogevinus Fine Wines declaration last month of two single quinta vintages, Kopke Quinta de São Luiz 2019 and Burmester Quinta do Arnozelo 2019, as well as two classic vintages under the seal of Casas Cálem and Barros.