2025 Harvest Report: To the brink and back

2025 Harvest Report: To the brink and back

Following the more moderate growth cycle in 2024 and the return of what we described as an oldstyle Douro vintage with more typical conditions, 2025 tested the resilience of our vines once again. As we began picking the first grapes in the final days of August, there were real concerns that the prolonged summer drought and severe heatwave earlier that month could compromise final ripening. Yet what began as one of the most challenging years in recent memory ended remarkably, with us producing wines of excellent quality and balance.

A season of extremes

By the end of August, the Douro faced a 35% rainfall deficit following a three-month drought compounded by successive heatwaves — the last, in early August, being the most severe. For ten consecutive days, maximum temperatures exceeded 40°C across our weather stations, surpassing even the duration of the 2003 heatwave. Although conditions in the Alentejo and Vinho Verde were less intense, both regions also endured a notably dry summer.

Winter rainfall had been reasonable, providing decent soil reserves despite unusually dry spells in December and February. March was cool and very wet, contributing valuable groundwater that would later prove critical. Flowering began on May 19th — around ten days later than average — and veraison followed from mid-July, with Touriga Franca largely on schedule and Touriga Nacional about a week behind. This delayed cycle turned out to be an advantage: when the intense August heat arrived, the vines were at a less vulnerable stage of their development.

A change of fortune

From mid-August, the weather shifted dramatically. Temperatures fell steadily, and by month’s end, both days and nights had become distinctly cooler, this pattern extending through September. This would prove to be the critical turning point in the vintage. The cooler days and in particular the cooler nights — a signature feature of the vintage — providing the perfect conditions for complete and balanced ripening. Despite the ongoing lack of rain, maturations progressed perfectly with the grapes showing good balance between sugars and acidity, and the vines displaying little sign of stress — a testament to the deep soil reserves accumulated earlier in the year.

We began harvesting white grapes in the Douro on August 26th, followed by the first reds a few days later. The vineyards were in surprisingly fine condition, with healthy canopies and minimal dehydration. As picking advanced through September, optimism grew steadily – fermentations showed vibrant colour, concentration, ideal Baumés and excellent aromatic definition.

A very short but impressive Douro vintage

This was one of the smallest vintages of the last 40 years and certainly the smallest in my career as winemaker. The season’s heat and drought inevitably reduced yields – around 30% below average across our properties, and up to 50% for some white varieties. At Quinta do Sol, production was the smallest since the 1990s, and the winery was open for barely a month. Our DOC winery at Quinta do Ataíde was open for just three weeks, with production down 26% on 2024, yet the wines display great purity and freshness.

The small size of the vintage allowed for exceptional ripening and quality. The summer drought notwithstanding, there being so little fruit to ripen the water reserves available proved sufficient. Furthermore, the clear run of dry weather with blue skies throughout the entire vintage handed us complete latitude to pick blocks and varieties as and when we desired, free of the pressures that unsettled weather conditions can impose.

Red grape picking began in our Douro Superior quintas in the first week of September at Senhora da Ribeira and Telhada first, followed by Vesúvio in the second week. These lagares gave ideal Baumés of 14º and showed good colour and concentration. We then progressed to the Cima Corgo quintas, Bomfim, Cavadinha and Malvedos, where the grapes arriving at the wineries (Tinta Barroca, Alicante Bouschet, and Sousão) also showed ideal phenolic development and very good acidity.

As we moved into the final stretch, we could barely believe our good fortune with both the Touriga Nacional and the Touriga Franca having ripened perfectly. During the final week of September, the last of the Touriga Franca was picked, with impressive Baumé readings between 14 and 14.5°, ideal concentrations and surprisingly little dehydration.

What began as a difficult year has proven to be a dark-horse vintage in the Douro, with both Touriga Nacional and Franca achieving outstanding quality. The Douro’s native varieties have once again demonstrated their remarkable capacity to adapt to extremes, yielding concentrated, well-balanced wines despite one of the driest seasons in recent memory.

Portalegre | Alentejo – Quinta da Fonte Souto

Rainfall in the Alentejo was lower than in 2023 and 2024, though generous winter and spring rains ensured good water reserves. Summer temperatures were above average but less severe than in the Douro, with Fonte Souto’s altitude providing welcome relief. For the first time, we harvested some white grapes at night to preserve freshness, and the results were excellent.

Despite smaller berries and bunches, the grapes reached complete ripeness with superb balance. Whites show great acidity, freshness, and aromatic precision; reds are well-structured with mature tannins and deep colour. 2025 has produced another set of very fine wines at Fonte Souto, both white and red, with lively profiles and promising ageing potential.

Monção e Melgaço | Vinho Verde – Casa de Rodas

This was our third harvest at Casa de Rodas, our 100% Alvarinho vineyard in the Monção and Melgaço subregion of the Vinho Verde region. As replanting work continues on some plots, yields were modest and the harvest brief — lasting just three days. Climatic conditions were far milder than in the Douro, allowing a steady ripening cycle and the production of wines that show elegance and freshness true to the Alvarinho variety.

A year of resilience and reward 

From the brink of a difficult summer, the 2025 vintage has emerged as one of resilience and reward. Careful vineyard management, low yields, and a crucial late season about-turn in the weather combined to produce wines of excellent structure, freshness, and depth. Across all three regions, the results speak to the strength of our vineyards, our teams, and the enduring adaptability of our native grape varieties.

Charles Symington · Head Winemaker | Quinta do Bomfim, 22 October 2025