Quinta do Vesuvio & Dow's Senhora da Ribeira 2015 Vintage Ports Declared

2017-04-20

Quinta do Vesuvio (Left) & Senhora da Ribeira (Right). Photograph: Adriano Borges. Quinta do Vesuvio (left) & Senhora da Ribeira (right). Photograph: Adriano Borges.

Following the declaration of the Cockburn's 2015 Bicentenary Vintage Port and Graham's 2015 Stone Terraces Vintage Port, Dow's and Quinta do Vesuvio are the latest Port houses to make an annoucement.

Produced at two of the Douro Superior's most remote vineyards, the Symington family is pleased to announce the declaration of the Quinta do Vesuvio and Dow's Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira 2015 Vintage Ports. In the Douro Superior, the 2105 growing season was simultaneously the hottest and driest for 36 years, although (unusually for the Douro Superior) it had benefited from more spring rain than the other sub-regions of the Douro, putting the vines in a good place to withstand the intense heat.

Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira

At Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, the vintage began on the 8th of September, although the finest varieties, namely the Touriga Nacional from the east-facing Vinha Grande and the Touriga Franca from the south-facing Vinha da Pedreira, were only picked towards the end of the month in order to reap the benefit from the heaven-sent rain which fell on September 15th. The best Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, combined with some Sousão, were fermented in the estates’ lagares to produce a Port with an exceptionally intense, purple-black color with deep complexity, fine tannins and balanced acidity.

Quinta do Vesuvio

At Quinta do Vesuvio, Touriga Nacional from the Vinha Nova and Raposa vineyards began to be picked from the 21st of September, followed by Touriga Franca from the Vale da Teja vineyards, a week later. Quinta do Vesuvio is one of the only estates to still use traditional granite lagares, which were constructed in 1827, to make all the property’s Ports. During the 2015 vintage, 50 people tread grapes for up to three hours at the end of each day’s picking to create a Vintage Port that is exceptionally complex, concentrated and elegant.

Published 2017-04-20
© Symington Family Estates

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