Unveiling our 1985 Private Cellar Release Vintage Ports

Four Decades of Evolution

We are delighted to announce the release of a very limited number of bottles of Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s 1985 Vintage Ports, drawn directly from our private cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia.

1985 was one of the great classic vintages of the late 20th century. Textbook conditions throughout the growing season – balanced vine growth, a warm dry summer and near-perfect harvest weather – produced concentrated and powerful wines with remarkable ageing potential. Now, after four decades of cellaring in ideal conditions, these Vintage Ports have gained immense complexity and are offered at a glorious stage of maturity.

Our family has established a new release tradition for the small quantities of Vintage Ports that we hold back for long-term ageing. Following the initial en primeur release, the wines are only made available at two further moments in their lifetime: Library Releases (20–30 years old) and Private Cellar Releases (40+ years old). Head Winemaker, Charles Symington (4th gen.), oversees their ageing and periodically reviews the wines, as his father did before him.

Each bottle of these 1985 Private Cellar Releases has been individually assessed and recorked where necessary. Drawing on the heritage of Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s, we have created distinctive labels and presentation cases that highlight the impeccable provenance and guaranteed quality of the wines. Bottles are individually numbered and carry full details of bottling, recorking and release dates.

With just 800 bottles of Dow’s, 200 of Graham’s and 1,000 of Warre’s, this release comes from some of the final reserves of 1985 Vintage Port in our family's cellars.

“Following each en primeur release, our family has always held back a small quantity of Vintage Port in our cellars to be re-released decades later. With these 1985 Private Cellar Releases, we are sharing wines that have been part of our family’s life for 40 years. They show the extraordinary capacity of Vintage Port to gain in complexity while retaining vitality, and we are thrilled to offer them now at such a beautiful stage of their evolution.”

Harry Symington (5th gen.), Associate Director – Marketing & Vintage Port