2018 Vintage Port Releases
BY NEAL MARTIN |
After last week’s epic en primeur report, it was something of a relief to compose a short and swift, but timely, article on another recent release of 2018 Single Quinta Ports. That year saw no general declaration after unprecedented back-to-back declarations in 2016 and 2017. Nevertheless, the Douro Valley enjoyed a benevolent, if now becoming not unusual, sizzling hot growing season that yielded a clutch of marvelous Single Quintas.
Symingtons described 2018 as a “rollercoaster” growing season: winter drought followed by a rainy spring, then heatwave after heatwave throughout the summer. This accelerated the accumulation of sugar and made picking at exactly the right time crucial, which is easier said than done. Chairman Johnny Symington, speaking via Zoom from Quinta do Vesuvio, explained the difficulty in finding pickers in this somewhat remote region where many youths are relocating to cities. It is becoming more difficult to find seasonal hands to pick the grapes in arduous conditions, sweltering under the sun on those steep terraced vineyards.
