2018 Vintage Port Releases

BY NEAL MARTIN | JUNE 24, 2020

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.

The harvesting machine currently being trialed by Symington Family Estates. I suspect we will see more of them in the future as technology makes them ever more sophisticated.

Subscriber Access Only

or Sign Up

A third general declaration in a row is unthinkable for Port, however 2018 has seen the release of some exceptional Single Quintas and a handful of individual Port House declarations.