Their colour is exceptional and very purple and they seem to have plenty of body. The small crop with the wonderful weather conditions during summer resulted in very ripe and perfect fruit.The winter of 1998/1999 was exceptionally cold and dry. Vineyard work was intense and costly this year and farmers who were a few hours late in their treatments lost their entire crop. A fine and hot July, more leaf than usual on the vines prevented burning.August was exceptionally hot, twice 45° C was recorded. From the 26th the weather continued fine but a little cooler particularly at night, which greatly helped the fermenations, and only on 7 October did the weather break and a few clouds appear. 1963s almost always appear to be younger than they really are.Generally declared, the wines from 1960 were elegant and flavourful wines, but will have more to offer if they are well cellared.Declared by some but not all the major Port producers, 1958 was a good year with some fragrant and delicate Vintage Ports being bottled.Declared by 26 shippers, this was the largest declaration since 1927, and is one of the most underrated Vintages of the 20th Century. Prospects in the better districts for good quality and average yield.It is unlikely that the early high fermentation temperatures will prove to have been dangerously high and it is likely that the 1970 wines will prove to be quite outstandingly good. I think possibly in the better districts some quite good wines will be made but I very much doubt if any will be outstanding. All styles of port including Tawny, Vintage, Ruby, Crusted, Late Bottled Vintage and White Port. Dry weather resumed after the perfectly timed rain, resulting in the very expressive aromas of the Francas.Yields were closer to average following the exceptionally small years of 2017 and 2018. A few showers between now and the vintage should produce an excellent 1955.After a week of great heat the weather in the first days of September has turned much cooler and the Upper Douro has enjoyed heavy thunder showers.
Without it the final phase of maturation of the Touriga Nacional and especially the Touriga Franca would not have been ideal, as dehydration would certainly have occurred after such a prolonged period with no rain. Mostos (musts) look very nice indeed and seem to have plenty of colour even if perhaps lacking a little in guts. Welcome to Vintage Wine & Port. As a result, making great Vintage Port is equal parts skill and luck. 60 mm fell in just a few hours, which is more than we get most months.Grapes were in generally good condition – no sign of any rot and only some showing the effect of the heat. Harvest began 19th September and the weather was perfect, cool and a few showers. A late vintage was on the cards and patience was required to allow the vines to complete grape maturations at their own pace.More welcome rain fell between the 12th and 14th September.
The grapes have been in good condition although yields were 20% below those achieved in 1991. The best of them have the tannin and structure to age for decades. An outstanding Vintag and probably one of the best of the 20th century.Declared by some Port houses in favour of 1991, 1992 is a good vintage with some rich and concentrated wines, the best of which are very excellent and will aged superbly. Baumés were not too high and acidity levels were normal, both clear proof that we had not had excessive heat. But the low bud-burst was what we needed; resulting in relatively low quantities of fruit so that the vines would have fewer bunches and berries to ripen.Picking started some 10 days later than normal on the 13th September. The grapes filled out and the skins softened. What a pity that only 95,000 pipes were “authorised” this year. Perhaps due to the extreme heat during ripening the wines are a little lacking in aroma but they are extremely intense.Apart from a little rain in late June, drought conditions prevailed until 10 September, when it began to rain, at times very heavily, only clearing after the 23rd. There seems no reason not to be satisfied with this vintage from every angle.The dry weather continued through April until May, at which time the rain came to stay until the second half of June.Harvesting began on the 25th of September under ideal conditions. And the always more backward quintas lying at higher altitudes, and the whole of the lower Douro and “Altos” have undoubtedly produced wines this vintage of outstanding quality for their districts.The wines look very good and every single grape was in perfect condition except for a very few which showed signs of passa (raisinning) due to the great heat. We work directly with shippers in Oporto and the UK to ensure that we can offer the largest range of port wine at great prices. He awoke to feel something tugging at his boot laces. Perfect ripening weather followed.Those planning a very early vintage were wise to put off the starting dates to allow the humidity to benefit the fruit. The ‘middle quality’ districts have probably produced better than average wines.Not much real heat in August or September, the grapes were a bit backward and the harvest later than usual, with river quintas and most of the Rio Torto starting on the 20th September, Madalena on the 22nd and Bom Retiro on the 28th. The yields were extremely low, but the concentration and structure took my breath away. It would appear however that while some wines will probably turn out very well and above average quality, the best and hottest districts should vary considerably, some probably showing very well according to when they were vintaged.A typical winter with rain and snow. Now mature, it is probably one of the finest glasses of port that you will ever taste. Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha, always one of the last to start harvesting due to its unique position, started on the 27th September.The cool nights these last few weeks have been ideal for polyphenolic development, which reached unsually high levels as early as 20th August.We are now reaching the final days of the vintage here at Quinta do Bomfim, it is another beautiful clear day with mild temperatures, we have become so used to this type of weather over the last 6 weeks that we have almost started to take this for granted. Cooling equipment was essential as our grapes were coming into our wineries on some afternoons at 24ºC and the fermentations would have been much too fast and too hot if we did not have equipment with which to cool the must.