2016 Vintage Declarations

[Andy Velebil]

Today i got the first prices for a 2016 Vintage Port. It is the Kopke 2016 Vintage Port. We will be selling at €44,95 enprimeur.
I tasted the 2016 vintage port (cask sample) @ Prowein, it confirmed me again that Kopke keeps on improving with there vintage ports.

That's really well priced.


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[Paul C. Metman]

Today i got the first prices for a 2016 Vintage Port. It is the Kopke 2016 Vintage Port. We will be selling at €44,95 enprimeur.
I tasted the 2016 vintage port (cask sample) @ Prowein, it confirmed me again that Kopke keeps on improving with there vintage ports.

Your price is very different (in a positive way for us consumers, ofcourse ) with the prices, mentioned in a report in VINHO Grandes Escolhas:

"Os preços já foram, entretanto, anunciados. O Burmester vai custar €70; o Cálem €67; o Kopke €80 e o Barros €55."

Pricewise, I'm happy to live in the Netherlands !

[Thomas V]

Today i got the first prices for a 2016 Vintage Port. It is the Kopke 2016 Vintage Port. We will be selling at €44,95 enprimeur.
I tasted the 2016 vintage port (cask sample) @ Prowein, it confirmed me again that Kopke keeps on improving with there vintage ports.

Your price is very different (in a positive way for us consumers, ofcourse ) with the prices, mentioned in a report in VINHO Grandes Escolhas:

"Os preços já foram, entretanto, anunciados. O Burmester vai custar €70; o Cálem €67; o Kopke €80 e o Barros €55."

Pricewise, I'm happy to live in the Netherlands !

I'm just happy I can order from Jasper and get the best service including great prices.

[Eric Menchen]

With the Nacional being a field blend, they don't control the proportions of the grape varieties in the juice, do they? And the juice isn't mixed with anything else besides the juice from this particular parcel with the legendary vines?

I was thinking the same thing. But from year to year they should be able to give a rough estimate of the Sousao based on what they pick and the yield. It's a field blend, but it is my understanding they've since identified what the vines are. And maybe one year they filter out more of one type vs. the other?

[Jasper A.]

You can add Quinta da Romaneira

[Andy Velebil]

You can add Quinta da Romaneira

You guys are quick. Beat me to it

[Thomas V]

You can add Quinta da Romaneira

I have been impressed by their recent VPs. The 2015 is a real crowd pleaser and was a huge hit at my port wine fair in Aarhus with 600 attendees. It is also very sharply priced at 50 USD / bottle when buying a case of 6.

Romaneira is trending upwards!

[Roy Hersh]

Symington Family Estates Declares 2016 Vintage Port

PR Release yesterday:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA April 11, 2018 – Symington Family Estates, the Oporto, Portugal based wine group renowned for its Vintage Ports, officially declares 2016 a Vintage year. This is the fourth Vintage declaration for all of its Port companies since 2000. Each of its long-established Port houses, including W. & J. Graham’s, Dow’s, Cockburn’s, Warre’s, Smith Woodhouse and Quinta do Vesuvio will offer a limited amount of 2016 Vintage Port in the U.S. market early fall.

Charles Symington, head winemaker comments, “This was the year to read the signs and take risks. After a wetter than average winter, we delayed harvest until late September and well into October for the late-ripening Touriga Franca. The greatest 2016 Symington Ports were made during this later period. It is not easy in our incredibly diverse region to pick grapes at exactly the right time, especially when yields are amongst the lowest in the world with high risk of dehydration.”

Rupert Symington, Joint Managing Director comments,“the 2016 Vintage Ports are exceptional. They have impressive structure and balance; acidity, tannins and color are in rare and perfect alignment. This is no doubt a result of the later ripening cycle which allowed our grapes to mature evenly and completely.”

Vintage Port is a rare wine-- less than two percent of all Port made in any year is awarded this distinction, only when the harvested grapes and resulting wines are truly extraordinary. Each of the Symington’s 2016 Vintage Ports follow rigorous selection and were made in their five small lagar wineries, using the classic treading method for great Port.

About Symington Family Estates
The Symingtons have been Port producers for five generations since 1882, but their involvement in Port dates back fourteen generations to 1652 through their great-grandmother Beatrice Leitão de Carvalhosa Atkinson. The family company is a leading quality Port producer and is the principal vineyard owner in the Douro Valley with 2,530 acres of vines at 26 quintas (vineyards). Many of the region’s finest quintas belong to the family. For more information on Symington Family Estates, visit www.symington.com, www.onblog.symington.com.

[Roy Hersh]

Thomas V. wrote:

With the Nacional being a field blend, they don't control the proportions of the grape varieties in the juice, do they? And the juice isn't mixed with anything else besides the juice from this particular parcel with the legendary vines?

No, they don't control the proportions of the varieties that wind up in the blend.
That is correct, when they declare a Nacional, all grapes must come from that small 2.25-2.5 hectare parcel. The vines average 35 years of age. They are not pre-Phylloxera, but they are not grafted to American rootstock either, as is the case on the rest of the property.

[Eric Menchen]

Vintage Port is a rare wine-- less than two percent of all Port made in any year is awarded this distinction, only when the harvested grapes and resulting wines are truly extraordinary.

I thought that overall, 2% of all Port production was Vintage Port. Given that it isn't made every year, this would imply that for those years in which it is made, more than 2% is VP. That "in any year" part seems wrong.

[Glenn E.]

With the Nacional being a field blend, they don't control the proportions of the grape varieties in the juice, do they? And the juice isn't mixed with anything else besides the juice from this particular parcel with the legendary vines?

I was thinking the same thing. But from year to year they should be able to give a rough estimate of the Sousao based on what they pick and the yield. It's a field blend, but it is my understanding they've since identified what the vines are. And maybe one year they filter out more of one type vs. the other?

I only recall the quote being that Nacional contains a higher percentage of Sousao than most other Ports, and that it can be as high as 30%. There was no implication in the statement that it was blended specifically, or that it even varies significantly, though the percentage could be altered by both picking and selection.

[Thomas V]

Dalva joining the club. Back to back as well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhj0Gb3hF9P/

[Thomas V]

And Quinta de Ventozelo

https://www.facebook.com/quintadeventoz ... 007653895/

[Lisa Stevens]

I talked with Ana Rato from Ramos Pinto at an event in Seattle and she told me that Ramos Pinto will NOT be declaring a 2016 VP. When I asked about 2017, she smiled a big smile, but would make no comment.

[Jasper A.]

For me it is waiting for news from Taylor's & Fonseca. If they don't declare, I think we can't speak of a general declared year. Do you guys agree?

[Frederick Blais]

For me it is waiting for news from Taylor's & Fonseca. If they don't declare, I think we can't speak of a general declared year. Do you guys agree?

I do not agree... 2 players should not dictate what is a general declaration or not... but it is definitively what they want us to believe.

[Andy Velebil]

For me it is waiting for news from Taylor's & Fonseca. If they don't declare, I think we can't speak of a general declared year. Do you guys agree?

I do not agree... 2 players should not dictate what is a general declaration or not... but it is definitively what they want us to believe.

I agree with Fred.

I'm also pretty sure TFP will declare 2016 since they didn't declare 2015.

[Frederick Blais]

We should know Monday I guess.

[Andy Velebil]

We should know Monday I guess.

If tradition holds, we should.


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[Jasper A.]

For me it is waiting for news from Taylor's & Fonseca. If they don't declare, I think we can't speak of a general declared year. Do you guys agree?

I do not agree... 2 players should not dictate what is a general declaration or not... but it is definitively what they want us to believe.

I am not saying that just Fonseca & Taylor's dictate a general declaration. But for me they are: Graham's, Dow's, Noval, Taylor's & Fonseca. The other ones already declared.