2009 Port Harvest info

[Derek T.]

Hi Dominic,

It's great to see you posting here and I hope to see you and share some port again soon

Cheers
Derek

[Tom Archer]

Dominic,

I've heard of Vesuvio magnums (although I've never seen one) - have you filled any double magnums?

A very elegant, yet manageable, bottle size..

Tom

[oscarquevedo]

and the rain came to the Douro; bad timing as we had not finished harvesting yet

[Roy Hersh]

Another wash out of a vintage ending in the digit #9? Let's hope not. Thanks Oscar and we'll pray for sun!


Also my sincere thanks to Dom for his poignant post.

[Tom Archer]

Another wash out of a vintage ending in the digit #9?

According ot Oscar's posts elsewhere, the A grade quintas have completed their harvest already, so a damp ending for some lesser properties, but no wash-out of the vintage.

Tom

[Roy Hersh]

Tom,

Are you calling Oscar's Quinta a "lesser property" with your last sentence?

[Tom Archer]

Are you calling Oscar's Quinta a "lesser property" with your last sentence?

I will quote Oscar in his own words:

I would say that all the grade A vineyards were already harvested. We are now finishing Quinta da Trovisca, which is a grade B vineyard

(posted last night)

Tom

[Andy Velebil]

Johhny Graham has recently posted an update to his harvest. There is some really good info about the weather and condition of some grapes. It's worth reading http://churchillsestates.blogspot.com/

[oscarquevedo]

Tom,

Are you calling Oscar's Quinta a "lesser property" with your last sentence?

Can't believe you have said that Tom! Ok, you have to come over. Please read this as an formal invitation to visit our winery and vineyards during your upcoming trip to Portugal.

[Tom Archer]

No offence Oscar - I was only going by the grading system - not the skill of management!

Tom

[Roy Hersh]

Following your e-mail request we hereby send our thoughts regarding the 2009 Harvest at Quinta do Silval:
During this year, we have a very small amount of precipitation, much less than the average and at the same time the temperatures, during almost the whole Summer, where cooler, increasing in the last fifteen days of August having temperatures up to 38ºC during the day and 20ºC by night.

This high temperature for almost 14 days put the grapes with uncompleted phenolic maturation in some cases.

The production is less than 20% what we had last year due to less bunches by plant and the absence of rain in the 2 months before the vintage. In the end we hope to have a good quality year.

With best regards,

Teresa Pinto

(oenologist)

[Symington Family]

Sorry Oscar, but we're still picking at Vesuvio! I nearly dropped in on you yesterday morning but was running very late, next time... & as we say here - um abraço!

The light rain (at least at Vesuvio) on Wednesday morning did nothing more than settle the dust and had absolutely no effect on the vines, the leaves were dry by 9am! All day we had a heavy build-up of clouds and the weather was hot & sticky, not very plesant. Just after picking stopped about 5.30 we had a very heavy shower for some 20 minutes and then the air cleared. Thursday dawned beutifully bright and clear.
The rain has frankly not made any difference, it's in relaity too late for any change in the fruit.

Today we have been picking the Raposa plot of Touriga Franca which is destined for the Chryseia table wine and will follow to the Vale da Teja which in 2007 produced the most amazing wines both for Vesuvio Vintage and for the new Vesuvio Douro DOC.
The last parcels to be picked will be at the highest vineyard in the "Quinta Nova" (there are lots of property's with this name in the Douro) where we still have some small selected parcels of Souzão and Touriga Nacional.
We will probably fill the last lagar on Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how well we get on.
There is some rain forecast for Sunday but fingeres crossed that Vesuvio might, just this once escape!
The lots that we have been making this week are really excellent showing beutiful balance and the tannins have matured quite significantly, really very encouraging!
Yesterday I did a huge round of the Douro going from Pinhão all the way to the far north east of the region to the Vilariça valley where we are in the process of converting 3 properties, Assares, Canada and Ataide, a total of 150 Ha. to fully certified organic farming, quite difficult but really exciting... more of this later!
Dom Symington

[Marc J.]

Thanks for the update!!!

Marc

[Roy Hersh]

Today the weather was cool and cloudy in Porto and was supposed to be warmer up in the Douro. Thanks to Dominic for his excellent post which is most appreciated.

[Tom Archer]

It's good to hear that last Wednesday's showers do not seem to have been a major issue.

It is almost as though the weather was waiting for the harvest to finish this year; there have been many weather fronts that threatened; but then swung away - or brooded out to sea..

Now that the harvest is coming to a close, the outlook is much less settled; while the producer's concerns will be swinging from fear of rain to the hope that the year's rainfall deficit will be made good.

Whilst a declaration is not needed this year, there has to be the prospect of some seriously good, lasting VP's from this vintage.

I shall await the outcome with interest.

Tom

[Roy Hersh]

It rained nearly every day while we were in Porto. On Tuesday night and into Tuesday, there was an extraordinary amount of rain in the Douro. Fortunately 95% of picking was finished. That said, the water tables were totally changed by this major rain storm. There was so much rain that there was debris and tons of mud slides all around the Regua and Pinhao areas on the roads. Crews were out all over the place as slides affected everything. The Pinhao River is now totally brown and strewn with debris.

[Derek T.]

There was so much rain that there was debris and tons of mud slides all around the Regua and Pinhao areas on the roads. Crews were out all over the place as slides affected everything.

Excellent. Just in time for me driving up to visit Oscar tomorrow morning

[Glenn E.]

There was so much rain that there was debris and tons of mud slides all around the Regua and Pinhao areas on the roads. Crews were out all over the place as slides affected everything.

Excellent. Just in time for me driving up to visit Oscar tomorrow morning

Don't all you Brits drive Range Rovers or something? You'll be fine!