A recent thread about declaration frequencies and timings got me thinking about changes in the future.
The Porto trade does seem to be rather traditional, but we have seen in other regions the modernization of facilities, vineyard management, etc... and how it can assist winemakers. Sometimes the quality, on average, increases dramatically and the frequency of good to outstanding years increases.
Is this possible in the Douro? If so, will the bar be higher for a Vintage Declaration, will general declarations happen more often, or will the "off-years" just be better on average with less difference between VP and SQVP.
I lean towards the latter, but am interested in what everyone else thinks. Not sure VP being declared would be a good thing for the market (or my wallet) and also unsure that the bar can go much higher for the "great" years.
Jay.
Porto Declarations and the Future
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Jay Woodruff
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:48 pm
- Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States of America - USA
Porto Declarations and the Future
- Jay Woodruff.
At best we are speculating here, but that is what you are looking for, so here are my thoughts.
Since the mid-to-late 1980s there has been a ton of investment by the EU, World Bank and the Port industry itself, mostly in the Douro, but not limited to that area as Gaia has seen its share too and in fact, many parts of Portugal have been revitalized with outside revenues. Portugal is still a relatively poor country though, but we are speaking of the Port trade which is moderately healthy overall.
There has been substantial sums spent by the Port trade as well as outside investment and this should not be overlooked. New roads have been built, new plantings have taken place, some of the dead vineyards in the Douro that lay dormant since the scourge of Phylloxera have been replanted while others are planned, lagares and terraces replaced or rebuilt, robotics have been implementd and I can bore you with lots of other details of how the money has been spent to improve Quintas, Lodges and the hospitality infrastructure, etc.
That said, certain traditions won't be broken. The only reason that there would ever be more than 3 or 4 general declarations in a decade ... would be a last ditch effort to help cash flow if the companies were in deep trouble. That OTOH, is exactly why there has been such a proliferation of SQVPs in the past 15+ years. I do not believe we will see 5 and 6 generally declared vintages in a decade by the "classic" VPs. IMO, it just is not going to happen now or in the future. A few reasons why it won't:
a. SQVPs and LBVs will continue to provide cash flow inbetween generally declared vintages.
b. Above all else, the reputation of the Port producer's names (and "brands" if you will) will be protected and these reputations were established over the course of many centuries, and are not going to be risked by adding more VP into the pipeline, diluting demand. That lesson was learned long ago.
c. The Shippers will get healthier by reducing the lower end of the Port market's sales by concentrating their marketing efforts on the top end of the Special Categories.
d. all of the above
Good topic Jay!
Since the mid-to-late 1980s there has been a ton of investment by the EU, World Bank and the Port industry itself, mostly in the Douro, but not limited to that area as Gaia has seen its share too and in fact, many parts of Portugal have been revitalized with outside revenues. Portugal is still a relatively poor country though, but we are speaking of the Port trade which is moderately healthy overall.
There has been substantial sums spent by the Port trade as well as outside investment and this should not be overlooked. New roads have been built, new plantings have taken place, some of the dead vineyards in the Douro that lay dormant since the scourge of Phylloxera have been replanted while others are planned, lagares and terraces replaced or rebuilt, robotics have been implementd and I can bore you with lots of other details of how the money has been spent to improve Quintas, Lodges and the hospitality infrastructure, etc.
That said, certain traditions won't be broken. The only reason that there would ever be more than 3 or 4 general declarations in a decade ... would be a last ditch effort to help cash flow if the companies were in deep trouble. That OTOH, is exactly why there has been such a proliferation of SQVPs in the past 15+ years. I do not believe we will see 5 and 6 generally declared vintages in a decade by the "classic" VPs. IMO, it just is not going to happen now or in the future. A few reasons why it won't:
a. SQVPs and LBVs will continue to provide cash flow inbetween generally declared vintages.
b. Above all else, the reputation of the Port producer's names (and "brands" if you will) will be protected and these reputations were established over the course of many centuries, and are not going to be risked by adding more VP into the pipeline, diluting demand. That lesson was learned long ago.
c. The Shippers will get healthier by reducing the lower end of the Port market's sales by concentrating their marketing efforts on the top end of the Special Categories.
d. all of the above
Good topic Jay!
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Jay Woodruff
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:48 pm
- Location: Mesa, Arizona, United States of America - USA
Sounds like a win for the consumer really.
The SQVP will be of higher quality (and hopefully not higher pricing) which will allow for more to go around and bridge us between the VP we drink.
Will also be interesting to see if more use the extra quality to steal some juice from the ruby and LBV ports and put it into other middle tier opportunities. By this I mean projects such as Niepoort Secundum for an earlier drinking port. Could come from multiple sources and not be a SQVP but still allow for the better juice to be used other than merely increasing the quality of the LBV and rubies. Of course that would not be so bad either.
Jay.
The SQVP will be of higher quality (and hopefully not higher pricing) which will allow for more to go around and bridge us between the VP we drink.
Will also be interesting to see if more use the extra quality to steal some juice from the ruby and LBV ports and put it into other middle tier opportunities. By this I mean projects such as Niepoort Secundum for an earlier drinking port. Could come from multiple sources and not be a SQVP but still allow for the better juice to be used other than merely increasing the quality of the LBV and rubies. Of course that would not be so bad either.
Jay.
- Jay Woodruff.
Jay,
I foresee that the grapes that now go towards the lower priced Ports like Ruby and Ruby Reserva etc ... may be diverted from Port making altogether and wind up as Douro Red wines. This is another way that Single Quintas will gain prominence. For a great example, look at Quinta do Crasto. Not many great VPs before 2000 from that property, although I did enjoy their '94 a lot. But, with great young winemakers now and their affinity for making some of the greatest Douro reds in the region ... they are becoming a Cult producer. They have a few reds that are selling for over $100 already and their Ports will most likely improve too, from what I have seen of their investment in vineyard replantings and inside the Adega itself.
They are far from the only fine SQVP producer that is making great Douro reds, which can be the cash cow that allows them to only focus on VP and maybe one other type of Port at the high end. I see this becoming a trend, that the diverse lineups from some of the producers get really streamlined. The large famil-owned groups like Sogrape, Symingtons, Fladgate and even Barros will probably continue to carry the full monty but it will be interesting to see how the independent producers like Portal, Niepoort, Cockburn, Calem etc. pan out.
I foresee that the grapes that now go towards the lower priced Ports like Ruby and Ruby Reserva etc ... may be diverted from Port making altogether and wind up as Douro Red wines. This is another way that Single Quintas will gain prominence. For a great example, look at Quinta do Crasto. Not many great VPs before 2000 from that property, although I did enjoy their '94 a lot. But, with great young winemakers now and their affinity for making some of the greatest Douro reds in the region ... they are becoming a Cult producer. They have a few reds that are selling for over $100 already and their Ports will most likely improve too, from what I have seen of their investment in vineyard replantings and inside the Adega itself.
They are far from the only fine SQVP producer that is making great Douro reds, which can be the cash cow that allows them to only focus on VP and maybe one other type of Port at the high end. I see this becoming a trend, that the diverse lineups from some of the producers get really streamlined. The large famil-owned groups like Sogrape, Symingtons, Fladgate and even Barros will probably continue to carry the full monty but it will be interesting to see how the independent producers like Portal, Niepoort, Cockburn, Calem etc. pan out.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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David G.
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2005 7:40 pm
- Location: Houston, Texas, United States of America - USA
I second Secundum
I am not sure which year it was (maybe a 2000?) but I had a Niepoort Secundum recently served to me that was quite nice. It was very drinkable and not too tannic. I can second that Secundum suggestion.