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Vintage Port - Declared Years
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:23 am
by JasonH
I searched but did not see a list, so I am wondering if any one can point me in the right direction of a comprehensive list of declared VP years from 1900 to present?
TIA
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 12:49 pm
by Andy Velebil
Jason,
I'm not at home so going off of a bit of memory here. Hopefully others can fill in my omissions or errors.
1900
1904
1908
1911
1912
1917
1922
1924
1927
1931
1934
1935
1942
1945
1947
1948
1955
1960
1963
1966
1967
1970
1975
1977
1978
1980
1982
1983
1985
1987
1991
1992
1994
1995
1996 arguably
1997
2000
2001 arguably
2003
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:20 pm
by Roy Hersh
Ammend the well thought out list from above:
1911
1917
not 1933 as listed above
1934
1942
1947
1967
1975
1978
1982
1987
1995
1996 arguably
2001 arguably
Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:01 am
by Andy Velebil
Thanks Roy.
I edited my original list so it would be easy in case anyone wanted to copy it.
Declared Years
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:58 pm
by John Owlett
Hi Jason,
I'm not an expert on this subject in the way that Andy and Roy are, but, like you, I find it fascinating. In the past I've just used the list of major declarations and their ratings that Roy published in his October 2005 newsletter
http://www.fortheloveofport.com/newslet ... letter.htm
but your question set me off thinking: what exactly is a "major" declaration? To some extent this is a matter of debate among knowledgeable people -- each port producer marches to the beat of its own drum and declares a vintage at its own discretion -- but I'm a superannuated mathematician and I like looking for patterns.
My first thought was that there are three types of major declaration:
a general declaration when all the major producers declare a vintage in the same year;
a split declaration when all the major producers declare a vintage in one or other of two adjacent years; and
a partial declaration when some but not all of the major producers declare a vintage.
This may answer the first question, but it raises another: who exactly are the major producers of vintage port? ... which is perhaps a matter of argument rather than debate!
I'm English, and to many English wine drinkers who are not port specialists, the answer is simple: Fonseca, Taylor, Graham and Dow; plus possibly Quinta do Noval. See for example
http://www.farrvintners.co.uk/wineindex.php?regionid=13
That's too simple of course. At the very least one should add Niepoort to that list ... and recognize that Fonseca and Taylor are now linked in the Fladgate Partnership, and Graham and Dow are linked by the Symington Family -- if Graham and Dow both declare, then so do Warre and Gould Campbell, and so probably do Smith Woodhouse and Quarles Harris.
Then there are the single-quinta vintage ports. Some of these are secondary wines, released by a producer who is making no main declaration, and these don't count. But others are "grandes cuvées" such as Quinta do Noval Naçional and Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha. And still others are port "châteaux", such as Quinta do Vesuvio, which declare a vintage every year if the wine is good enough. These don't so much march to a different drum as dance to the rhythm of a different percussion section. But should they count as major producers?
Leaving out the single-quinta wines, and using just Fladgate, Symington, Niepoort and Quinta do Noval as "major producers" gives the following lists:
General Declarations
2003
2000
1997
1994
1985
1980
1975
1970
1966
1963
Split Declarations
1991/92 (Fonseca/Taylor declared in 1992, the rest in 1991)
1982/83 (Quinta do Noval declared in 1982, the rest in 1983)
1977/78 (Quinta do Noval declared in 1978, the rest in 1977)
Partial Declarations
2004 (Quinta do Noval)
1995 (Quinta do Noval)
1987 (Niepoort, Quinta do Noval)
1972 (Dow)
1967 (Quinta do Noval)
1960 (all except Niepoort)
Adding Quinta do Noval Naçional to the major producers adds 1996 and 1962 as partial declarations.
If you have been, thank you for reading this,
Dr Owl
----------------------------
John Owlett, Southampton, UK
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:31 pm
by JasonH
Thank you Andy, Roy and John(interesting analysis) for taking the time to post the lists for me. I appreciate it immensely.
Declared Years
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 3:41 pm
by John Owlett
May I use this thread to ask a few detailed questions about declared years?
When I was preparing my reply to Jason yesterday, I used a few books and far too much silicon surfing to collect several lists of who declared when. The frustrating thing was that all the lists, even the best, seemed to be incomplete; and all the lists, even the best, contained the occasional mistake. Is there a definitive list somewhere, or do I have to wait until Roy publishes his book?
1977 Quinta do Noval: Yesterday I concluded that pretty much everybody, except Cockburn, declared a vintage in 1977. So 1977 was a general declaration and 1978 a partial declaration. Reviewing the data to-day, I see that several lists omit QdN from 1977. Was there a 1977 QdN? If not, I should edit my lists to show 1977/78 as a split declaration.
1975 Graham: Yesterday I concluded that pretty much everybody, including Cockburn, declared a vintage in 1975 -- probably in relief that the previous four bad years were over, since no 1975 wine seems to have a good reputation for longevity. To-day I see that there is just one list which doesn't mention a 1975 Graham ... and that's the list on Graham's Web site! Now, this need not be a mistake: it may have been dropped because, not being long-lived, customers are unlikely to come across it more than 30 years later. Was there a 1975 Graham?
1983/84 Quinta do Noval Naçional: A wine merchant not far from me which I have never visited (there is such a thing!) is advertising QdNN from 1983 and 1984 on its Web site. But none of the sources I found lists either vintage. Was there either a 1983 or a 1984 QdNN?
1996 Quinta do Noval Naçional: Richard Mayson, in Port and the Douro, definitely one of the most useful sources I have found, lists a 1996 QdNN. But the QdN Web site lists QdNN only for 1974, 1977 and 2000. Was there a 1996 QdNN?
Later,
Dr Owl
----------------------------
John Owlett, Southampton, UK
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 4:12 pm
by Andy Velebil
John,
To my knowledge Noval did not declare a 1977 VP
Yes, there is a 1996 Noval Nacional.
There was a 1983 Nacional, but I have never heard of anyone mention a 1984 before. A check on wine-searcher shows 3 places (2 in UK, 1-Netherlands) that list a 1984 Nacional for sale, so I am going to assume there was a bottling of this, although probably a small bottling, as only 3 places world-wide list it for sale.
Yes there is a 1975 Graham's.
Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:59 am
by Al B.
John
I can also confirm that there were QdNN releases in both 1983 and 1984 - both are available at the Quinta.
Alex