2021 … for whatever reason, when requesting samples from producers, the vast majority told me they were not releasing 2021s. They did not give reasons, and I did not want to seem pushy
at the time and ask that question outright. And yet there are some significant names, just two examples Quinta do Noval, with both their regular bottling and their special Nacional bottling
were both released, as well as the rather rare release of Graham’s Stone Terraces. So, until my actual blind tasting regimen took place, I had no idea of what was coming. Sure, 2021 was my
first post-Covid year back doing wine tours in Portugal, which included a couple of weeks during harvest time in the Douro, in addition to a couple of other quick visits when in the area. But I did
take note of some of the facets of the growing season, which will follow.

Overall, I believe there were only about twenty declarations, so I felt lucky to be permitted to review fifteen of them for my blind assessment. After recently tasting through the 2020 Vintage
Ports and having been able to receive 30 different bottlings for my tasting, it occurred to me that there was seemingly far less enthusiasm overall for 2021 by the Port trade, in comparison
to the previous vintage. But some were more bullish than others, and that had to do with the sporadic issues like hailstorms and severe thunderstorms and torrential rains which caused
issues smack in the middle of harvest. Some encountered huge problems and others were fortunate and faced just temporary delays.

So, this forecast of the young and just bottled 2021 Vintage Ports, and some not released but already approved by the IVDP as final blends. There are 15 well-known Port shippers that are
represented here. Enough for me to make some basic determinations from the cross-section that I was able to round up. Before delving into the growing and climate conditions that shaped and
determined the character of this vintage, it should be noted that my visits from the USA in early 2021 still required PCR tests before arrival and immediately prior to departure back to America.

Click to access FTLOP-2021-Vintage-Port-Forecast-v2.pdf