The
wines of Quinta
do Vesuvio, Douro, Portugal
A vertical tasting of the
Vintage Port
Quinta
do Vesuvio is one of the great Quintas of the Douro. It’s located
in the Douro Superior (the wamer, drier section, up river from Pinhão,
on the way to the Spanish border), 120 km east of Porto. The estate
was developed in its current guise by António Bernardo Ferreira,
who purchased it in 1823. His ambitions were such that this became
the grandest Quinta of all in the Douro. António’s son inherited
the estate; his wife was the famous Dona Antónia, who was widowed
shortly after and went on to develop a grand portfolio of Douro
properties.
The
current fame of Vesuvio is down to the Symingtons (owners of the
likes of Warre, Dow and Graham) who purchased the property in 1989.
They have redeveloped it somewhat and expanded the vineyard holdings
to some 130 hectares. These days, the quality option in the Douro is
to plant different varieties in separate blocks, as opposed to the
older technique of planting a range of varieties together in the
same block. This means that the old vineyards tend to be
interplanted, while the varietally planted blocks are new vines.
Vesuvio is lucky in that it has some varietally planted blocks that
are over 30 years old.
The
focus of Vesuvio is vintage Port. The grapes, however, are
rigorously selected and only a proportion find their way into the
Vintage Port; some are used for the Symington’s table wine
projects, and soon there will be a table wine with Vesuvio’s name
on it. [Update: this wine is now available, and is excellent, with a
second wine called Pombal de Vesuvio.]
This
vertical was a great chance to try the majority of the vintages back
to the Symington acquisition. It’s clear that Vesuvio is right up
there with the top Port houses in quality terms: this is one of the
great Vintage Ports of the Douro, even though it is technically only
a single quinta Port. Top vintages are 1991, 2000, 2001 and 2003.
Many of these vintages are available from Berry Bros & Rudd
(www.bbr.com); the UK agent is Fells.
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1989
Elegant and dense with smooth, pure fruit and a nice long spicy
finish. Dense. Evolving beautifully with good structure still.
94/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1990
Aromatically complex with soft, smooth, elegant fruit. Warm and
pure, and evolving nicely. 93/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1991
Firm nose with a bright, spicy edge. Intense palate with dense
spicy fruit. Quite firm with nice structure. A fabulous Port. 95/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1992
Herby, spicy nose shows some evolution. The palate has an earthy
edge behind the structured, spicy fruit. Finishes very spicy. 91/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1994
Pure, aromatic nose with nice spiciness. Concentrated, dense,
sweet and lush on the palate with lots of warmth. 94/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1995
Really lovely aromatics: sweet and a bit fudgey, with warm
fruit. The palate is ripe, sweet and shows elegant fruit. 93/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1996
Fresh, pure, slightly spicy aromatics. Lovely bright fresh spicy
fruit on the palate with a savoury edge. A really expressive, bright
wine. 93/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1997
Warm, sweet, pure aromatic fruit on the nose. Soft, lush and
broad on the palate. Seems very sweet. 92/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1998
Lovely fresh berryish aromatics. Sweet and attractive. The
palate is fresh and pure with a bit of mintiness. Bright and fruity.
91/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 1999
Warm, sweet, ripe herby nose. Vivid bright fruit on the palate.
Really expressive. 91/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 2000
Lush, sweet, concentrated and ripe. Still quite youthful with
lovely purity and spicy density. Great purity and depth here. 96/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 2001
Youthful, dense, sweet and pure with spicy fruit and good
structure. Really lovely linear fruit here. A little sweeter and
riper than the 2000, but still expressive. 95/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 2003
Vivid and aromatically rich with lovely purity of fruit.
Brilliantly fresh and structured on the palate. A truly great wine.
97/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 2004
Ripe, sweet, open nose with coffee and chocolate notes along
with lush fruit. The palate is lush and dense with lovely pure,
sweet fruit. One for drinking young-ish. 93/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 2005
Pure sweet aromatic fruit on the nose: raspberry and blackberry.
Very sweet, bright and pure with lovely tannic structure. 94/100
Quinta
do Vesuvio 2006
Opaque in colour. Sweet, open, bright vivid fruit with great
purity and focus. Almost wine like. Lovely. 93/100
Wines tasted 10/08
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