Symington Declares 2003 Vintage Port

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Apr 12th 2005 at 4:15PM

The Symington Family Estates in Oporto, Portugal have officially declared the 2003 vintage port. All six of its established Port houses, W. & J. Graham's, Dow's, Smith Woodhouse, Quinta do Vesuvio, Warre's and Gould Campbell, will offer a very limited amount of 2003 Vintage Port in the U.S. this summer. The Douro Valley, where the grapes are grown, was not affected by the 2003 heat wave but the grape yields were low, so quantities are limited. Less than 2% of Port is Vintage Port, and it does not happen every year. The last vintage declaration was for the 2000 vintage. Declared Vintage Ports must get approval from the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP), the governing body for the Douro wine industry. Time will tell how the vintage will age but it is probably worth picking up a bottle or two when it becomes available.

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