2004 Port & Douro Vintage

According to Decanter's Port vintage guide, wet weather at the end of 2003 gave way to an incredibly dry start to 2004. At Dow's Quinta do Bomfim, just 147mm of rain fell during the first four months of the year, less than half the 10-year average. Flowering went well in all three Douro sub-regions, but fruit-set was slightly less successful because warm, sunny conditions in May encouraged very rapid shoot growth. July was hot, with temperatures reaching 40 C, and as August approached growers were concerned about how the vines would cope with low water reserves in the soil. Rain then fell on three consecutive days in early August and again in the middle of the month, making it the wettest August in the north of Portugal for 104 years. Decanter says the weather stayed abnormally cool and overcast into September, slowing ripening, and when wet, unsettled weather returned in the first week of September, growers had to choose between picking under-ripe grapes early or waiting for better weather. Most waited, and the sunshine returned; sugar levels rose suddenly as temperatures passed 30 C. Picking began around the middle of September and continued in uninterrupted sunshine, and no rain fell until 8 October, by which time the harvest was all but complete.

• Just 147mm of rain at Dow's Quinta do Bomfim from January to April, less than half the 10-year average
• July temperatures reached 40 C; the wettest August in the north of Portugal for 104 years followed
• Picking from around mid September in uninterrupted sunshine; no rain until 8 October

Decanter rates 2004 3/5 and describes a successful single-quinta year, with well-balanced wines mostly ready to drink now until 2030. The guide reports that Peter Symington, winemaker for Dow, Graham and Warre, said that in 40 harvests he had never seen a vintage that could have swung so easily between near disaster and success.

• Decanter rating: 3/5, a successful single-quinta year
• Decanter: well-balanced wines, mostly ready to drink now until 2030