2008 Port & Douro Vintage

2008 was a cool and mostly dry year at Pinhao. The winter was drier and colder than normal, with only 258 mm of rain between November and March. January brought 94 mm, almost all of it in the first two weeks, then March just 22 mm, less than half the 51 mm average. A heavy frost on the morning of 7 March was not intense enough to damage the new shoots, and average bud break came on 17 March, somewhat earlier than usual. April turned wet: 144 mm fell, almost three times the 53 mm mean, and it replenished ground water reserves. The damp, stormy weather encouraged mildew. May was one degree cooler than average, and full bloom did not come until 25 May, a full week later than the year before. Rain and overcast skies prolonged flowering, poor set affected all varieties, and fruit set came on 4 June. Hail on 9 May in the Vilarica valley did very limited damage. June brought just 4 mm, the driest June since 2001 and the coolest in 10 years. July and August were each one degree or more cooler than average, with 0.2 mm and just under 5 mm of rain, and veraison ran 10 to 14 days behind schedule. August was the third consecutive month of almost complete drought, yet the cool temperatures meant the vines showed no signs of water stress. In Symington's vineyards by late August, sugar levels were low, acidity was high and there was no sign of disease. Rain from 4 September, around 20 mm in the first week, set picking back by a further week or so, and September was the coolest at Pinhao since 1996. Most properties started picking for Port just before the equinox; rain from 22 September amounted to little more than light drizzle, and picking began at Quinta do Panascal on 25 September. Symington said this one long, calm spell of perfect harvesting weather saved the harvest; it was broken only when it rained on the night of 6 October and the morning of the 7th. Perfect harvest weather ran from 23 September to mid-October, and the yield was low, with great concentration of flavour at Fonseca. By the end of October Pinhao had recorded 421 mm for the year, almost 100 mm short of normal, with April alone accounting for 29 percent.

• Winter drier and colder than normal: 258 mm at Pinhao from November to March
• April brought 144 mm at Pinhao, almost three times the mean; full bloom came on 25 May
• July and August each one degree or more cooler than average at Pinhao; veraison 10 to 14 days late
• Picking began at Quinta do Panascal on 25 September; perfect harvest weather ran from 23 September to mid-October

Noval declared. On St George's Day the following April, Decanter's vintage guide reports, "the vintage was declared by the major port house, although uniquely for single quintas." Quinta do Panascal 2008 Vintage Port is a Fonseca wine. Panascal is a Grade A property in the Tavora valley in the Cima Corgo, and a Quinta do Panascal Vintage Port is produced only when a general Fonseca declaration is not made, because the wine forms the backbone of the Fonseca Vintage Port blend. Decanter's list of the best 2008 wines names Guimaraens, Quinta da Roeda, Quinta de Terra Feita, Quinta de Vargellas, Quinta do Panascal, Quinta do Vesuvio and Senhora de Ribeira.

• Noval declared
• Quinta do Panascal Vintage Port: produced only when a general Fonseca declaration is not made

Decanter rates 2008 at 3.5 out of 5 and says the small harvest produced some outstanding single-quinta wines that are ready to drink now or keep. The cooler temperatures left healthy fruit with soft, thinnish skins, and the pressings soon revealed a fine acidity and lovely aromas. Decanter places lighter, less imposing but ripe styles such as Dow's Quinta Senhora de Ribeira against richer, rounded and silkier wines such as Taylor's highly-rated Terra Feita, and expects those who brought in under-ripe fruit to have struggled to make wines of sufficient power and richness. The vintage's hot days and cold nights gave wonderful freshness of fruit, complexity and great structure at Fonseca. Early September rain diluted sugars and especially acidity, which had to be corrected in the winery, and there was none of the intensely hot weather needed to concentrate the fruit.

• Decanter: 3.5/5; some outstanding single-quinta wines, ready to drink now or keep
• Hot days and cold nights gave freshness of fruit, complexity and great structure at Fonseca
• Early September rain diluted sugars and acidity; no intense heat to concentrate the fruit