2016 Port & Douro Vintage

The 2015/16 winter was wetter than average and provided a counterbalance to the hot Douro summer. Damp weather continued into May and caused considerable fruit loss to the unwary. From June conditions returned to normal, and August was very warm, although some welcome rain fell on 24 and 26 August. More heat arrived with September and some producers started picking, though it was clear to those properly monitoring their vines that the grapes were not ready. Rain then fell on 12 and 13 September. Charles Symington, head winemaker, delayed harvesting until 19 September; the best Touriga Nacional was not picked until 26 September and the late-ripening Touriga Franca only during the first ten days of October. Symington says its greatest 2016 Ports were made during this later period under lovely blue skies. Growers had to cope with a cold, wet spring, a hot, dry summer and rain in September. Low yields markedly affected the quantities available, and yields in the region are amongst the lowest in the world, at 26 hectolitres per hectare.

Symington Family Estates declared 2016 in a statement dated Vila Nova de Gaia, 9 April 2018, its fourth Vintage declaration for all its Port companies since 2000 and the first since 2011. The Symington houses include Cockburn's, Dow's, Graham's and Warre's, and some individual houses have declared vintages in recent years, such as Cockburn's for 2015. All the 2016 Symington Vintage Ports came from the family's own quinta vineyards and were made in its five small lagar wineries using the classic treading method. Beyond Symington, Fladgate, Quinta do Noval and Churchill's also declared, and the announcements made up the first general declaration since 2011. Symington, The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor's, Fonseca and Croft) and Quinta do Noval teamed up to organise a tasting of their freshly bottled 2016s at the 2016 Vintage Port Preview in London.

Production of each of Symington's 2016 Vintage Ports was approximately one fifth below its previous declared Vintage, following rigorous selection in the tasting room. Symington's volumes were down 20 to 30 percent on 2011, and Taylor's production was down by more than half for an average year to just 6,000 cases. For the first time, Symington listed the number of cases produced on the front label of all its vintage Ports: Graham's 6,325, Dow's 5,480, Warre's 4,250, Cockburn's 2,450, Smith Woodhouse 1,500 and Quinta de Roriz 390.

Symington describes its 2016 Vintage Ports as having tannins "amongst the most refined ever," red-fruit flavours and an intense purple colour, with Baumes, acidity, tannins and colour in "rare and perfect alignment." It credits the later ripening cycle, which let its grapes mature evenly and completely. The Buyer called the wines truly exceptional, and Chris Wilson's tasting notes there found a deep purple hue and berry fruit in Taylor's, raspberry and blackcurrant fruit with full, ripe tannins in Graham's, dark plum fruit and mineral character in Dow's, and a saline edge in Warre's.

• Tannins amongst the most refined ever, intense purple colour, in Symington's description
• Later ripening cycle credited with even, complete ripening
• Taylor's: deep purple, with berry and hedgerow fruit
• Warre's: incredibly fresh, with a saline edge