2021 Port & Douro Vintage

Following a succession of very hot and dry years in the Douro, the 2021 growth cycle and harvest was one of the coolest in recent years. A wet winter was followed by a mild spring with an early budburst and flowering, and Symington's harvest report, signed by head winemaker Charles Symington, puts budbreak three weeks earlier than average. At Quinta do Noval, managing director Christian Seely told The Drinks Business that the wet winter and regular April rainfall "fully replenished much needed water levels in the soil," and flowering there came early, in May. June was hot and unstable, with localised hail damage, though the hail did not affect Noval's vineyards. July and August were mild, and the summer was unusually cool, with none of the heat waves that have become common in the region. Rain then interrupted the harvest three times, including heavy rain on 1 and 2 September, with as much as 40mm in the Vilarica Valley, and a further 20mm to just over 30mm on 13 and 14 September. It was the wettest September since 2015. Picking began early, on 26 August for Noval's red grapes and 30 August for Symington's Sousao, and the harvest was drawn out over six weeks, concluding in early to mid October; Noval finished on 8 October. Richard Mayson's Decanter guide judged yields good, while Symington's yields per vine across its quintas were 10 percent below its 11-year average, with total production 24 percent above 2020.

Symington's harvest was slow and long. In the Cima Corgo, Dow's Bomfim and Graham's Malvedos recorded almost double the monthly rainfall average, and in the Douro Superior, Cockburn's Canais and Quinta do Vesuvio recorded almost three times the average, though the spells of rain were limited to 24 to 36 hours. Symington started with Sousao on 30 August, followed shortly by Alicante Bouschet, paused for a few days after the mid-September rain, and began picking Touriga Nacional on 18 September, with the grapes arriving at 13 and 14 degrees Baume. At some estates, including Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos, Touriga Franca was picked at the same time as Touriga Nacional, bringing the finest Franca parcels in before the third bout of rain; some Franca left for the tail end of the vintage was affected by the wet conditions. At Quinta do Noval, the red harvest began on 26 August, was suspended for three days after rain in early September, and ran to 8 October, with Seely reporting "no spikes in sugar readings."

Quinta do Noval declared three 2021 Vintage Ports: the classic Quinta do Noval, Quinta do Noval Nacional and Quinta do Passadouro, which lies just below Noval and was bought by the producer in 2019. The 2021s mark Noval's eleventh consecutive vintage declaration, in keeping with its strategy of declaring a classic Vintage Port from every harvest while varying the quantities produced. Symington's own assessment was that the quality of its stone terraces, a limited number of vines, does not always align with the pattern of classic Vintage Port years, as was the case for 2021. It bottled Graham's The Stone Terraces 2021, only the fifth release of this micro-terroir Vintage Port after 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017, judged that the best expression of the year came from its five principal estates (Malvedos, Bomfim, Senhora da Ribeira, Cavadinha, Canais), to be bottled as Quinta Vintage Port, and released a small quantity of Dow's Quinta do Bomfim in 2023. Richard Mayson's Decanter guide calls 2021 not generally declared, with many of the leading single-quinta wines kept back for later release.

• Quinta do Noval: three 2021 Vintage Ports (Quinta do Noval, Nacional, Quinta do Passadouro)
• Graham's The Stone Terraces 2021: the fifth release, after 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017
• Dow's Quinta do Bomfim 2021: a limited 2023 en primeur release of 960 bottles and 300 magnums
• Decanter: not generally declared; drink from the early 2030s

Symington credits the remarkably cool nights through the harvest with excellent acidity and very good colour, and found its Touriga Nacional wines less aromatically exuberant than in previous years but with great colour, more restrained and serious. Graham's The Stone Terraces is drawn from just under three hectares of hand-built stone terraces dating from the late 18th century at Quinta dos Malvedos and is co-fermented from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Sousao and Alicante Bouschet; Symington calls its 2021 deep inky purple, with pin sharp acidity and fresh scented tropical aromas. Seely told The Drinks Business the Noval wines are "very elegant and balanced, with great finesse and very pure floral and black fruit aromas." Decanter characterises the 2021s by their freshness and good depth of colour, names Graham's The Stone Terraces, Quinta do Noval and Quinta do Noval Nacional as the best wines, and advises drinking from the early 2030s.

• Cool harvest nights: excellent acidity and very good colour, in Symington's assessment
• Touriga Nacional: less aromatically exuberant than in previous years, more restrained and serious, in Symington's assessment
• The Stone Terraces 2021: deep inky purple, pin sharp acidity, fresh scented tropical aromas, in Symington's words
• Decanter's best wines: Graham's The Stone Terraces, Quinta do Noval, Quinta do Noval Nacional