Recently Symington Family Estates held a Port Wine Master Class for sommeliers at the Graham’s Lodge.  Joaquim Augusto Cândido da Silva of Portfolio Vinhos (SFE distributor in Portugal) and Dominic Symington were on hand to welcome the group – close to 100 sommeliers from all over Portugal – to Graham’s and to help answer their questions about Port.

Winemaker João Pedro Ramalho (responsible for the Dow’s 2011 Vintage Port, among many others) led the class through several tasting flights which were designed specifically to show how – and how not – to serve Port wine.

One of these flights focussed on temperature, and what affect that can have on your perception of the wine.  Our recommendation  is to serve Vintage Port at about 16-18ºC (61-64ºF), or just above cellar temperature.  To demonstrate the importance of this we served the same Port at three different temperatures.

A cold Vintage Port – we served at 10ºC (50ºF) – is simply closed.  The aromas are locked in the cold liquid so there is little to no “nose” and similarly on the palate there is little impression of flavour.  What does come through despite the cold is the tannins – they can seem unpleasantly aggressive without the flavours to balance them.

Served at a too-warm temperature – for our tasting the bottles were left for some time at a room temperature of around 20ºC (68ºF) – there was no real nose to the Port again, as at this temperature the flavour compounds become volatile and simply evaporate.  In the mouth João Pedro described the wine as heavy, dull and lacking freshness.  When a Vintage Port (or any red wine for that matter) is served too warm, what can come through is the alcohol, both on nose and palate, as it too is volatilised by the higher temperature.

Finally, the students tasted the Port served at a proper temperature (around 16-18ºC or 61-64ºF) and were rewarded with a beautifully aromatic and flavourful glass of wine, with flavours, tannins, acidity and alcohol in balance.  The difference was striking, and the reaction of many of the attendees was surprise at what a difference those few degrees could make.

So how do you translate this into serving your Vintage Port at home?  We recommend that when you have decanted your Port, return the decanter to your cellar – or similarly cool spot – until shortly before you are ready to serve.  Remember that the Port will naturally warm a bit at table in your glass (assuming your home is around 20ºC/68ºF or more).  Our experience is that it can take an hour or so for a wine to warm from cellar temperature to 20ºC.  If your dining room is very warm, then once the decanter has been passed all around the table you may wish to return it to a cooler spot until needed again.

The pleasure of a glass of fine Vintage Port is watching (or perhaps more accurately tasting) how it opens up in your glass over the evening, as layers of aromas and flavours come to the fore, and then linger on your palate in a long and complex finish.  Enjoy!

For the first time this year, Graham’s has introduced a special edition wine, The Stone Terraces 2011 Vintage Port.   Paul Symington calls this wine idiosyncratic, saying its intensity may not be for everyone, whilst his cousin Johnny describes it as "cool and linear on the palate" in contrast to the "big, voluptuous" classic Graham's 2011.  Early response from wine critics in Portugal and the UK has been very positive - so what is it that makes this Vintage Port so different? 

The Vineyards

Quinta dos Malvedos wines have been at the heart of Graham’s declared Vintage Ports for over a century, and within the quinta two parcels on old stone terraces adjacent to the house have produced wines which have been consistently selected for inclusion in our Vintage blends.   

Most of the Malvedos quinta forms an ampitheatre which opens fully south, so the grapes benefit from day-long exposure to sun from all sides over the course of the day.  But within the ampitheatre rises another little hill – the house at Malvedos sits on top looking over the river, and the north and east facing sides of this hill support very old stone-walled vineyards – the two parcels which together make up The Stone Terraces Vintage Port.

The Port Arthur vineyard, specifically parcel 43, faces predominantly east and the terraces are among the most beautiful in the Douro: constructed on hand-built dry stone retaining walls 3 to 4 feet thick and roughly 6 feet high.  They are easily recognisable from the river or even from the train when next you go up to the Douro.  Altogether, we have just over a hectare of vineyard on the eastern side of Port Arthur.

The Vinha dos Cardenhos (generally referred to as parcel #37 during our harvest blogging from Malvedos) is itself a tiny ampitheatre, just over half a hectare facing due north, and is also built on stone walled terraces.  Though the walls here are not as four-square and massively spectacular as the Port Arthur walls, the vineyard has a rather rugged charm.

Both parcels are primarily Touriga Nacional though there are a few vines of other varieties, a legacy of the traditional field mixtures that characterised Douro vineyards for centuries.  In both vineyards the majority of terraces hold just a single line of vines, and yields are generally around 1 kilo per vine.  Whilst their east and north-facing aspects mean they do not receive direct sunlight all day long like most of Malvedos, the stone walls absorb the heat of the sun and later in the day and throughout the evening the gentle radiance of that heat helps continue the maturation of the grapes.  This gentler cooler ripening results in wines that are more aromatic, and in the finished Stone Terraces 2011 notes of fresh violet and mint are quite distinct on the nose.

The Wines

In his Winery Update for the 21st September 2011 Henry Shotton, our winemaker at Malvedos since 2000, wrote,

Early in the morning I went to have another look at the Touriga Nacional blocks that we were set to pick during the course of the day once the Tinta Roriz was finished.  I’m really glad I did as one of the Nacional parcels looked and tasted in such perfect condition that we decided after all to make a separate fermentation just of these grapes which will make something really special on their own.  This is the kind of flexibility that is essential during harvest, as we continue to assess the grapes every day and modify picking orders and winemaking plans to get the best out of every parcel.

The Port Arthur vineyard gave 0.91 Kg per vine and a Baumé of 14.10° and the Cardenhos vineyard yielded 1.2 Kg per vine and a Baumé of 14.80°.  Grapes from the two parcels were picked on the morning of the 21st and combined in the lagar to make a single lot of wine.  The lagar was only about half full, but we decided to go ahead anyway and make this wine from only these two parcels.  Over the next few days, Henry kept the fermentation temperatures between 27°C and 29°C and treading took place at regular intervals until the cap was properly formed and fermentation well under way, after which it was plunged every 4 hours until the must was run off for fortification very early in the morning of the 24th September.  During that time, on the 23rd September, Henry remarked in the blog

This is now my 12th Vintage at Malvedos and I must say that the 2011 grapes are some of, if not the best grapes that I have ever seen coming into the winery.  It has been evident from the colour and aroma of the fermenting musts that we are looking at an exceptional year which will produce superb wines.

This from the man reponsible for the winemaking during the outstanding 2000 and 2007 Graham’s Vintages, who is notorious for his modesty and understatements!  After harvest and even when the wines were moved down to the Graham's Lodge in Gaia, this small lot was kept separate and not mixed with any other wines.  A year later, when head winemaker Charles Symington and his cousins tasted the samples of all the 2011 Malvedos wines, the decision was made to bottle this unique wine on its own, and to declare Graham’s The Stone Terraces 2011 Vintage Port.

In fact, if you look through the Graham's Blog, you will find that these parcels have been keenly monitored favourites all along – in 2010 we featured the Port Arthur vineyard on the harvest blog and described how it was picked and vinified together with parcel #37 on the 28th September, and again in the Winemaker's Update for 23rd September 2012 Henry remarked on the picking and vinification of Port Arthur’s grapes.

In 2009 we were not documenting every lagar every day, but still our fondness for Port Arthur came through, in Rupert Symington’s blog post comparing views of Malvedos from 1895 and 2009. 

See the Graham’s The Stone Terraces 2011 Vintage Port page for tasting notes and technical details.  Several prominent UK and Portuguese critics have already published reviews which are recorded there, and we look forward to the response of the American press and trade as Rupert and Dominic Symington show all the Symington 2011 Vintage Ports across North America in May, with our distributors Premium Port Wine.

Today the first 750 ml bottles of Graham’s 2011 Vintage Port were being filled, corked and sealed at Symington Family Estates’ bottling plant in Vila Nova de Gaia.

A very small quantity of half bottles of the 2011 Vintage Ports were bottled last week for each Graham’s, Warre’s and Dow’s, but today we began filling the first standard 750 ml bottles, adding the splash marks which indicate which side to keep uppermost in storage (so any sediment falls consistently to the same side over the coming years), and storing them in cages, unlabeled.  Whilst a small quantity will be labeled and prepared for shipping shortly, the majority will be stored in the cool garrafeiras, or bottle cellars, at the Graham’s Lodge until orders and shipping dates are confirmed from around the world. 

Johnny Symington and the sales team here in Gaia are working with our distributors around the globe, juggling a very strong demand with our limited supply.  We have had strong interest from the UK and Far East (New Zealand was actually our first confirmed international order!) with several already asking for more than their initial allocations, based on the keen interest coming from the retail level.  We also had our first order through the Graham's Lodge here in Gaia - 2011 Vintage Port may be the ultimate memento of your holiday in Porto!  Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s and Cockburn’s are all in high demand, and there has been much interest and favourable comment on our two special editions, Graham’s The Stone Terraces and Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio. 

Jancis Robinson summed it up in her tweet after the Symington UK Press Launch and The Big Fortified Tasting in London last week: 

Know it's apples + pears but best 11 vintage ports so trump 11/12 red bordeaux.  

Paul Symington and his cousin Johnny Symington together hosted a tutored tasting yesterday in London to show the recently declared 2011 Vintage Ports to representatives from the UK wine trade and press.  As one writer commented at the end of the evening, “It’s a cracking vintage!”

Showing such young Vintage Ports – cask samples of wines that are only being bottled this week and next – we opened the bottles and poured the tasting samples just an hour before the tasting was due to begin, and served them in classic Riedel Cabernet Sauvignon glasses, to show the incredible young, full aromas and flavours.  Over the course of the evening Johnny and Paul commented that they have been tasting these wines almost daily for the past few months as the blends were being finalised and the final wines approved, and the wines are still changing and fascinating them with every tasting. 

As Paul, Johnny and the team from our UK distributor, Fells, were setting up the tasting the aromas filled the room long before they had finished pouring more than 400 servings.  Guests tasted the 5 component wines that made up the Graham’s 2011 Vintage Port, as well as the finished Graham’s, Graham’s The Stone Terraces, Dow’s, Warre’s, Cockburn’s, Quinta do Vesuvio and Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio.

Paul opened the tasting by observing that in 34 years with the family firm, this is only his 10th declaration, and just the third since 2000.  A declaration is a serious decision and presenting the wines serious occasions for him and his cousins, and whilst they were certain during the harvest of 2011 that they had produced some special wines, it has been an anxious year and a half for them as they tasted and assessed the wines over the past 18 months and finally resolved on the declaration of the 2011 Vintage Ports.

At the end of the tasting, Paul brought up this point again, adding that the 2011s are distinctly a product of the impact his generation – the 4th generation of Symingtons – have had on the firm.  Paul, his brother Dominic and cousins Rupert, Charles and Johnny have been responsible for really quite revolutionary changes from the way their fathers made Port:  on their watch Symington Family Estates

• has invested in quintas in the Douro, as have individual family members, bringing the family-owned total to 26 quintas,
• built or restored boutique wineries which are dedicated to vinifying the grapes for individual brands,
• designed the modern lagares that produce superb classic Vintage Ports,
• and began steadily replanting vineyards beginning in the 1980s.

The 2011 Vintage Ports from Symington are the direct result and prove the success of all those strategies:  every wine has been made exclusively from grapes from Symington-owned quintas, every wine has been made in lagares (the first vintage to be made 100% in lagares since 1963), and the finished Vintage Ports include many component lots derived from the now-mature plantings of the 1980s.

To introduce the 2011s, the weather and viticultural challenges of the year were reviewed (see Paul’s 2011 Douro Harvest Report and the 2011 Vintage Report for details) and then Johnny kicked off the tasting.

First up were samples of the five component wines – one from each of Graham’s Quintas – that made up the Graham’s 2011 Vintage Port.  Each one contributes its own unique character, but also works to balance the others, and the complete Graham’s 2011 Vintage Port is a classic.  Paul describes the Graham’s as incredibly profound and complex, with good tannins and acidity and a schistous finish, whilst  Johnny commented on the incredible balance of this powerful, intense wine, and its lingering finish.

In contrast, Graham’s The Stone Terraces 2011 is a new departure for us, a special edition Vintage Port which Paul calls idiosyncratic, and one he is keen to watch develop in coming years.  This wine speaks of its unique terroir – two very old stone-terraced vineyards at Quinta dos Malvedos – and is quite a contrast to the Graham’s – cool and linear versus the big, voluptuous Graham’s, as Johnny put it.  The Graham’s Port Blog has much more detail about the both the Graham’s 2011 and The Stone Terraces Vintage Ports.

As the tasting continued, all the 2011s tangibly demonstrated the incredible diversity of terroir in the Douro, each wine showing a unique character – you could never mistake one for another.  As Paul and Johnny introduced each wine, they spoke of the quintas and their unique qualities and how these came through in the Ports.

Warre’s 2011, as always, is the most elegant, feminine and fragrant of the Symington brands, which comes from the higher altitude vineyards of Quinta da Cavadinha and neighbouring quintas privately owned by members of the Symington family, around 400 to 500 metres.

With the Cockburn’s 2011 Vintage Port we hope to re-discover the greatness of this brand which was, quite simply, the most sought-after Vintage Port for the first half of the 20th century.  Head winemaker Charles Symington together with his cousins thought long and hard about the lessons learned at the Cockburn’s DNA Tasting last September, and have tried to re-create the style that made Cockburn’s so appealing. 

As a result the decision was made to re-dedicate Quinta do Vale Coelho to Cockburn’s, as it was clear that the uniquely aromatic wines of this quinta were a significant part of the Cockburn’s alchemy. Both Vale Coelho, which was purchased by Cockburn’s in 1893, and Quinta dos Canais have long histories of contributing to Cockburn’s wines.  Both are located in the easternmost sub-region of the Douro with extreme conditions of hot dry summers and cold winters.  Cockburn’s 2011 is not a blockbuster wine, not “muscle bound,”  but rather a Vintage Port of great finesse and poise, with simply beautiful aromatics, structure and balance.

Paul recounted a story which wine writer Steven Spurrier had told at September’s DNA Tasting, how a glass of Cockburn’s 1908 given him by his grandfather was the most extraordinary experience of his life and the reason he entered the wine trade.  Steven was at yesterday’s tasting and confirmed the story, adding that he thought the Cockburn’s was the best wine on the table.

Dow’s 2011 Vintage Port is classic Dow’s, distinctive for its refinement, austerity and of course the unmistakably drier Dow’s finish.  Though you can discern notes of red current and cassis, and bitter chocolate on the finish, this is not an opulent wine, but rather “finely-edged” as Paul expressed it.

Paul introduced the Quinta do Vesuvio 2011 Vintage Port by saying a vintage at Vesuvio is one of those things you must see before die.  All the romanticism of winemaking comes true in the treading of the grapes by a team of 50 people in the immense stone lagares.  The only difference in the winery since it was built in 1827 is a few electric lights.  Whilst it took the Symingtons a few years to fully understand the immense north-facing property in the Douro Superior, since 1994 the sheer quality of the Vesuvio wines has never ceased to amaze.  The wines are like velvet, just incredibly smooth, balanced, classic, with peppery tannins… as Johnny took another sip of his own glass he said “there is nothing lacking in this wine.”  One of the guests commented that the wine is “very inviting” and perfect for a new consumer of Vintage Port.

The same quinta also produces the limited edition Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio 2011 Vintage Port, which is made from grapes all sourced from a unique, relatively level low-lying parcel near the river, the Vinha da Escola.  The wine is quite different from Vesuvio 2011, “with so much going on” as Johnny put it – gorgeous freshness, nice tannins and a long spicy finish.  Paul picked this one as being the most “violetty” of our 2011 Vintage Ports, saying this violet note in young wines turns to cinnamon as it ages, and it will be fascinating to see how this wine matures.  When asked their thoughts on the Capela, attendees named a whole range of flavour notes they found in the nose and palate – licorice, mint, peach, very dark chocolate, vanilla pod.

Rupert and Dominic will be travelling in coming weeks to introduce Symington’s 2011 Vintage Ports to trade and press in the USA, whilst the wines are being bottled this week and next here in Vila Nova de Gaia.  Stay with us here on The Vintage Port Site Blog and @VintagePortSite on Twitter for more stories behind the individual wines and news of availability around the world.

Visiting Graham’s Lodge and the Vinum Restaurant is a wonderful opportunity to taste Vintage Port as well as other styles of Port by the glass.  Of course seeing the Lodge is an unforgettable experience and the restaurant is wonderful, but there aren’t many places where you can enjoy 20 different Ports, including at least 7 Vintage Ports by the glass, and in the restaurant nearly 50 more Vintages are available by the bottle.

Your tour of the Graham’s Lodge includes a tasting of 3 Ports – you can choose between a range to introduce you to the basic white, tawny and ruby styles of Port, or you can choose a trio of either Rubies, Tawnies or Vintage Ports, and you can always add a Vintage Port by the glass to any tasting.  If you like, you can raise a toast to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with a glass of Graham’s 1952 Jubilee Colheita.

The Vintage Room at Graham’s Lodge

If you choose the Vintage Port or other Premium tasting, your tour will conclude in the private-club atmosphere of the Vintage Room at the Graham’s Lodge, where one of our knowledgeable staff will introduce the wines to you and answer all your questions.  We have selected trios of of wines which we think will help you learn more about Vintage Port. 

• Taste three of our brands side by side,  for example the lusciousness and complexity of Graham’s alongside the drier, sometimes austere spiciness of Dow’s and the velvety power and richness of Vesuvio. 
• Taste the terroir of the Douro by comparing three of our Quinta Vintage Ports from Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha in the Pinhão Valley just a few kilometres north of the Douro, Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim on the river front at Pinhão and Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos further upriver.
• Enjoy a vertical tasting of Graham’s 1983, 1994 and 2007 – ideal to understand how the flavour profile of Vintage Port matures in bottle.
• Compare bottle aged versus cask aged Ports:  Quinta do Vesuvio 1994 Vintage Port, Graham’s 30 Year Old Tawny, and the Graham’s 1969 Single Harvest Tawny.

We always keep on hand a range of Vintages from all our brands, across a spectrum of ages:  on a recent visit, the choice included Graham’s 1983, Dow’s 1985, Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim 1999, Quinta do Vesuvio 1994, Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha 1996, Graham’s 2007, and Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos 1999.

The Vintage Room has a library of books about Port, the Douro, wine and winemaking as well as a selection of wine and lifestyle magazines if you would rather relax with your glass in one of the very comfortable wing chairs and read for a little while.  The room is also a bit of a treasure trove of Graham’s memorabilia – many old bottles and decanters and all the old lote books in which we recorded every batch of wine made each harvest.  If you are familiar with the story of Graham's Six Grapes, you will know that the six grape insignia was used in these lote books to identify the highest quality wines that had the potential to become part of a Vintage blend.  You can see those entries for yourself – the books are fascinating.

And whilst in the Vintage Room, look for AJ Symington, who founded the Symington dynasty in Portugal.  Not only is his portrait over the fireplace, but by a trick of light and reflection, he appears to haunt the Vintage 1983 Graham’s in the refrigerator behind the bar!

At the Vinum Restaurant

If you go on to enjoy a meal in the tapas bar or the Vinum Restaurant, the choice of Ports to enjoy by the glass includes Graham’s Extra Dry White, Six Grapes, 10 or 20 Year Old Tawny, the Graham’s 1969 Colheita, or Quinta do Vesuvio 1994 by the glass.  In addition, every day they select one more Vintage Port to be offered by the glass.

The Vintage Port list includes almost 50 different choices available by the bottle across our brand and quinta vintages, incuding some available in half bottles or magnums.  Our personal picks would include Quinta de Roriz 2007 for a young Vintage with its incredible floral and spice richness, Dow’s 1977 if we needed a magnum, or Warre’s 1963 – how often do you have the chance to drink a legend?

Of course, in addition to the Vintage Ports, you have an enormous choice of bottles across all the Symington brands and styles of Port.  Tawnies include indication of age Tawnies from Graham’s and Dow’s as well as Warre’s Otima 10 and 20 Year Old Tawnies, and colheitas (single-harvest tawnies) by the bottle include Dow’s 1986, Graham’s 1969 or the magnificent Graham’s 1952 which was first released a year ago to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of  Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  If you prefer a Reserve or Late Bottled Vintage, you are spoiled for choice with several offerings each from Graham’s, Dow’s (including the Dow’s Nirvana, specially blended to complement dark chocolate) and Warre’s (the traditional bottle-aged Warre's Late Bottled Vintage 2002 is wonderful) as well as Cockburn’s Special Reserve.

Finally, for dry table wines to enjoy with your main courses we have a selection of fine wines from across Portugal, as well as wines made by our colleagues in Primum Familiae Vini.  From the Douro, in addition to Symington’s own Altano and the Prats + Symington wines, we offer choices from Ramos Pinto, Quinta do Vallado, and Niepoort among others.  From around the world, we offer wines from Hugel (Alsace), Drouhin (Burgundy),  Villa Maria (New Zealand), Torres (Spain, Chile), Vega Sicilia (Spain) and much more. 

Be sure to visit the Vinum website to see the menus and make reservations.  If you have in mind a particular bottle of Vintage, call or email ahead with your request so we can ensure your choice is available and will be ready for you on the day.

The Symington family are very pleased and proud to announce our decision to declare 2011 Vintage Ports for seven of our brands:  Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, Cockburn’s, Quinta do Vesuvio and Smith Woodhouse, as well as the Prats + Symington brand Quinta de Roriz.  In addition, the extraordinary conditions of 2011 have enabled us to once more make the limited edition Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio 2011 (previously made only in 2007), and Graham’s has produced the limited edition Graham’s The Stone Terraces Vintage Port for the first time.  Please follow the hyperlinks to read detailed release notes for each Vintage Port.

Charles Symington, head winemaker for Symington Family Estates, describes the 2011 Vintage Ports as “characterised by an unusual combination of elegance with power and structure.”  These Vintage Ports have an exceptional depth of colour and concentration, and are beautifully balanced on the palate.  The marked minerality of these Ports and what Paul Symington describes as “schist-edged tannins” speak of the unique Douro terroir.

Weather and viticultural conditions were a challenge in 2011 (please consult the 2011 Vintage Report for full details) reducing the crop significantly, but what was harvested was of superb quality.  The grapes for all of these wines were sourced entirely from Symington-owned vineyards, and all the wines were made in lagares (open treading tanks).

The 2011 Vintage Ports are truly the best of the best:  in this extraordinary year, we have selected just a small fraction of our production to create outstanding wines which we are certain will continue the tradition of superb, long-lived Vintage Ports for which our brands are known. 

The combination of a small crop and our own strict selection of only the finest wines has resulted in an overall 30% lower production in 2011 as compared with 2007:  just 8,000 cases (12 / 75cl) of Graham’s Vintage 2011, 5,000 of Dow’s, 3,000 of Warre’s, 3,000 of Cockburn’s.  There are only 2,400 bottles (equivalent to just 200 cases) of the Capela da Quinta do Vesuvio and 3,000 bottles (250 cases) of Graham’s Stone Terraces.

Ever since our real-time-from-the-Douro 2011 harvest reports on the Graham’s Blog and The Vintage Port Site Blog began reporting the fantastic vintage conditions and the quality of the grapes and wines in the lagares, there has been keen anticipation in the market for a 2011 declaration and we expect a strong demand during the en Primeur period.

The wines are being bottled in April and May and will be shipped this summer.  We suggest you contact your wine merchant to discuss their En Primeur offering and reserve your 2011 Vintage Ports. 

For help sourcing these wines:

In the United States, consult the Premium Port Wine Contacts page, which has details of distribution in every state.

In England, contact Vintage Marque to place orders or for referral to a local merchant.

For contacts in other countries, look at the specific brand website (see our Internet Resources page for full list of hyperlinks), or Ask the Expert here on the Vintage Port Site for further advice.

The Graham’s 1890 Port Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia was officially re-opened by Paul Symington and His Excellency the President of the Republic of Portugal Dr. Aníbal Cavaco Silva on 21 March.

Paul Symington, his cousins and other Symington family members were all on hand to welcome The President together with British Ambassador Jill Gallard and Dr. Luis Filipe Menezes, President of the Municipal Council of Vila Nova de Gaia.   Paul personally guided the President through the Lodge, explaining both the continuing traditions and work of the Lodge as the home of Graham’s Port where all our wines are aged, as well as highlighting the newest features, including a museum, public and private tastings rooms, the new shop and of course the Vinum Restaurant. 

The President took a keen interest in all of it, asking many questions of Paul and  stopping to meet Sr. Emilio and the cooperage team.  Naturally his visit concluded with a visit to the Sala do Baptismo where he baptised the wooden tonel “O Presidente” with a glass of tawny port – a tradition begun in 1924 when His Excellency M. Teixera Gomes, then President of the Republic of Portugal, first emptied the contents of a glass of Port on the cask.

The Graham’s 1890 Port Lodge

It has been nearly two years since we inaugurated works on the Lodge.  We had three goals:  restoring the building to preserve the qualities which make this historic lodge the ideal environment for ageing Graham’s superb ports, updating the infrastructure to facilitate the job of our lodgemen who are responsible for the management of 7 million litres of port wine ranging in age from just six or seven months to a hundred years old or more, and creating an unforgettable experience for our 70,000 guests a year.

Visitors now enter at the rear of the building, with access from the Rua Agro.  The entrance is a newly renovated space formerly used for storage and even, at one time, a bottling line.  Here you will find the new Museum area which you can visit at your leisure to learn more about the history of the Graham and Symington families and of the Graham's Port brand.  Your tour begins with a really rather breathtaking vista of row upon row of the traditional wooden pipas – small 550 litre casks used to age Tawny ports – as you descend into the main armazém, or storage space. 

Graham's Lodge guides are, simply, the best in the business.  Every year our guides spend a week in intensive training, learning about how Port is made, from the vineyards and wineries of the Douro, to ageing in our Lodge, blending in the Tasting Room, and finally to the bottling lines.  They have themselves been tutored through a tasting of every single one of Graham’s port styles, as well as all the Symington Douro DOC wines by our winemakers. 

As he or she leads you through the Lodge and into the tasting room, your guide will describe the unique conditions of the Douro and how Port wine is made as well as the history of the Symington family and Graham’s.  Your visit will conclude with a tasting of Graham’s Ports as your guide explains the basic Port styles and how they are made.  If you are already familiar with the basics, we offer a wide array of premium and super-premium tastings that focus on just one style of Port at different ages, or compare Graham’s with Dow’s and Warre’s Vintages, or you can "taste the terroir" of individual Quinta Vintage Ports.  All of Graham's Ports are also available by the glass – including the magnificent Graham's 1952 Single Harvest Tawny which was released last year to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Lodge is now open on summer hours:  9:30 to 18:30 seven days a week, with last tours starting at 17:30.  Our guides can conduct your tour in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian (in the local dialect of Abruzzi if you wish!), French, German, Dutch, Danish, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian.

Large groups should book ahead – please contact the Graham’s Lodge
Tel: +351-22 377 6484 / 85
Fax: +351-22 3776480
E-mail: grahams@grahamsportlodge.com
http://www.grahamsportlodge.com/

Cockburn’s Vintage Ports were among the most sought after in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, often commanding prices greater than either Graham’s or Taylor’s for pre-World War II vintages.  In the 1960’s the family-owned firm was sold to the first of a series of multi-national drinks corporations.  Whilst the new owners did a brilliant job of creating and popularising the Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port, the Vintage Ports seemed to be less of a priority in the later 20th century. 

In 2006 Symington Family Estates purchased all the assets of Cockburn’s and produced the wines under contract for the then owners of the brand, Beam Global Spirits & Wine.  In the following years, wines from Quinta do Vale Coelho were used in the blending of Smith Woodhouse ports, most notably the Smith Woodhouse 2007 Vintage Port.

With the purchase of the Cockburn’s brand in late 2010, the Symington family, lead by head winemaker Charles Symington, set out to re-discover and re-build the Cockburn’s brand, with particular attention to the Vintage Ports.  Last September we held what has been nick-named “The Cockburn's DNA Tasting” in an effort to identify the qualities and taste profile that made Cockburn’s great.  Together with some of the most experienced and knowledgeable Port wine critics from around the world the Symingtons tasted 17 Cockburn’s Vintage Ports from 1896 to 2007 as well as the Quinta dos Canais Vintage 2009 and cask samples of more recent wines.  The qualities most consistently remarked were the finesse and long finish of the finest wines, and Johnny Symington recently remarked that several people observed a note of tropical fruit either on the nose or palate, which is uncommon in Vintage Ports.

As a result of both the review of historic Vintages and our work in the tasting room with the wines produced from each Quinta dos Canais and Quinta do Vale Coelho in recent years, the decision has been taken to re-dedicate Quinta do Vale Coelho to the Cockburn’s brand.  Both quintas have a long history of supplying grapes for Cockburn’s ports, but Quinta do Vale Coelho was actually purchased by the firm in 1893, whereas Canais was only purchased almost 100 years later. 

This tiny quinta – just 11.5 hectares under vine – is on the north bank of the river in the Douro Superior, the hottest sub-region of the Douro winemaking region (see our Douro Map).  Almost half the quinta is old mixed vineyards, the other half divided between Touriga Franca, known for its exotic, rich floral and fruit flavours and long finish, and Souzão which contributes wonderful acidity and depth of flavour.  The production is tiny – just 350 grams of grapes per vine in some years – but the concentration of flavour is absolutely fantastic.  Charles Symington characterises the Vale Coelho wines as being incredibly complex and concentrated, in contrast to the Quinta dos Canais wines which have more finesse, freshness and structure, as well as distinct aromatics of esteva and gum cistus.

With Vale Coelho once again contributing significantly to the Cockburn’s ports, we look forward to more great vintages from this legendary brand.

See the Cockburn’s Brand Profile and the Quinta do Vale Coelho Profile here on the Vintage Port Site for more information as well as the Knowledge Base for information on all Vintages from Cockburns.  The Cockburn’s website has details of the full range of Cockburn’s Ports as well as more history and brand news.  If you are interested in learning more about the Cockburn's DNA Tasting, look at our In The Press feed for links to articles by some of the critics who attended the event.

Michael Symington, que faleceu no dia 25 de Janeiro aos 87 anos, era a principal figura duma família de origem escocesa, há muito residente no Porto e activa na produção de Vinho do Porto há várias gerações.

Seu Avô, Andrew James Symington chegou ao Porto em 1882 com apenas 19 anos, proveniente de Glasgow na Escócia para trabalhar na Graham’s. Em 1891 casou com Beatrice de Leitão de Cravalhosa Atkinson, filha de John Atkinson, um produtor de Porto na Offley Forrester e sobrinha de Edward Atkinson, produtor da firma Smith Woodhouse. Os Atkinson iniciaram o seu percurso no Vinho do Porto em 1814. A mãe de Beatriz descendia de uma longa linhagem de famílias com fortes tradições no Vinho do Porto, incluindo os van Zeller, Kopke, Whittingham e Maynard. Esta último exportou Vinho do Porto para Inglaterra em 1652, a segunda expedição de que há registo de um súbdito britânico. Walter Maynard foi nomeado Cônsul Ingles no Porto em 1656 por Oliver Cromwell, cargo no qual foi confirmado pelo Rei Charles II em 1660, aquando da restauração da monarquia.

O êxito de Andrew James no Vinho do Porto levou-o a tornar-se sócio da venerável empresa Warre & Co., a mais antiga Casa de Vinho do Porto britânica, fundada em 1670. Na condução dessa empresa, juntaram-se-lhe os seus filhos Maurice (pai de Michael) e os gémeos John e Ronald. Em 1912, os Symington tornaram-se também sócios da firma Dow’s, que na altura estava nas mãos da família Warre.

Michael Douglas Symington nasceu no Porto no dia 13 de Maio de 1925, cidade da qual os seus pais também eram naturais. Iniciou o seu percurso escolar no Colégio Inglês do Porto (OBS) e em 1938 deu entrada na Oratory School em Caversham Park no Reino Unido. Em 1943 alistou-se no Exército britânico na famosa ‘Rifle Brigade’ e, depois de receber a patente de oficial, serviu no Egipto e na Grécia, onde foi condecorado.

Em 1947 juntou-se ao seu pai e tios na empresa familiar no Porto. Eram tempos difíceis porque durante a guerra as vendas tinham praticamente desaparecido e o Vinho do Porto não era visto como uma bebida da moda quando a paz regressou. Muitas das históricas casas de Vinho do Porto foram vendidas por falta de esperança num futuro melhor. Mas os Symington persistiram, em parte pela sua forte ligação ao vale do Douro e aos seus vinhos, mas também pelo sentido de dever que sentiam em relação aos seus pais e ao seu legado. O sector do Vinho do Porto deve muito a Michael Symington e a alguns seus contemporâneos que continuaram a acreditar no Vinho do Porto e no Douro, enquanto muitos venderam as suas empresas e deixaram o pais.

Melhores tempos anunciaram-se no princípio dos anos 1960, altura em que dois primos mais novos, Ian e James, entraram também na empresa. A firma foi fortalecida ainda mais com a entrada de mais dois primos — os irmãos Amyas e Peter. Por essa altura, a família Warre optou por se retirar do ramo, deixando as suas participações nas  mãos da família Symington. Por via da reforma de seu pai em 1960, ao que se seguiu também a dos seus tios John e Ronald em 1965, Michael viu-se à frente dos destinos da empresa familiar. Com os seus primos Ian e James, constituiu um triunvirato que dirigiu a empresa nos próximos 25 anos, levando a empresa à posição de destaque que ocupa hoje no seio do Vinho do Porto. Em 1970 os Symington adquiriram a casa Graham’s à família que tinha trazido o seu avô para o Porto em 1882, tornando-se esta empresa um elemento central no projecto familiar de Vinho do Porto.

No sector do Vinho do Porto é habitual declarar Portos Vintage duas ou três vezes em cada década. No seguimento da declaração do 1970, os três primos, Michael, Ian e James, viajaram para Inglaterra para apresentarem o vinho aos clientes, como era tradição. Cada um levou amostras das diferentes marcas da empresa. A Berry Brothers, ilustre garrafeira londrina, quando soube que os três primos Symington viriam a diferentes horas no mesmo dia, colocou uma placa na porta da sua loja de St. James’s Street, onde se lia: ‘Nada de vendedores ambulantes nem Symingtons.’

A revolução de 1974 em Portugal foi um momento difícil. O investimento parou, mas os Symington adoptaram uma atitude optimista, continuando com a actividade diária da sua empresa, contrariando o pessimismo instalado. Disponibilizaram a muitos lavradores do Douro — que subitamente confrontaram-se com a falta de compradores para as suas uvas — a possibilidade de usarem o centro de vinificação da família para processar as suas uvas que, de outro modo, poderiam ter ficado nas videiras. A sua confiança serviu-lhes bem, uma vez que os lavradores do Douro nunca esqueceram esta providência. Os clientes nos mercados de exportação ficariam também muito gratos pela continuidade de fornecimento.

Michael fazia também parte da Direcção do Grémio dos Exportadores de Vinho do Porto, a qual teve de negociar com o governo instalado que pretendia, na sua maioria, a nacionalização em massa do sector do vinho do Porto. Michael e os seus colegas Portugueses conseguiram demonstrar que tais medidas destruiriam um trabalho construído ao longo de três séculos e após muita negociação, o bom senso prevaleceu e as empresas puderam continuar a sua actividade. As casas bem geridas, as da família Symington incluídas, receberam sempre o apoio sem reserva por parte dos seus colaboradores ao longo deste período de instabilidade — um testemunho do respeito longamente construído.

Mais tarde Michael Symington foi decisivo no convite estendido ao Presidente Mário Soares, o primeiro presidente democraticamente eleito depois da ditadura, para um jantar em sua honra na Feitoria no Porto.

Em 1988 Michael foi agraciado pela Rainha Isabel II com a condecoração CBE pelo contributo dado às relações luso-britânicas neste período e pelas suas acções em prol da comunidade britânica do Porto.

Michael Symington orientou a vindima no Douro durante muito anos, tendo sucedido o seu tio Ronald neste papel e por sua vez passando o testemunho ao seu primo mais novo, Peter. Para alem de supervisionar a produção do vinho, o Michael e a sua mulher, Elizabeth, receberam no Douro inúmeras visitas do ramo dos vinhos e jornalistas, muitos dos quais do Reino Unido mas também muitos outros oriundos de todo o mundo. Ao longo de várias gerações tem sido lendária a hospitalidade da família Symington no Douro e no Porto, e o Michael e Elizabeth deram continuidade a essa tradição com o seu trato afável e informal.

Hoje, a empresa familiar dos Symington é a maior do sector do Vinho do Porto e uma das mais importantes empresas de vinhos de Portugal. Com a compra da Cockburn’s há uns anos atrás, a família é agora a maior proprietária de vinhas no vale do Douro, o maior produtor de Vinho do Porto e líder na produção das categorias premium (Reserva, LBV e Vintage etc.). Os Symington são também importantes produtores de vinhos Doc Douro e são sócios da família Blandy de Vinho da Madeira.

Michael Symington seguiu as pisadas do seu avo, pai e tios na forma como amou o Douro e as suas vinhas, passando uma grande parte do seu tempo no pais vinhateiro quando nao estava na sua casa na Maia, inicialmente na Quinta do Bomfim e, depois de reformado em 1990, na sua própria Quinta das Andorinhas, perto de Provesende no vale do Pinhão.

Michael Symington casou em 1951 com Elizabeth Ferreira Pinto Basto Stilwell, oriunda de uma numerosa família luso-britânica de Lisboa. Tiveram uma filha e três filhos, dos quais o mais velho, Paul e o mais novo, Dominic, sucederam-no no seio da empresa familiar. Paul é agora Presidente do Concelho de Administração, trabalhando estreitamente com os seus primos John, Rupert, Charles e Clare, para alem do seu irmão Dominic. Em 2012 Paul foi nomeado ‘Homem do Ano’ pela prestigiada revista de vinhos britânica — Decanter (‘Decanter Man of The Year 2012’).

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Michael Symington, who has died aged 87, was the senior member of a family of Scottish origin long resident in Oporto, Portugal and active as Port producers for several generations.

His grandfather, Andrew James Symington had come to Oporto in 1882 as a young man from Glasgow in Scotland to work in Graham’s, a business with wide interests in Portugal, including Port Wine.  After a few years he left Graham’s and his entrepreneurial spirit served him well as in 1894 he was entrusted by the Portuguese Government with the sale of some 20,000 pipes of Port, the result of a miscarried speculation by the Burnay banking family. He undertook the orderly disposal of this stock on behalf of the Government and avoided the collapse of the market.

In 1891 Andrew James Symington married Beatrice de Leitão de Carvalhosa Atkinson, daughter of John Atkinson, a Port producer in Offley Forrester and niece of Edward Atkinson, Port producer in Smith Woodhouse. The Atkinsons had been in Port since 1814. Beatrice’s mother was descended from a long line of distinguished Port families, including van Zeller, Kopke, Wittingham and Maynard. The latter is recorded as having shipped Port to England in 1652, the second oldest shipment ever made by somebody from the British Isles. Maynard had been appointed English Consul in Oporto in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell and was later confirmed in his position by Charles II after the restoration in 1660. Beatrice’s great-uncle was the 2nd Conde de Santarem, who, aged 16 sailed out of the Tagus in 1807 for Rio de Janeiro with John IV of Portugal and his court on the ships of the Royal Navy under the command of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith as Junot, Napoleon’s General, marched into Lisbon at the start of the Peninsular War. Santarem later became foreign minister and then for a short time Prime Minister of Portugal.

Andrew James’s success in the Port market led him to acquire a few years later the venerable firm of Warre & Co, which had been established in Oporto in 1670, the oldest British Port company. There he was joined in due course by his sons Maurice, father of Michael, and the twins John and Ronald. In 1912 the Symingtons also became partners in Dow’s Port, by then owned by the Warre family.

Michael Douglas Symington was born in Oporto on 13th May 1925, both his parents having also been born in the city. He attended first the Oporto British School and in 1938 went to the Oratory School at Caversham Park near Reading. In 1943 he enlisted in the Rifle Brigade and, after being commissioned, served in Egypt and Greece. In January 1947 he was awarded the Commander in Chief’s Commendation for outstandingly good service by General Sir Miles Dempsey.

In 1947 he joined his father and uncles in the family business in Oporto.  It was a difficult time as sales during the war had been negligible and Port was not viewed as fashionable when peace returned. Many of the historic Port companies were sold at this time as there appeared to be little hope. But the Symingtons persisted, partly due to their great love of the beautiful Douro valley and its wines and partly out of a sense of duty to their fathers. The Port trade today owes much to Michael Symington and a few others of his generation, who continued to believe in Port and the Douro when most were selling out and leaving.

Better times came in the early 1960s by which time two younger cousins, Ian and James Symington, had also come into the business. The firm was to be strengthened in due course by the addition of two further cousins, the brothers Amyas and Peter. At the same time the Warre family had decided to withdraw their interest, leaving the Symingtons owning the Warre and Dow Port companies.       His father having retired in 1960, the retirement of his twin uncles John and Ronald in 1965 left Michael Symington heading the family enterprise. With his cousins Ian and James he formed a triumvirate which ran the business for the next twenty five years, taking it from a modest size to today´s prominent position in the Port trade.  In 1970 the Symingtons bought the Graham´s Port company from the family which had brought their grandfather to Oporto in 1882 and Graham´s soon became a key element of their development programme.   

In the Port trade it is usual for a Vintage year to be declared two or three times in a decade.  Following the declaration of the great 1970 Vintage Port, the three cousins, Michael, Ian and James, each travelled over to the UK to offer the young Port to the wine trade, as was the tradition. Each took samples from one of the different family’s companies. The venerable Berry Brothers, knowing that all three Symington cousins would be coming in at different times on the same day, put a sign up outside their office in St James’s Street saying ‘No Hawkers or Symingtons’.

The revolution in Portugal in 1974 was a testing time for all businesses and the uncertainty led to a number of local bankers and businessmen taking up residence in Brazil, Spain and other countries while awaiting the eventual outcome.  Investment came to a halt although the Symingtons took a sanguine view and continued their daily involvement in the company and built a substantial grape reception centre at one of their vineyards in the Douro valley, defying the pessimism of the time.  They also offered local grape growers, many of whom suddenly found themselves without a buyer, the use of the family´s main wine production centre to process their grapes which otherwise might have been left on the vine. Their confidence was to serve them well, the Douro farmers never forgot and customers overseas were grateful to have continuity of supply.

Although the revolution caused such an upheaval in Portugal, and consequent worry, it also had its lighter moments.  One such occurred in late 1974 when left-wing vigilantes were rife throughout the country.  It was customary for citrus fruit to be sent down to the family from their vineyard properties in the Douro and on one occasion this had been divided up and placed in the family´s cars.  That evening all cars crossing the Douro River into Oporto from the south were being stopped by vigilantes and searched for weapons. When they found five or six cars with their boots full of oranges and grapefruit the vigilantes were convinced that it was a plot and that the fruit must be concealing something.  Only by laboriously removing all the fruit were they satisfied that there were no hidden weapons!     

Michael Symington formed part of a small group advising the British Ambassador in Lisbon of the situation in Oporto.  The north of Portugal was fortunately less affected by demonstrations and violence than Lisbon and the south. Michael was also on the board of the Port Producer’s Association who had to negotiate with the revolutionary Government, most of whom were determined on wholesale nationalistaion of the Port trade and all its vineyards. Michael and his Portuguese colleagues were able to demonstrate that this would certainly destroy three centuries of history and eventually common sense prevailed, and the companies were allowed to continue their work. The better managed Port companies, including those of the Symington family, enjoyed the unstinting support of their workers throughout this revolutionary period, a testament to the respect built up over many years.

Later, Michael Symington was instrumental in inviting President Mario Soares, the first democratically elected President of Portugal since the time of Salazar, to a dinner in his honour at the British Factory House in Oporto.

In 1988 Michael was appointed CBE for his contribution to Anglo-Portuguese relations during this period and for his work in the British community in Oporto.

The Symington business in the Douro valley is centred on Quinta do Bomfim at Pinhão in the Alto Douro.  Michael Symington oversaw the September vintage for many years, having taken over from his Uncle Ronald and eventually handing over responsibility to his younger cousin Peter.  Apart from the supervision of the wine making, Michael Symington and his wife Elizabeth entertained countless wine trade figures and journalists, many from Britain but also many others from all over the world.  Over several generations the hospitality of the Symington family in the Douro and Oporto has been legendary and Michael and his wife Elizabeth maintained this tradition with their friendly and informal manner.

Today the Symington family business is the largest in the Port trade and one of the major wine companies of Portugal.  Having acquired Cockburn´s Port a few years ago, the family is now the most extensive vineyard owner in the Douro, the biggest Port producer and the leader in the production of premium Ports (Reserve, LBV, and Vintage Port).  The Symingtons are also significant producers of Douro red and white wines and are partners with the Blandy family of Madeira in the wines of that island.

Michael Symington followed the tradition of his father and uncles of being a great lover of the Douro valley vineyard country and would spend much of his leisure time there, first at Quinta do Bomfim and later, after his retirement in 1990, at his own vineyard high up in the hills overlooking the Pinhão valley.  

Michael Symington married in 1951 Elizabeth Stilwell of a large Anglo-Portuguese family in Lisbon.  They had a daughter and three sons, of whom the eldest, Paul, and the youngest, Dominic, followed him into the family business.  Paul is now chairman of the family firm working with his cousins John, Rupert, Charles and Clare as well as his brother Dominic. In 2012 Paul was nominated ´Man of the Year` by the wine trade magazine ´Decanter`.      

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