vintage Port 169on the vine. Young vineyards were badly affected whereas older vines, with their deeper root
systems, withstood the extreme conditions.
Picking began in the Douro Superior on 11 September and downstream in the Cima
Corgo a week or so later. However, the weather broke on the 13th and more persistent
rain fell after the 20th, which took its toll on grapes picked during the latter part of the
vintage. As a result, 2006 is very variable in the Douro with the best wines produced from
older vineyards at lower altitudes and in the Douro Superior where picking took place
earlier. Consequently this was a single-quinta vintage, which one shipper summed up as
a ‘characterless year’. At the time of writing many of the wines are still big and raw with
many showing the heat of the vintage. I have not come across any outstanding wines, but
2006 has proved to be an excellent year for ripe, fruit-driven LBVs.
Pick of the Vintage: Dow’s Quinta Sra. da Ribeira; Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos;
Kopke Quinta São Luíz; Quinta do Vesúvio.
2005 *** severe drought produced powerful, concentrated wines
The harvest was one of the earliest on record after the driest and warmest growing season
in living memory. Just 197mm of rain fell at Pinhão from November 2004 to July 2005
inclusive. The Douro Superior was even drier and there was no significant rainfall at all
between November 2004 and August 2005, when three days of rain delayed a particularly
early harvest. By this time many outlying villages and quintas were without water and had
to have it shipped in for vintage. Younger vineyards were showing signs of extreme stress.
Although flowering and fruit set were successful, lack of water produced small berries and
limited leaf cover. With heatwaves in June, July and early August, there was a high incidence
of raisinisation. Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional suffered badly from the heat.
Picking began in the Douro Superior on 22 August, followed by the Cima Corgo on 5
September and the cooler, westernmost Baixo Corgo on 12 September – a good ten days ahead
of normal. Rain fell on 6 and 9 September, causing sugar levels to dip for a few days before
rising again. The rain was followed by cool clear skies, making this perfect harvest weather.
Yields were down significantly on average due to the drought. Despite these challenging
conditions, some exuberant concentrated wines were made from the older, more deep-rooted
vines. There were also baked and unbalanced wines including some that were both stewed
and green. Barros, Cálem, Burmester, Kopke and Niepoort declared outright but the majority
of shippers opted for a single-quinta vintage. These are generally big, foursquare wines with
powerful tannins for drinking over the medium to long term: 2015 to 2030.
Pick of the vintage: Croft Quinta da Roêda; Dow’s Quinta Sra. da Ribeira; Fonseca
Guimaraens; Kopke; Niepoort; Pintas, Taylor’s Quinta de Terra Feita; Quinta do
Vesúvio.
2004 * / ** fine, balanced single-quinta wines
After the extremes of the previous two years, 2004 proved to be more amenable but still
not without risk. Wet weather at the end of 2003 was followed by a very dry start to the