214 Port anD the Douro
they sold out to IDV who already owned Croft. The family retained a strong link with the
firm until it was taken over by Taylor Fonseca in 2001. Having briefly formed part of the
Fladgate Partnership, Delaforce was sold to Real Companhia Velha (RCV) in 2008.
Without a vineyard of its own, Delaforce maintained a long-term agreement with the
owners of Quinta da Corte, well located in the lower reaches of the Torto Valley. Alongside
wines from the Roncão and Tavora Valleys, Corte provided the basis for Delaforce vintage
Ports and, since 1978, has been the source of a single-quinta vintage. In the 1970s and
1980s, Delaforce suffered in much the same way as its sister company, Croft. Although the
wines improved substantially in the 1990s (Delaforce produced a full, fleshy 1992), you
have to go back to 1970 to find a big, concentrated wine in the classic mould. It remains
to be seen how Delaforce vintages will fare under the ownership of RCV. Delaforce drew
on stocks of old wine at Corte to produce two excellent tawnies: ‘Curious and Ancient’ is
an apt title for a particularly fine, delicate twenty-year-old, and ‘His Eminence’s Choice’
is a richer ten-year-old. At the other end of the spectrum, Germany is the company’s
principal market with a standard tawny formerly known by the brand name ‘Paramount’.
Delaforce have recently launched a range of Douro reds from vineyards owned by RCV.
dow
Symington Family Estates
travessa Barão de Forrester, 86, apartado 26, 4431-901 Vila nova de Gaia
tel. (351) 223 776 300
http://www.dows-port.com
Dow is the brand name for Ports shipped by the firm of Silva & Cosens. I have to admit to an
in-depth interest in Dow, having written a book – The Story of Dow’s Port – to commemorate
the company’s bicentenary in 1998. The story is an intricate tale of five families, each of
whom have contributed significantly to the history of Port.
The business was established by Bruno da Silva, who left Oporto for London in 1798.
He imported a wide range of Portuguese goods (including Port) and quickly built up a
thriving business in England. Bruno da Silva was joined by one of his sons, John J. Silva,
who brought in Frederick William Cosens as a partner. Silva & Cosens were then joined by
George Acheson Warre, the only son of George Warre, a partner in the eponymous firm.
Warre became a driving force in Silva & Cosens and in the Douro, where he was among the
pioneers in the restoration and replanting of vineyards that followed the phylloxera epidemic
in the 1870s. Dow & Co., a company with roots dating back to the late eighteenth century,
merged with Silva & Cosens in 1877, and James Ramsey Dow took charge of the London
side of the business. Although considerably smaller than Silva & Cosens, Dow had a fine
reputation for its vintage Ports and it was decided to attach the name to the company’s
entire range of wines. Professor George Saintsbury later wrote ‘there is no Shipper’s wine
that I have found better than the best of Dow’s, 1878 and 1890 especially’.
It was in 1882 that Andrew James Symington came to Oporto from Glasgow and began
working for the Grahams’ textile firm. Taking a greater interest in Port than cloth, he became a
partner in the firm of Warre & Co. in 1905; within a few years had become its sole proprietor.