Port ProDuCers anD shiPPers 215In 1912 George Acheson Warre returned to London and offered Symington the opportunity
to manage the Portuguese end of the business with a partnership in Silva & Cosens. This bi-
partisan arrangement continued until 1961 when the Symington family took control.
Symington Family Estates (also owners of Cockburn, Graham, Warre, Smith
Woodhouse, Quarles Harris, Gould Campbell and Quinta do Vesúvio) has been careful
to maintain a separate identity for Dow Port. The wines are closely linked to Quinta do
Bomfim at Pinhão, which was bought for the company by George Warre in 1896. Until
1996 it served as the firm’s main vinification centre but in order to relieve pressure on the
adega, production is shared between Bomfim and a new winery downstream at Quinta
do Sol. Wine from Bomfim’s vineyards, supported by Quinta do Zimbro and Senhora da
Ribeira, has formed the backbone of Dow’s vintage Port for over a century. Since 1978,
Quinta do Bomfim has been released as an SQVP in good years between fully-fledged
declaration, followed by Quinta Senhora da Ribeira from 1998.
Dow Ports are made in a slightly drier style than most. In some years the wines can
verge on austere with a rather bony structure showing through. This is not to denigrate
them in any way, for Dow’s vintage Ports are among my personal favourites. In ripe
years like 2003, 2000, 1994, 1970, 1966 and 1963 the wines have tremendous appeal
with a cast-iron tannic backbone offset by intense concentrated fruit. Dow also performs
exceptionally well in lesser years like 1980 and 1975. A tasting in London organised to
celebrate the company’s bicentenary in 1998 brought together an array of Dow’s vintage
Ports with stupendous wines from 1945, 1924, 1908 and 1896, all of which are still
drinking extraordinarily well.
Mainstream wines in the Dow range share a similar hallmark, right down to ruby,
now called ‘Midnight’ on the UK Market. ‘Trademark’ is a dense, full-bodied reserve
and its LBV is a structured wine packed with berry fruit. Aged tawnies tend to be rich
and seemingly on the youthful side – perhaps not as refined or delicate as some. Dow’s
crusted Ports present much of the breadth and concentration of a declared vintage Port at
a fraction of the price. Dow is at the top of its game.
Feist
c/o Sogevinus Fine Wines, SA
avenida diogo Leite n° 344, 4400-111 Vila nova de Gaia
tel. (351) 223 746 660
http://www.sograpevinhos.eu
In 1836, two cousins left Germany and established themselves in London as Port merchants.
By the 1870s, the business had expanded to the extent that Carl Feist left London for
Oporto to establish a new branch of the business. The company remained in family hands
during the first half of the twentieth century, run by the founder’s son-in-law and grandson.
During the Second World War, the London headquarters were completely destroyed in an
air raid and the family retreated to Oporto. Feist was subsequently taken over by Barros and
became an integral part of the Barros group. Since Sogevinus bought Barros the Feist name
has been quietly dropped, although some old colheitas can still be found on sale.