Vintage Port, DOC Douro ***100 Points – Wine Enthusiast****

Ferreira’s historic Quinta do Porto estate is located in the heart of the Cima Corgo sub-region of the Douro, just downstream from the village of Pinhão. The 27 hectares are on steep hillsides on the north bank of the river with southerly exposure, resulting in Ports with exceptional concentration, weight and structure. The soil in the Douro Valley is made up of schist – a slate-like metamorphic rock that fractures vertically, allowing the vine roots to dig deep to access water and nutrients to sustain them through the hot Douro summers. 22% of the fruit for the 2019 vintage was sourced from a small field blend parcel of over 100-year-old vines. These vines produce very low yields of incredibly concentrated fruit and bring great power and intensity to the blend.

VINIFICATION
Upon arrival at the Quinta do Seixo winery, the hand-harvested grapes were rigorously sorted, destemmed and gently crushed. Fermentation took place in granite lagares with vigorous foot treading to extract the optimum levels of colour, tannin and flavour from the skins before fortification with grape spirit, leaving some of the grapes’ natural sugars. The wines remained in the Douro until the spring following the harvest when they were transported downstream to the historic Ferreira cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. The wines were aged for two years in old oak casks and, after numerous tastings and analysis, the final blend was assembled and bottled in 2021.