Old Porto wine cellar
Want to find out how your birth-year fared? Or want to know which vintages are drinking well now? Our Port vintage guide has you covered.
Jump to the outstanding, widely declared vintages
2017 2016 2011
2007 2003 2000
1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1992 1991
1985 1983 1982 1980
1977 1970
1966 1963 1960
2017
Drink/Keep
The most widely declared vintage to date, with outstanding quality and cellaring potential.
5/5
The fact that this was the first time that two vintages were consecutively widely declared is testament to the superlative quality of the 2017 crop. The growing season was extremely dry as well as, from the end of winter until harvest, very hot with various heat waves through spring and early summer. Intense, short summer storms caused further challenges. However, while yields were significantly reduced by these extreme weather conditions, quality was superb, with harvest bringing in a small but fantastic crop.
The resulting wines have vivid, deep fruit and a paired-down intensity, combining power with elegance and restraint. Sophisticated wines that will age well for decades to come.
2016
Drink/keep
Fantastic vintage, widely declared and with great ageing potential.
5/5
The rather unusual growing season started with a mild and wet winter, followed by an equally wet but oddly cold spring. A scorching, extremely dry summer ensued, with a rainy coda in September. These fluctuations challenged the vines, affecting yields. Quality, on the other hand, was superb: the grapes had concentration, complexity and aromatic nuance. The structure and robustness of the tannins, paired with their elegance and details was particularly noteworthy.
A vintage of concentrated, balanced wines, that will age beautifully.
2015
Drink/keep
An outstanding vintage, which was on the cusp of becoming legendary before being disrupted by intense heat spells.
4/5
A dry spring and early summer promised a healthy crop. However, one of the hottest Junes on record, followed by enduring scorching temperatures, placed vineyards under extreme stress and reduced yields, in some cases significantly. While Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca vines were able to cope and produce very good quality grapes, the other Douro varieties suffered and the grapes were mostly overripe and lacking balance.
While many leading houses declared the vintage, it is largely perceived as a harvest that never quite reached its full potential.
2014
Drink
The bumpy growing season, with significant disease pressure, did not yield consistently good fruit. The vintage went largely undeclared, with most of the crop used for blends and single quintas.
2/5
2013
Drink/Keep
Largely undeclared but with standout single-quinta wines.
3/5
The growing season was uneventful but a very rainy September disrupted harvest and had an impact on both yields and quality.
The vintage went largely undeclared. However, producers that harvested early were able to produce excellent single quintas with very good concentration and structure. A handful of houses released very small allocations of vintage expressions.
2012
Drink/Keep
An excellent vintage, perhaps underestimated due to outstanding quality of the preceding harvest.
5/5
Although extremely dry, the growing season was steady and cool. Yields were low – mostly due to water stress – but produced wines of great finesse, chiselled tannins, aromatic detail and defined fruit. A couple of top producers released vintage wines but most did not declare, releasing single quintas instead – a decision no doubt influenced by the 2011 declaration, rather than by lack of potential in 2012.
2011
Drink/Keep
Outstanding, universally declared vintage, combining elegance and rusticity.
5/5
A rainy winter, waa followed by a warm and dry spring, with patched mildew and hail. The mild and dry summer was disrupted by heat spikes leading to drought, which was mitigated by slime precipitation…
Source : https://www.decanter.com.master.public.keystone-prod-eks-euw1.futureplc.engineering/learn/vintage-guides/vintage-port/port-vintage-guide-380297/
