There has been an interlude of seven years since the last major Vintage Port declaration, the longest gap since 1934–45, when rather more pressing global factors came into play.
This doesn’t mean that there have not been some good years and excellent wines since (witness Warre’s beautiful 2020 Vinhas Velhas), but the intervening years have all been characterized by extremes in one way or another. In 2018, 2020, and 2022, it was the heat; 2019 and 2021 were cool and variable; and 2023 looked like a classic until heavy rain interrupted the vintage. Then there was the little matter of Covid to contend with, social distancing ruling out the time-honored foot-treading of the grapes in lagar.
The wonderful thing about 2024 Vintage Port is that it was all very normal. Charles Symington—who took over the winemaking for Dow’s, Graham’s, and Warre’s more than 30 years ago—summed up 2024 as “a classic, old-style year.” With climate change at the forefront of so many minds (the temperature rose to a record-breaking 117°F [47°C] at Pinhão in July 2022), there was nothing much extreme or erratic about the 2023/24 growing season.
The positive aspect that set it apart was the exceptionally wet winter, which kept the soils at full capacity from November 2023 until March 2024. The season began with a warm, dry spring and early summer. Budburst, flowering, and the pintor (literally “painter” or veraison) all fell at about average times. June was warm, without the so called escaldão de São João, the scalding heat that burned the nascent grapes at the time of the São João holidays in both 2020 and 2022. July 2024 was hot but without the extremes of previous years. There was a heat spike in August, but it didn’t last; and from August 15 onward, daytime temperatures were in the high 80s F (low 30s C) with relatively cool nighttime minima through to the end of vintage.
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Picking began on September 4 with the Sousão grape variety, prized for its color and acidity. Vintage began properly on September 11. (This compares with August 29 in 2022 and another exceptionally early harvest in 2020, when all the many different grape varieties seemed to ripen at the same time.) There was a small amount of rainfall at the end of September, but otherwise conditions were perfect all the way through to the end of the vintage in October. Yields were around average, and wines were balanced, with Baumé levels registering around 13–14° all the way through harvest. The two principal grape varieties, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, ripened to perfection in 2024.
Charles Symington discusses the year thus: “The 2024 Vintage Ports whisper rather than shout. After years of heat-driven power, these wines are characterized by their precision: taut structures wrapped in pure, crystalline fruit. This is Douro elegance with backbone, and refinement with staying power. It was worth the wait.”
It is worth adding how 2024 Vintage Port differs from earlier declarations from the Symington perspective. Symington Family Estates now includes Cockburn’s, Dow’s, Graham’s, Smith Woodhouse, Warre’s, and Quinta do Vesúvio. Among them, these houses have more than 1,000ha (2,470 acres) of vineyard to their names, and with all the 2024s made from their own fruit, Charles Symington has full control. (Compare this to the 250ha [617 acres] that the family owned when Charles started winemaking in 1995.) He highlights “the big improvement in viticulture” in the interim, adding that “these wines are made to be in balance from the first day.” This means that they can be enjoyed much earlier than in the past, despite having the same longevity in bottle as previous classic years. “Concentration and balance are equally important,” he adds, with grape varieties such as Alicante Bouschet and Sousão valuable in this regard, giving acidity and tannin to the blend. (Dow’s 2024 contains 10% Alicante Bouschet, and 2024 Warre’s has 11% Sousão.) Charles Symington goes on to say that, as far as the Symington family is concerned, Alicante has effectively replaced Tinta Barroca, a variety that has been a victim of climate change. Alicante is, for them, the new “safety grape” that gives acidity and smooth ripe tannins. Sousão (a variety that has long been a part of Noval’s legendary Nacional Port) ripens early and “gives better aromas than Alicante.” All the 2024s were trodden in lagar, either by foot in the case of Quinta do Vesúvio or in the so-called robotic lagares developed by the Symington family over the past 25 years.
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Tasting Symington Family Estates 2024 Vintage Port
I was very privileged to have a preview of the nine 2024 Vintage Port wines declared by Symington Family Estates in mid-March 2026, a month or so before the wines were officially declared. All the wines were cask samples, with one or two final blends having only recently been adjusted, prior to the declaration, which took place on April 14. I naturally tend to look at the architecture of these wines at this stage, and Vintage Port can range from Baroque to Brutalist. Like a building, these wines can be understood and even enjoyed now but will age and hopefully still be appreciated decades ahead. For this reason, I have not added drinking dates to the notes below. The wines are listed in the order in which they were presented.
2024 Warre’s
RM | A blend of 38% Touriga Franca, 34% Vinha Velha (old, interplanted vines), 17% Touriga Nacional, and 11% Sousão from Quinta da Cavadinha, neighboring Netas, and lower-altitude Quinta do Bom Retiro in the Rio Torto. Lovely, inky, crimson color. Dense and rather gorgeous but still sullen and withdrawn on the nose, though the aromatic character began to emerge in the glass. It smells ripe and complete and tastes similarly rich, fleshy, and broad, with firm, spicy-peppery tannins and a long, linear finish. This is not a big wine, but it is supremely elegant and graceful, with great purity. 4,280 cases in total. | 96
2024 Dow’s
RM | From Quinta do Bomfim in the Cima Corgo and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira in the Douro Superior, a blend of 40% Touriga Franca, 35% Touriga Nacional, 15% Vinha Velha, and 10% Alicante Bouschet. If anything, deeper in color than the Warre’s above. Gloriously ripe on the nose and expressive already, with a nicely lifted touch of hedgerow fruit giving off a lovely perfume. Suave and smooth initially, especially for Dow’s, with peppery, tannic grip rising in the mouth, long and linear, tight-knit and dry in style, as befits Dow’s (3.4° Baumé), but in no way brutal or overpowering on the finish, with beautiful definition. This is certain to be a classic. 5,535 cases. | 97
2024 Graham’s
A blend from all the Graham’s quintas: Malvedos and Tua with Vila Velha and Vale de Malhadas, the latter in the Douro Superior, 55% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca, 9% Vinha Velha, and 6% Sousão. Characteristically deep and inky in color. Subdued on the nose, with just a touch of heat showing through, dusty earth, with mint and eucalyptus. Similarly dusty, ripe, and fleshy on the palate, with breadth and sweetness, firm but broad ripe tannins piling up mid-palate, leading to a long, structured, spicy finish, again well defined and magnificent overall. 5,935 cases. | 98
2024 Graham’s The Stone Terraces
The sixth vintage of this wine from two terraces, facing east, west, and north at the heart of this predominantly south-facing estate; a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Alicante Bouschet, and Sousão, co-fermented in lagar. Again deep in hue, with a rather wonderfully exotic, tropical-fruit ripeness evident on the nose: a hint of mango chutney, fragrant, ripe but in no way jammy. Sweet and succulent initially on the palate, with firm, ripe, fine-grained but still gritty tannins rising in the mouth to a “wow” of a finish, a real peacock’s tail that expands in the mouth. Brilliant and beautiful. Just 520 cases. | 99
2024 Quinta do Roriz
The third vintage from this estate, which is responsible for producing Chryseia Douro wine; just 360 cases from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Sousão. Deep in hue, with open, rich, cassis-like aromas, with lovely, approachable, lithe, spicy fruit combining a green edge with a touch of licorice and a grippy finish. A lovely wine, if a little simpler and shorter than its peers. | 91
2024 Smith Woodhouse
RM | Based on Quinta da Madelena in the Rio Torto, a blend of 40% Touriga Franca, 30% Touriga Nacional, with 30% Vinha Velha. Again a good, deep, inky color. Rich but still slightly spirity and disjointed on the nose. (This was the last wine here to be adjusted, so this can easily be forgiven.) Lovely plush fruit on the palate, polished yet firm and well defined; some spirity burn on the finish, which still seems a bit raw, but this is just a phase. | 89+?
2024 Cockburn’s
RM | A blend from Quinta dos Canais and Vale Coelho, both in the Douro Superior, with a high proportion of Touriga Nacional (63%), 24% Touriga Franca, 9% Alicante Bouschet, and 4% Sousão. Characteristically deep in color, like all these wines. Open and gentle on the nose, with a pronounced floral character (orange blossom). Similarly suave and gentle initially on the palate, mouth-filling and very flattering in style; some dark-chocolate concentration, with the tannins rising to a lovely rich, complete, firm finish. 2,980 cases. | 94
2024 Quinta do Vesúvio
RM | Just 1,510 cases, representing 4% of the total production of this magnificent estate on the south side of the River Douro in the Douro Superior (and therefore mostly north-facing); 47% Touriga Franca (planted in the 1970s), 30% Touriga Nacional, 13% Alicante Bouschet, 10% Sousão. Very deep, inky, crimson hue. Restrained but well defined on the nose: lovely pure berry fruit, with a nice green edge. This freshness and purity of fruit is evident on the palate, too, with spicy tannins rising in the mouth; lovely definition and a finish that has perfect poise, despite being the sweetest of all the wines at 4.2° Baumé. | 96
2024 Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio
RM | The sixth Vintage declaration, blending Vinha Velha, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Alicante Bouschet, and Sousão from the heart of the estate; just 430 cases. Inky and dense, with tight-knit yet complex aromas, with a floral character and a hint of lavender. Immediately rich and dense in style: dark-chocolate concentration, with big, bold, ripe tannins that rise and explode in the mouth. All there, mighty yet refined, with a lovely fine-grained finish. At 3.6° Baumé, made to a drier style than Quinta do Vesúvio. | 98
