Quinta do Noval, Taylor’s, and Symington Family Estates have all announced the release of a 2023 Vintage Port—although only Noval has made a full classic declaration from a growing season in which the milder, wetter growing conditions came as something of a relief after a series of more challenging years in which extreme heat and drought were the deciding factors in the Douro.
Explaining the shipper’s now-habitual annual declaration of three Vintage Ports (Quinta do Noval Nacional 2023 Vintage Port, Quinta do Noval 2023 Vintage Port, and Quinta do Passadouro 2023 Vintage Port), Quinta do Noval managing director Christian Seely said the vintage yielded wines of “remarkable fruit purity, structure, and aromatic depth. These are Vintage Ports of notable elegance, complexity and balance, already expressive in their youth, but with the structure and depth to age and develop in bottle for many decades.”
Seely summed up the season as “refreshingly temperate. A mild and notably wet winter fully replenished much needed water levels in the soil. A mild and dry spring provided ideal conditions for vine growth and a good early flowering.
“July and August were mild and sunny, with no extreme heat or water stress. This permitted slow homogenous ripening of the grapes through to September, when they were picked in excellent sanitary condition, arriving in the lagares ripe and healthy with clean aromatic expression, phenolic balance and ideal freshness.
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“The results were excellent for several parcels of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, and Sousão. The Nacional and various other old vine field blend parcels were exceptional.”
Taylor’s Sentinels 2023 Vintage Port: Second coming
In a year that the shipper described as “welcomingly wet,” Taylor’s was able to use strict parcel selections to make the second vintage of its Sentinels Vintage Port, a wine sourced from Taylor’s four estates—Terra Feita, Junco, Casa Nova, and Eira Velha—in the heart of the Douro that was first released with the 2022 vintage.
“Following the good growing season of 2023 the rainfall that occurred in early September was both welcome for the more stressed vineyards, but also limited the number of fine parcels available to us,” said David Guimaraens, head winemaker at Taylor’s. “One of the defining factors of making vintage port, like Taylor’s Sentinels, is that I can select the best parcels from the properties and blend them together to show the true expression of the Pinhão Valley’s terroir.
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“As with the first vintage, Taylor’s Sentinels Vintage Port 2023 has the potential to age gracefully in the bottle, with a long life ahead,” Guimaraens added. “However, it is equally approachable and enjoyable in its youth, offering wine enthusiasts the opportunity to experience the exceptional character of the Pinhão Valley from the very first taste.”
Six Symington Single Quinta 2023 Vintage Ports
For Charles Symington, head winemaker at Symington Family Estates, the key to making any Vintage Port in the “moderate conditions” of 2023 “depended on a well-planned picking schedule, agile teams, and favorable weather.” That has resulted, in the Symington family’s case, in six “terroir-driven” Single Quinta 2023 Vintage Port releases sourced from the “best-performing plots” in each estate.
Four of the wines—Quinta do Vesúvio, Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, and Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim—are being offered en primeur in 2025, while Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais will be aged in the family’s cellars for release at a later date.
Described by the family as having “excellent balance, color, and freshness,” the wines represent the “pinnacle of what we produced from the 2023 harvest” from a producer that last declared a classic Vintage six years ago with the 2017 harvest.
