Vintage: 2018

VintageProduct CodeFormatClosureAvailability
2018FE408B186 x 75Natural CorkAvailable
Vegetarian
Vegan
Producer

Founded in 1751, when British shippers dominated the Port trade, Ferreira is the oldest Port house currently in existence and remains a firm favourite in the domestic market. Under the leadership of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, one of the formidable widows of the world of wine, the company became the force it is today. Dona Antónia was an astute businesswoman, expanding the company’s vineyard holdings, developing viticulture in the Douro Superior and protecting the company’s library stocks. She also fought to improve the quality of life for impoverished people of the Douro, building schools and hospitals and supporting them during the phylloxera crisis. Dona Antónia was ahead of her time, recognising the importance of vineyard ownership to guarantee quality in a period when most Port houses bought bulk wine from farmers. By her death in 1896, Ferreira had become the largest Douro landowner with numerous illustrious Quintas to her name, including Quinta do Vesúvio, Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta do Vale Meão. In yet another testament to her enduring legacy, the Portuguese public recently voted to name a new bridge being built in Porto, the ‘Dona Antónia’ bridge.

Today, Ferreira's flagship vineyard is the 27-hectare Quinta do Porto. Planted in 1771 and acquired by Dona Antónia in 1863, the vineyard is located on the north bank of the Douro, downstream from the village of Pinhão and facing Sandeman’s Quinta do Seixo on the south bank. The combination of this warmer mesoclimate, due to the south/south-west exposure of the terraced vineyards, and proximity to the river, creates Ports characterised by an exuberant ripeness and exceptional concentration, alongside excellent balance. Old-vine parcels, described by winemaker Luís Sottomayor as “over retirement age”, produce low yields of intensely flavoured grapes and form the backbone of many of the top Ports in the Ferreira range. The entire Quinta is dry farmed using sustainable practices and harvesting is carried out by hand.

Ferreira’s ‘Quinta do Porto’ Single Quinta Vintage Port is the purest expression of this vineyard’s unique sense of place. The 2019 vintage blends 42% Touriga Franca, 36% Touriga Nacional and 22% fruit from a small field-blend parcel of over 100-year-old vines. It has a beautiful depth of flavour with layers of brooding black fruit married with hints of mint and a stony minerality and was awarded the Vintage Port Trophy at the 2022 International Wine Challenge.

Luís claims that Vintage Ports are “made by God, with the help of men”. If this is the case, the almighty certainly had a hand in the latest declaration: the 2018 Vintage Port was awarded a perfect 100-point score by Wine Enthusiast’s Roger Voss who described it as immensely age-worthy and impressively structured, striking “a perfect balance between its powerful, spicy fruits and firm tannins”.

Luís’ adage continues that Aged Tawnies, conversely, are “made by men, with the help of God”. So, it is mostly Luís’ expertise in the art of Aged Tawny blending that secured the ‘Dona Antónia’ the 10-Year-Old Tawny Port Trophy at the 2023 International Wine Challenge, while the ‘Dona Antónia’ 20-Year-Old won a Gold Medal, following on from its own Tawny Port Trophy at the 2021 International Wine Challenge. While the 10-Year-Old is elegant and aromatic, blending notes of mellow red fruit with roasted nuts, marmalade and caramel, the 20-Year-Old is intense and complex, bursting with evolved flavours of dried figs and apricots, roasted hazelnuts, baking spice and toffee.

Ferreira’s ‘Dona Antónia’ 30-year-old Tawny Port, presented in a unique onion-shaped bottle and wooden gift box, is staggeringly complex and demonstrates the Ferreira house style defined by a signature richness. It was awarded both the Tawny Port Trophy and the 30-Year-Old Tawny Port Trophy at the 2023 International Wine Challenge.

The three white Ports in the Ferreira range all offer something different. The Dry White Port is young, fresh and bursting with citrussy aromatics. The Reserva has spent an average of seven years ageing in oak casks and has a delicious raisiny richness on the palate. The ‘Dona Antónia’ 10-Year-Old White Port, the most opulent of the three, is a blend of white Ports made from late-harvested grapes and aged oxidatively in cask for 8 to 15 years. Amber in colour with intense aromas of dried citrus peel, nuts and caramel, it perfectly marries oomph and elegance.

Vineyards

Grapes for the Ferreira Vintage Ports are sourced from the best plots on the Quinta do Porto and Quinta do Caêdo estates. Quinta do Porto is the oldest Ferreira property, planted in 1771 and acquired by Dona Antónia in 1863. Located in the heart of the Cima Corgo, on the north bank of the Douro river, it is a prime vineyard location with excellent southerly exposure, schist soils and a large proportion of old vines, described by Luís Sottomayor as 'over retirement age'. The Quinta do Caêdo vineyards are on both sides of the Caêdo tributary on the south bank. The terraces are supported by dry stone walls over 100 years of age. Both estates are sustainably farmed and the grapes are harvested by hand.

Vintage

2018 was a challenging vintage in the Douro due to unsettled weather at the beginning of the growing cycle. An extremely dry and cold winter delayed budburst and a particularly rainy spring led to increased disease pressure in the vineyards, which resulted in lower yields. Nevertheless, the spring rains replenished water reserves in the soil and sustained the vines through the hot and dry summer that followed. The grapes harvested were top quality with great concentration and balance – ideal for the production of Vintage Port. "2018 is one of the best, if not the best, vintage years I have witnessed”, claims Luís.

Vinification

Vinified at the Quinta do Seixo winery, the grapes were foot trodden in granite lagares. This traditional method achieves the perfect levels of extraction of colour, tannin and flavour. When the ideal balance between these components was achieved, the fermentation was halted by fortification with top-quality grape spirit. The wine remained at Quinta do Seixo over the winter and was then transported to the Ferreira cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia in the spring of 2019, where it was aged in oak casks. During this period the wine underwent several rackings and careful analysis and tasting by Luís Sottomayor. The final blend was assembled from his careful selection of the finest casks and the 2018 Vintage declaration was made in April 2020.

Tasting Notes & Technical Details

Deep ruby in colour. There is great intensity and complexity on the nose with aromas of blackberry and black cherry married with floral nuances, balsamic notes and tobacco box spice. On the palate, it is both powerful and elegant, with firm but rounded tannins, a subtle stony minerality and a well-integrated acidity that carries the brooding black fruit and spice flavours onto the long and harmonious finish.

Alcohol (ABV)

20%

Acidity

4.6 g/l

Residual Sugar

103 g/l

pH

3.6

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