Ferreira, `Quinta do Porto` Port

Founded in 1751, Ferreira is the only Port house to have stayed in Portuguese hands since its inception. The house remains a firm favourite with port lovers in the domestic market and globally, defined by its historic reputation for unrivalled quality. Today, award-winning fortified winemaker Luís Sottomayor continues Ferreira’s legacy, making critically acclaimed Ports that rank among Portugal’s greatest wines. Most recently, this has included the 2018 Vintage Port, which received a perfect 100-point score from Wine Enthusiast.

Luís Sottomayor may be the modern hero of Ferreira, but it was under the tutelage of Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira, one of the formidable widows of the world of wine, that the house’s historic reputation was cemented. Dona Antónia was ahead of her time, developing viticulture in the Douro Superior and maintaining the house’s impressive holding of older wine stocks. She also recognised 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 testament to her enduring legacy, the residents of Porto recently voted to name a new bridge, due to open in 2026, the ‘Dona Antónia Ferreira’ 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. The 2022 vintage blends 30% Touriga Franca, 20% Touriga Nacional, 10% Sousão and 40% fruit from a small field-blend parcel of over 100-year-old vines. Described by Luís Sottomayor as “full of structure, depth and intensity”, it shows complex notes of red and black fruit, married with pepper and clove spice, and a stoney undertone, ending in a long and powerful finish.

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 in 2024. 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.