2007 Vintage Port
An excellent Vintage in the Douro which proved one of the exceptional years where the weather, combined with the work of the viticulturists and the winemakers, produced stunning wines. General declaration.
Drinking Status
These wines can be drunk young by those who enjoy a more fruit driven style, but will also age superbly over the decades to come.
Tasting Notes
The 2007’s are superbly balanced. The cooler than usual summer led to a long and even maturation, resulting in grapes with soft ripe skins and excellent acidity. The wines show great colour (due to the soft skins) and the aromas are intense, with violet and raspberry notes. The palate is perfectly balanced, with rich fruit and elegant tannins leading to a very long and complex finish.
Climatic Conditions
January started with the rather odd weather that has characterized recent years, only 4mm of rain fell in this month and although February brought good rain, March and April were again quite dry. However October and November of 2006 had been wet, giving a very substantial 386 mm of rain in 8 weeks and this was sufficient to replenish the water tables. Throughout the spring and summer all the streams and springs in the Douro valley were running at levels not seen for some years.
The winter was not cold with very few frosts and March brought stunning weather. Miles Edlmann, the Symington viticulturist recorded ‘beautifully crisp and bright, with crystal clear air and plenty of sun….people working in the vineyards in shirtsleeves’. Consequently the vegetative cycle began early with budburst in the experimental vineyard at Cavadinha falling on the 15th March, at least two weeks ahead of normal. April also experienced some beautiful weather, Miles again recorded ‘brilliant clear blue skies, and the Douro looks stunning, the vines have begun to fill out and delineate the terraces with contour lines of green, amazing displays of wild flowers complete the picture’. Flowering came on the 18th May, the same date as last year but still much earlier than 2004 and 2005. Fruit set was again fractionally earlier, with an average date of 22nd May. But during this month, the Douro had overcast skies, cool weather and rain; this caused a certain amount of ‘desavinho’ (poor fruit set).
June was decidedly un-summery with a very wet middle of the month (60mm was measured at Bomfim). July brought more showers on the 15th and 16th that further complicated the fungal situation in the vineyards for those who had trusted to fate. Temperatures dropped sharply on the 23rd and 24th, exactly when a violent weather system brushed the northern edge of Iberia on its way to the UK where it caused severe flooding.
Due to the colder weather, veraison was considerably delayed. Normally the grapes in the river Quintas have changed colour by mid to late July, but this year, these vineyards had mostly green berries into early August. This month was again mild, without the normal searing summer heat. Charles Symington wrote at the end of August ‘The cool nights these last few weeks have been ideal for polyphenolic development, which reached unsually high levels as early as 20th August’. This was a clear indicator that potentially this year could be very special. On the 25th and 26th, 15mm of rain fell which was an excellent bonus to an already well prepared fruit crop. The moderate temperatures of July and August, combined with good soil humidity, had given good acidity, well sized grapes with relatively soft skins with excellent potential for colour extraction.
September started with perfect weather and although a thunderstorm hit the valley on the night of Sunday the 16th, afterwards came beautifully clear days without any cloud, the weather stayed remarkably stable and temperatures dropped a little. Fruit arrived at the wineries at very good temperatures and in perfect condition, the late ripening varieties such as the Touriga Franca having had ideal maturations. On the last few days of September the skies became quite grey and a couple of days of showery weather appeared, it looked as if things were taking a turn for the worse. But on the 2nd October the weather brightened up and fine weather once again returned until the end of the harvesting. The vintage as expected, started some ten days later than average. Due to the cool conditions, it was decided by the Symington wine making team that the order of picking should be changed from the usual pattern of picking the Barroca first to starting the vintage with Touriga Nacional.
Vinification
The Nacional delivered excellent sugar/acidity balance, the phenolic ripeness being ideal with sweet ripe tannins dominating the palate of some tremendously aromatic wines. Barroca was picked following the Nacional with a steady 13° to 14° Baume. This variety did not enjoy the more temperate climate as much, and although it had good graduations the rich ripe style of these wines was not as evident and a more elegant style prevailed which although attractive is quite out of character for a variety that is best known for its robust and structured wines. The vintage then continued with the Tinta Roriz which gave unusual amounts of colour coupled with some fantastic berry fruit aromas. Picking finished with the Touriga Franca which had enjoyed exceptional conditions throughout the vintage.
Winemaker’s Comments
“We are now reaching the final days of the vintage here at Quinta do Bomfim, it is another beautiful clear day with mild temperatures, we have become so used to this type of weather over the last 6 weeks that we have almost started to take this for granted. One feels very fortunate to have had near perfect conditions throughout this vintage allowing us to produce some very promising wines.”
Charles Symington
15th October 2007