Dow's 1998
Quinta da Sra. Ribeira
Single Quinta Vintage Port
A new beginning for this property.
Description
The superb quality of Senhora da Ribeira’s wines has long made them one of the principal components of Dow’s Vintage Ports in “declared” years. Of the 1998 Vintage, the company’s Bicentennary year, only 2500 cases of the very finest wine from Senhora da Ribeira have been selected, all of which will be released “en primeur”. We believe this wine to be of quite exceptional quality.
This wine will repay the patience of allowing it to mature for 12, 15 or more years in bottle. It will then develop the magic bouquet and flavour unique to Vintage Port. Shows all the hallmarks of a classic Dow’s Vintage, with an intense deep purple colour and on the nose, opulent floral scents of violets and roses.
Our Expert's Recommendation
"This Single Quinta Vintage is beginning to show some of the wonderful characteristics of bottle matured wine. It can be drunk now but will repay a few more years in your cellar."
Press Comments
“My first taste of Senhora’s fruit which come across with very dark inky purple nose. This property was acquired by Dow’s in 1890 and along with Quinta do Bomfim, makes up the backbone of the Dow VPs. Senhora da Ribeira is located in the most Eastern section of the Douro superior, which is close to the Spanish border and receives very little rainfall and intense heat in the summer. The vines get stressed and the Ports reflect their terroir. Smoky and fresh floral notes with rich raspberry and dense strawberry flavours that are almost jammy, with chewy tannins and an intensity that I enjoyed. This would be a nice addition to the cellar”.
"The real revelation of the lunch was a young vintage port that was so delicious... Quinta Senhora da Ribeira is a small wine farm just across the Douro from Quinta do Vesuvio... having supplied some luscious fruit for Dow all along. The vines are old and this foot-trodden debut vintage could well turn out to be the finest 1998 port of all. Loaded with fresh mulberry fruit, with the frankest, softest, possible appeal, this wine is glorious to drink now and will probably continue to be so for another year or so before it goes into its shell and becomes, eventually, a grown-up vintage port as opposed to ‘sweet red wine’ of the finest sort."
"Deep, dark colour; floral in character with violets both on the nose and in the mouth, lacking a steel girder in terms of structure but peppery tannins rise towards the finish. Elegant. Approachable within 10 years”.
“This wine won’t be shipped into this country until January 2001, so you’ll have to cheat on Christmas Day and give the recipient an impressive card to show what they will get in the New Year. But get in quick because only 2,500 cases of Senhora were produced from the ancient vines that surround this property in the Upper Douro Valley. The wine has been released for sale in impeccably smart six-bottle oak cases, each containing a specially designed corkscrew. This is one of the most impressive ports I’ve ever tasted, capturing a deep purple colour, intense berry aromas and flavours, violets and roses and a superb finish”.
“Everything is big about this Vintage: density of colour, tight, austere, virile aroma with lots of vegetal and floral nuances (which we are told, are typical of this Quinta), tannic but not violent. If you admire uncut diamonds, then help yourself now. If you prefer them more refined, then wait another 15 years. And don’t forget…diamonds are forever!”
Additional Information
For more information about Dow's, please visit
http://www.dows-port.com/
Click here to download the Quinta profile.
Click here to download the wine specification sheet.