Port vintage guide: 1960-2017

Old Porto wine cellar

(Image credit: vuk8691 | Getty Images)

Want to find out how your birth-year fared? Or want to know which vintages are drinking well now? Our Port vintage guide has you covered.

We take a look at the vintages from 1960 to 2017, offering ratings for each year and advising whether the vintage is best to drink now or keep for ageing. Outstanding, widely declared vintages are highlighted, and specific weather conditions and their impact on grape quality and yields are detailed for each year. We also highlights some of the best wines for notable years.

The fact that this was the first time that two vintages were consecutively widely declared is testament to the superlative quality of the 2017 crop. The growing season was extremely dry as well as, from the end of winter until harvest, very hot with various heat waves through spring and early summer. Intense, short summer storms caused further challenges. However, while yields were significantly reduced by these extreme weather conditions, quality was superb, with harvest bringing in a small but fantastic crop.

The rather unusual growing season started with a mild and wet winter, followed by an equally wet but oddly cold spring. A scorching, extremely dry summer ensued, with a rainy coda in September. These fluctuations challenged the vines, affecting yields. Quality, on the other hand, was superb: the grapes had concentration, complexity and aromatic nuance. The structure and robustness of the tannins, paired with their elegance and details was particularly noteworthy.

A dry spring and early summer promised a healthy crop. However, one of the hottest Junes on record, followed by enduring scorching temperatures, placed vineyards under extreme stress and reduced yields, in some cases significantly. While Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca vines were able to cope and produce very good quality grapes, the other Douro varieties suffered and the grapes were mostly overripe and lacking balance.

Although extremely dry, the growing season was steady and cool. Yields were low – mostly due to water stress – but produced wines of great finesse, chiselled tannins, aromatic detail and defined fruit. A couple of top producers released vintage wines but most did not declare, releasing single quintas instead – a decision no doubt influenced by the 2011 declaration, rather than by lack of potential in 2012.

Unusually high temperatures peaked in the end of July and beginning of August (45℃ during the day and 30℃ at night) and continued into harvest season. Some plants shutdown in late August but a spell of rain in early September provided relief and paved the way for an excellent harvest, with little but very concentrated grapes. These produced muscular, complex, tannic wines with great ageing potential.

A cool, wet spring and early summer slashed yields and induced mildew and oidium in many vineyards. After a period of unrelenting heat in high summer, a minute but potentially outstanding vintage appeared to be on the cards. Picking began in the Douro Superior on 14 September and by 24 September the harvest was underway. Unfortunately, the heavens opened at the same time, diluting sugar levels and turning a potentially great vintage into a curate’s egg: merely good in parts.

An uneven year in that an abnormally warm, dry spring led to an early burst of growth and then gave way to cool, wet weather in June and July. The heat returned in August and by mid-September grapes were showing good sugar levels and the harvest began in earnest. Apart from a localised downpour, picking continued without incident and it was clear that a good, possibly great, vintage was in prospect.

Apart from Croft and Delaforce, who opted for single-quinta Ports, all the major shippers declared in the spring of 1999. The most promising wines (combining elegance and structure) are those from well-situated quintas at lower altitudes in the Cima Corgo and these wines form the basis of the finest declared wines. A few wines are rather lean and one-dimensional but the best have solid, sinewy tannins and will age well for the long term. There is a strong similarity in style with 1983. Prices were up by around 30% on the highly acclaimed 1994s.

The prolonged drought that had become quite desperate in parts of southern Portugal broke spectacularly in the winter of 1995/96. The winter deluge gave way to a mild spring and, with so much ground water, vines sprouted in all directions. Development was slow and as a result the harvest began late at the end of September and early October. Yields were vast but sugar levels remained on the low side and many of the wines tasted dilute.

From then on it was plain sailing all the way through to the harvest. The threat of rain in mid-September rekindled memories of 1993 (a quagmire) and a few growers panicked and harvested too early. The majority kept their nerve and by 20 September the grapes were fully ripe and picking was well underway. Winemakers were helped by cool, clear nights which served to slow down fermentations and the lagares took plenty of work.

It was clear as soon as the wines were run from the lagares that a fine vintage was in the bag, and the shippers could hardly conceal their glee at the prospect of a major vintage declaration. By the time the wines were offered in the spring/summer of 1996, the market had recovered fully from the recession of the early 1990s with the US having become particularly receptive to vintage Port. Opening prices rose considerably and in some cases have continued to soar, perversely overtaking mature vintages like 1970. The wines were appealing from the start, with ripe fleshy fruit concealing the underlying tannic grip that will enable these wines to stand the test of time.

The winter was unseasonably dry throughout Portugal and the drought continued until June, when a few days of rain proved to be very beneficial. Fortunately, the flowering was early and therefore not affected. The remainder of the summer was generally dry but not unduly hot, and a few short sharp showers in August helped to swell the grapes. Most growers began picking on 21 September but those who held off another week probably made better wines.

Growing conditions were good: a wet winter was followed by a dry, settled spring and early summer when flowering took place under ideal conditions. High summer was hot and very dry, relieved only by some timely rain on 11 and 12 September and again just before the harvest. When picking began, ambient temperatures were still high, presenting real problems for those producers without means of controlling fermentations.

The grapes tended to be small with little juice resulting in deep, dense powerful wines for the medium-to-long-term. It was declared by the Symington-owned houses Dow’s, Graham’s, Warre’s, Smith Woodhouse, Gould Campbell and Quarles Harris in preference to 1992. Taylor’s and Fonseca declared single-quinta wines. 1991 was a watershed vintage in that, for the first time, more vintage Port was shipped to the US than the UK.

The year began badly with a long, cold winter extending into spring. Snow fell on the Serra do Marão to the west of the Douro as late as 20 May! The vines were three weeks behind. From June to mid-August the weather was hot but unsettled and, despite a successful flowering, the vines remained backward. Picking consequently began late (end of September) but fortunately the weather remained fine into October and some outstanding wines were made despite the uneven spring and summer.

1982/1983 is a classic example of a so-called ‘split vintage’ (see also 1991/1992), where there was a lack of consensus among the Port shippers as to which of the two is the better year. In the end, 1983 won hands down. Although the ripe, healthy fruit is reflected in the soft, sweet raisiny character of the 1982s, they are relatively forward and early maturing. Those who decided not to opt for a fully fledged declaration bottled some successful single-quinta wines.

A wet winter was followed by a somewhat disappointing summer with only one period of real heat. August was cool and often overcast. Sugar levels were still alarmingly low at the beginning of September but this was compensated for by very hot weather later in the month, which continued into early October. Sugar levels were still on the low side when picking began but it was clear from the colour and flavour of the musts that some fine wines were likely to emerge.

The 1977 Port vintage was hailed as a classic when it was declared in 1979 and was well received by the trade. Every shipper except Cockburn, Martinez and Noval chose to declare. Although 1977 produced some outstanding wines, overall the vintage has not quite lived up to early expectations and, 20 years on, the wines were fully mature with one or two beginning to show their age. This is a very good vintage but not up to the standards of 1963 or 1945.

Cool weather during the flowering reduced yields and, following a dry summer, prospects at the start of picking looked good. The harvest began around 20 September in extreme heat. Due to the dry summer, sugar readings were on the low side but the heat served to raisin a portion of the crop, thereby concentrating the musts. Cooler night-time temperatures as the vintage progressed helped to slow down fermentations and produced wines with exceptional colour and body.

Early tastings tended to play down the overall quality of the 1970s and it is only several decades on that these tight-knit, beautifully balanced wines have come to be judged in their true light. Although not as fine overall as the undeniably impressive 1963s, there are wines from 1970 that deserve to be ranked among the great vintage Ports of the 20th century. This being the last vintage to be bottled both in Portugal and in the UK, there is inevitably a certain amount of variation from bottle to bottle. All subsequent vintages were bottled in Vila Nova de Gaia.

After a cool summer (without any real heat in July or August), the grapes were still green and backward when picking began around 20 September. Both yields and sugar levels were low. Many picked too early (fearing a repeat of the rains which had marred the latter part of the previous three vintages), however warm weather continued into October and, unusually, the best grapes with higher sugar readings were picked last.

An exceptionally wet winter prepared the vines for a hot, dry summer. In August, temperatures of 45C were recorded twice at Pinhao in the heart of the Cima Corgo but with so much ground water, the grapes did not dry up or raisin-ise. Rain finally arrived during the harvest, but with yields well-down on average the crop came to no harm. The fermentations were helped by cool weather and musts registered higher-than-average readings with excellent colour. It was clear at the end of the harvest that a fine vintage was in prospect.

The combination of a near-perfect growing season and temperate weather during the harvest (at a time when temperature control was unheard of) made for a benchmark vintage. With very few exceptions, nearly all the shippers produced supremely balanced, well-structured wines for a full-on declaration. No vintage since can claim quite so many classic wines (with the only caveat being the variation between different bottlings). Anyone born in 1963 has a wine for life.

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Ines is Decanter’s regional editor for Spain, Portugal and South America. Born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, she grew up chasing her grandfather among his vines in Ribatejo and thus her love for all things wine began. After completing her Masters Degree in Architecture, Ines worked as a project manager while writing about wine and doing cellar consulting on the side. After moving to London in 2015, she decided to dedicate herself fully to the wine industry and joined the sommelier team at Michelin-starred Spring, Somerset House. Stints at Noble Rot and The Laughing Heart followed, while completing her WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits. Her work as a judge and writer eventually became her full time commitment and she joined Decanter in 2019 as wine database editor.

2017 2016 20112007 2003 20001998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1992 19911985 1983 1982 1980 1977 19701966 1963 1960

2017

Drink/Keep

2016

Drink/keep

2015

Drink/keep

2014

Drink

2013

Drink/Keep

2012

Drink/Keep

2011

Drink/Keep

2010

Drink

2009

Drink/Keep

2008

Drink

2007

Drink/Keep

2006

Drink soon

2005

Drink/Keep

2004

Drink

2003

Keep

2002

Drink soon

2001

Drink

2000

Drink/Cellar

The vintage summaries and ratings below were last reviewed by Richard Mayson in 2022.

1999

Drink

1998

Drink

Vintage summary

1997

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

1996

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

1995

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

1994

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

Revisiting vintage Port 1994

1992

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

1991

Drink soon

Vintage summary

Best wines

1987

Drink soon

Vintage summary

Best Producers

1985

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

1983

Drink

Vintage summary

Best wines

2017 2016 2011 2007 2003 2000 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1992 1991 1985 1983 1982 1980 1977 1970 1966 1963 1960