Decanter at Home masterclass: Symington Family Estates – Pioneers of Portuguese winemaking

Last chance: You can still buy tickets to watch this Symington Family Vineyards virtual masterclass and taste the wines, via the Decanter at Home series – book here

When the Symington family launched its 2019 Ports earlier this year, it was the fifth generation who came to the fore. Sitting at the family’s three main quintas in the Douro – Vesúvio, Malvedos and Bomfim – Rob, Harry, Vicky, Charlotte and Anthony Symington confidently presented their fourth successful harvest in a row.

Scroll down to see the Symington Family Estates masterclass tasting notes and scores

A huge responsibility rests on the shoulders of the Symington millennials and generation Zs who are now joining the firm.

The family can date its presence in Portugal back to the late 19th century and has built up a holding that includes four major Port houses (Cockburn, Dow, Graham and Warre) as well as over 1,000ha of vineyard in the beautiful but challenging Douro Valley.

In 2017 it made its first foray outside the Douro, buying Quinta da Fonte Souto estate on the equally beautiful but much less precipitous slopes of the Alto Alentejo.

There are currently 10 family members working full-time in the company including Anthony Symington who is responsible for all of the family’s Port brands in the UK. Born in 1988, he takes the place of his father Dominic who retired earlier this year. Every member of the family has to earn a place in the firm having done something else first.

A family affair

In this masterclass Anthony and I talked about the importance of family in the Douro both in terms of heritage and continuity and also innovation. The line-up of wines reflects this, with Ports that have been set aside for 20, 30 and 40 years joined by pioneering (unfortified) wines from the Douro and Alentejo.

In this context we discussed the longevity of Quinta do Vesúvio’s fine Douro red, but given that the first wine was only launched in 2007, we could only speculate about the future. Vesúvio already has a track record for its fine vintage Ports and is building up a profile for unfortified Douro wines under the Quinta do Vesúvio and Pombal do Vesúvio labels.

For Vinha do Fonte Souto, 2017 is the first harvest from this recently acquired estate near Portalegre on the western slopes of the Serra de São Mamede. These are two names you are certain to hear much more of in future.

Tawny Ports

The masterclass was also a rare opportunity to taste a ladder of tawny Ports, starting two-thirds of the way up with Graham’s 20-Year-Old. The comparison is always fascinating, especially when the wines come from one house with a distinctive house style.

Graham’s is always the sweetest and most opulent of the traditional Symington houses, with Dow the driest and Warre somewhere in the middle (see below). As tawnies age in wood (in Graham’s case in smaller lodge pipes), the wines gain in sweetness and complexity due to slow, controlled oxidation and evaporation in relatively humid conditions in Vila Nova de Gaia.

The wines set aside for ageing have to be cared for and looked after with regular racking to keep casks topped up and to separate the wine from the lees. The clarity of the 40-Year-Old Tawny, despite its evident richness and depth, is testament to at least three generations of Symingtons and their employees who have nurtured and monitored the wines that make up the blend.

By contrast the Single Harvest 1994 Tawny named ‘the apprentice’, has a family story involving Peter and his son Charles Symington who together have been responsible for the winemaking for over 40 years.

Vintage Ports

The deeper hues of the two vintage Ports in the line-up mark them out from the tawnies. Quinta do Vesúvio 2003 is a relative youngster from a huge estate bought by the Symingtons from the Ferreira family in 1989. This remote property in the Douro Superior has multiple terroirs that permit a vintage Port to be made nearly every year.

Warre’s 1980 shows how a wine from a good ‘declared’ year ages slowly and steadily in bottle and how a wine like this can retain its primary fruit even after 41 years. Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha has something to do with it. Located towards the top of the Pinhão Valley it produces wines with definition and verve, particularly in warmer years such as 2009 and 2017.

We discussed the need to decant these wines (something that is not nearly as tricky or involved as many people think) and then raised a glass to Anthony’s grandfather Michael who was responsible for making a trio of great wines in 1980. As you will find out if you tune in to the masterclass and the interview that followed, producing wines with this calibre is very much a family commitment for the Symingtons.

See the Symington Family Estates masterclass tasting notes and scores

Related content

Symington Family launches Quinta da Fonte Souto winesSeasonal Ports: 15 of the finest bottles to try this winterSweet and fortified wines: how to serve and preserve