Port 2018: Vintage guide and what to buy

The buses in a West Yorkshire town used to be referred to as ‘grapes’: they were red, you waited for ages and then they came along in a bunch. There is something of the same to be said about Port vintages these days, with the last four years declared in a row.

Scroll down to see Richard Mayson’s top Vintage Port 2018 tasting notes and scores

It used to be a rule of thumb that declared vintages would number about three a decade; 1960, 1963, and 1966 being a case in point. Then there could be long gaps like that between 1985 and 1991/2.

But in recent years Port drinkers have been faced with an embarras de richesse with declarations taking place in 2015, 2016 and 2017 followed by yet another successful year in 2018.

Taylor’s who declared outright in 2016 and 2017, declared again in 2018; the first time in history that they have made three classic vintage declarations in a row.

Adrian Bridge, managing director of the Fladgate Partnership justifies this, saying: ‘Our principle is that we declare a Classic Vintage when the quality is there. This is dictated by the year, not by any other consideration. In 2018, overall conditions were excellent but in the Douro Superior they were exceptional’.

Luís Sottomayor, responsible for Ferreira, Offley and Sandeman is even more fulsome. ‘2018 is one of the best, not the best vintage I have witnessed. The special conditions experienced during the 2018 harvest came together to produce wines that combine extraordinary elegance with an unusual structure…’

Although 2018 has proved to be a good harvest across the board, not everyone is quite so effusive. Speaking for Cockburn, Dow, Graham and Warre, Harry Symington comments that they had ‘small quantities of excellent wine, but this was not consistent throughout the region, so we decided against a full declaration’.

Cockburn’s had already declared an unprecedented three years in a row with 2015, 2016 and 2017 and all the Symington Port houses declared Single Quinta Vintage Ports (SQVPs) in 2018.

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Growing conditions

From the grower’s point of view 2018 was certainly a roller coaster of a year. Ana Rosas of Ramos Pinto says: ‘It was one of the most challenging years for viticulture, however the wines produced are very pure with exceptional fruit.’

Dirk Niepoort has opted not to declare any 2018 adding: ‘Since we picked the grapes quite early, as usual, in 2018, we think that the 2018s don’t have the concentration, richness – and particularly not the complexity – for us to declare. It seems that 2018 might be “great” when picked late…’

The year was preceded by 22 months of drought, interrupted by a wet spring then followed by a summer heat wave, when temperatures rose to 45℃ in parts of the Douro Superior.

It was the groundwater that saved the year and the late-ripening Touriga Franca grape gave the wines acidity, lending them freshness and definition.

It is interesting to observe how many vintage Ports are now made up from a fairly precise varietal mix rather than from the interplanted field blend of old vines that has historically been at the core of the finest wines. There is no rule on when a vine becomes ‘old’ but it is worth remembering that some of the early varietal vineyards in the Douro are now between 30 and 40 years of age.

The vintage Port market

Due to the pandemic, the market for vintage Port has been rather skewed this year. A few wines were offered en primeur in the early summer of 2020, including Quinta do Noval, Quinta do Vesúvio and Dow’s Senhora da Ribeira.

The other wines from the Symingtons have been kept back for later release. Taylor’s will only be released for sale early in 2021. Opening prices for the top wines were around £280/six bottles in bond but, as this is not a fully declared year, expect some well-priced SQVPs for drinking over the medium- to long-term.

The wines below were tasted over the summer of 2020. They form an impressive line-up, the best characterised by ripeness, freshness and thereby wonderful balance. One or two show the heat of the vintage.

I will give the last word on 2018 to Adrian Bridge: ‘We have to follow the wine, not the economy… We want to make these wines when they come along and we don’t know when the next one is coming along.’ Just like those buses…

Port 2018: top recommendations

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