Port 2019: Vintage guide and what to buy

Those of us who live for a good vintage Port have never had it so good. After declarations in 2016, 2017 and 2018, 2019 represents the fourth consecutive good year for Port.

But the 2019 vintage Ports (declared earlier this year and listed below) are the result of an erratic growing season, with a little over 50% of the average winter rainfall and almost none during the summer months.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for Richard Mayson’s top Port 2019 bottles

Fortunately for the growers there was no extreme summer heat with June temperatures (a hot month in previous years) 4℃ below average.

Light rain at the end of August and again around the equinox served to swell the grapes and contributed to even ripening. Lower than average temperatures during vintage helped to preserve natural freshness and definition and allowed later ripening varieties to reach their full potential.

For those who held their nerve, the late-ripening Touriga Franca grape (often not picked until well into October) performed particularly well – often out-performing Touriga Nacional.

Yields were close to average in contrast with much smaller, more concentrated years in 2017 and 2018. The Symington family (owners of Cockburn, Dow, Graham, Warre and Quinta do Vesúvio) picked grapes over six weeks making this one of the longest harvests in recent years.

From the winemakers

The resulting wines are, in Charles Symington’s words, ‘lively and exuberant’ in contrast to the concentration from exceptionally small years in 2017 and 2018.

Christian Seely of Quinta do Noval (one of the top-scoring wines in this tasting) comments: ‘The purity, complexity and character of the 2019s reflect these ideal conditions.’ Noval also declared Quinta do Noval Nacional having bypassed 2018.

Luís Sottomayor from Ferreira and Sandeman describes 2019 as ‘a very good year with freshness and great balance’. While Márcio Nobrega, head of viticulture at Sogevinus, also highlights the freshness of the year describing the wines as ‘aromatic with assertive tannins’.

For Dirk Niepoort from the eponymous Port house, 2019 was ‘not as perfect as 2017’ – which was Niepoort’s last declaration – with 2019 ‘possibly bigger but still a very elegant year. The wines will come together, get richer and more “drinky”,’ he adds, though this is an optimistic expression to my mind.

At the launch of his 2019 Niepoort compared the wine to the successful 2000 vintage.

Single quintas

The Symingtons have bottled six single quinta vintage Ports from 2019. They have released two en primeur – Quinta do Vesúvio and Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira – and are holding back stocks of the other wines for future release.

Having declared Taylors for an unprecedented three years in a row, the Fladgate Partnership (Croft, Fonseca and Taylor) is also withholding their wines for later release.

The 2019 wines are generally well-priced (especially the single quintas) varying from around £150 in bond for a case of six for Quinta de la Rosa, doubling to around £300 for Noval and £350 for Niepoort.

Some of the single quinta 2019s are already amazingly approachable if you like your Port young. However the more structured wines deserve to be kept for 15-20 years.

Some of the best wines have a green, leafy edge to them at this stage, which alongside the purity of fruit should serve for the long term, keeping well into the latter half of the 21st century.

See tasting notes and scores for Richard Mayson’s top Port 2019 bottles

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