Single Estate Vintage Port, Quinta do Vesuvio, Individual Box

"We began to handpick the grapes at Quinta do Vesuvio on August 28th, the earliest starting vintage ever recorded there. This was not unexpected given the advanced growing and ripening cycle. There were very good signs that the time was right to pick, with good graduations and good phenolic ripeness providing very positive indicators. The excellent quality of the Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Alicante Bouschet entering the Vesuvio winery became evident in the first fermentations in the lagares where the deep colour of the musts and the very fine aromas showed great promise. Temperatures gradually became more moderate from September 10th, allowing us to wait for the Touriga Franca to ripen to perfection, conserving the good levels of acidity that have provided excellent freshness in the wines. Charles Symington was very impressed with the performance of this grape and it is no surprise that it is the largest component of the Quinta do Vesuvio 2017 Vintage Port blend.Yields were inevitably very low, 15% below the quinta’s 10-year average, although not as low as anticipated earlier in the season. The dip in yields was more clearly visible by the fact that it took 20% more grapes to fill a lagar in comparison with other years."