Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira Porto 2015
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Senhora da Ribeira vineyard site commands a magnificent north bank position, overlooking a broad sweep of the Douro, directly opposite another famous Symington owned vineyard: Quinta do Vesuvio.
- Senhora da Ribeira’s wines are some of the finest in the Douro and they complement those from Bomfim in the composition of Dow’s classic Vintage Ports.
- The quinta’s high proportion of old vines (45% are over 25 years old) is of critical importance. The entire vineyard has the maximum ‘A’ rating.
- As with Quinta do Bomfim, the best Ports from Senhora de Ribeira are used to make Dow’s Vintage Ports in the great and rare ‘Declared’ years. In the good year’s when Dow’s does not ‘declare’ a Vintage, the best wines of Senhora da Ribeira are bottled as Dow’s Quinta de Senhora da Ribeira Vintage Port.
- They will tend to mature a little earlier than the very rare ‘Declared’ years, but can be every bit as good as some other Vintage Ports.
Varietal Composition: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Sousao
Elaboration: Handpicked traditional Portuguese grape varieties are harvested in the fall and fermented for a short period of time before the addition of 100% neutral grape spirits alcohol. This step stops fermentation and reserves the wine’s natural grape sugars. Three granite ‘lagares’ for foot treading are complemented by three ‘robotic’ lagares, designed by the Symington family and installed in the quinta’s winery in 2001. The Symingtons opted to devise a mechanical means of replicating the proven method of foot treading. The result was the Symington ‘robotic lagar’, an automated treading machine which exactly replicates the gentle action of the human foot and which has revolutionized wine-making in the Douro Valley. It is then aged in oak casks for an average of 2 years before being bottled.
Tasting Notes: Exceptionally aromatic with aromas of violets, hints of blackberry, blackcurrant and black plum on the nose. There is some spice that is balanced with fresh acidity and minerality. A long finish with ripe but firm tannins.
PRESS
2015: 91 pts – Wine Spectator // 2015: 93 pts – Wine Advocate // 2015: 93 pts – James Suckling // 2015: 93 pts – Wine Enthusiast
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Founded in 1798 by Portuguese merchant, Bruno da Silva, Dow’s has lengthy history of offering some of the finest Ports. The Dow’s brand name was established when another partner, James Dow, joined the company.In 1912, Andrew Symington, a Scot who had been working in the industry for 25 years, became a partner in Dow’s. Today, the company is 100% owned and managed by the fourth generation of the Symington family, who are today the largest landowners in Portugal’s Douro Valley with over 4,000 acres. For over two centuries the name of DOW has been associated with the finest Port from the vineyards of the Upper Douro Valley. Throughout the 20th Century and into the 21st, the Symington family has built on the legacy of the preceding Silva and Dow families. Generations of Symington winemakers have worked at the Dow’s vineyards: Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, creating from them Dow’s superbly concentrated wines that are intense and tannic when young, maturing towards a superlative racy elegance with age and scented with violet and mint aromas. Dow’s attractive and distinctive drier finish is the recognizable hallmark of the wines from this great Port house.