Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port 1997

Christopher Smith, a prominent figure in the British wine trade and Member of Parliament, who was later to become Lord Mayor of London, opened offices in Oporto in 1784 to ship Port wine from the bar of the Douro. Several years later Smith's sons were joined in partnership by the Woodhouse brothers, already well established as importers of wine from other regions, and the firm became known by its present name. Smith Woodhouse built a strong clientele for more than a century, but after World War II, in common with other firms, business became increasingly difficult. In 1970 the Symington family acquired the firm. Under the Symingtons' ownership Smith Woodhouse continues to make some of its finest Ports by the traditional methods, and has produced a succession of outstanding Vintage Ports in a characteristic opulent rich style, balanced by firm hard tannins. Most of the Smith Woodhouse wines come from the Rio Torto area in the Upper Douro, the majority of them still produced by treading the grapes by foot in stone lagares.