Winemaker Notes
-Wine Spectator
Cockburn's Quinta dos Canais is a traditional, terraced Upper Douro quinta that has been producing superior wines for over 100 years. The property has consistently provided the grapes that become the backbone of Cockburn's declared vintages. Considered the "jewel in the crown," the property was purchased in 1989, and consists of some 740 acres (300 hectares) of vineyards on the north bank of the Douro. The plantings here face south, and therefore benefit from long hours of sunlight. Under the regional classification system, the vineyard has been awarded the highest possible rating. Originally five separate quintas, Canais was combined into a single large property around the turn of the century. Its abundant water supply, conserved from run off and channeled around the upper elevations, gave the property its name; canais is the Portuguese word for canals. The vineyard is currently undergoing further development. Vineyard blocks have been planted by varietal, a practice pioneered by Cockburn's in the region.
Dark purple in color, the 2000 Quinta dos Canais has wonderful floral and fruity aromas of ripe cherries and currants. The palate is also suggestive of these flavors and is delivered with perfectly balanced tannin and acid structure. Its exuberant fruity style means that it will be a wonderful glass of port within five years, but also has the potential to age to full maturity over the next 15 years.
Professional Ratings
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.