Winemaker Notes
#14 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2018
Nearly half the Warre’s 2016 is made up of old, mixed vines from both Cavadinha and Retiro. In sections of these vineyards, as many as 30 to 40 different varieties are planted together, and at Retiro they are between 80 and 100 years old with a predominance of Touriga Franca, a variety that has typically prospered in the Rio Torto Valley, home to Quinta do Retiro. These vineyards produced tiny yields, just 630g/vine. The structure and complexity of the old vines was balanced with great acidity and freshness from the Cavadinha grapes and the superb floral aromatics from the two Touriga varieties harvested at Quinta da Telhada. Due to the very cool nights during the vintage, the grapes arrived at the Cavadinha lagar winery so cold in the mornings that, in effect, they had a ‘cold soak maceration’ before fermentation began, favouring excellent aromatic extraction. Harvesting finished at Cavadinha on October 10th, a couple of days before the weather broke. More perfect harvesting conditions could not have been hoped for.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Nearly 50% is made from old field blend vines, Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca from the Douro Superior. Very pure violet aromas – already utterly charming with lovely, supple and seamless fruit. Fresh and lithe with fine-grained tannins building in the mouth leading to a peacock’s tail of a finish. A beautiful wine with real poise, definition and great finesse. Don’t be deceived by the early charm, this is a wine that will last. Total production of 4,250 cases. Drinking Window 2030 - 2055
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Wine Spectator
Gorgeous, with warm plum reduction and gently steeped raspberry, blackberry and boysenberry fruit flavors forming the core, all inlaid with warm ganache and smoldering tobacco accents. Very plush in feel, but has no lack of energy, as everything sails beautifully through the long finish. A late echo of anise completes the seduction. Best from 2035 through 2055.
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James Suckling
Very complex with dried flowers and roses. Full-bodied, very layered and tightly wound. Chewy and powerful. Firm and off-dry. Needs five or six years to soften. Beauty. Try in 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a juicy wine, with dense black fruits that are cut by bright acidity. The tannins give power and long-term aging potential to this impressive wine. Drink from 2028.
Cellar Selection
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.