Skip to main content

2011 Port - An exceptional vintage declared

Report from Berry Brothers & Rudd on 2011 vintage port:

Amidst the buzz of 2012 En Primeur, something rather special happened last week as most of the major port houses unanimously declared 2011 a vintage year for port. Representing only a tiny part of the production, vintage port is the pinnacle of port production representing both the quality and style of each house. On average three times a decade the Port shippers declare a vintage. A vintage year for port is only declared in outstanding years and the different shippers are not obliged to declare a vintage in the same year, but for 2011 the Port houses are unanimous in their verdict. Though rumours of a possible declaration have been circulating in the wine trade for months, most shippers held firm to tradition and waited for St. George's day to declare the vintage. 

A quick note on the vintage. 2011 is an exceptional vintage for port, following in the footsteps of 1927, 1945, 1966 and 1994. Similar to 2009 for Bordeaux, in 2011 the conditions in the Douro were perfect for making vintage port. Rainfall at the end of 2010 had topped up the water-reserves, critical to the vine's sustenance during the hot summer months. The summer months were extremely hot and dry culminating in small thick skinned berries with high sugar levels. An extra-ordinary blessing came in the form of rain on the 21st August and 1st September, which softened the skins (important due to the short maceration and fermentation of port) and allowed the phenolic (flavour) ripeness to catch up. The 2011s are characterized by deep dark fruit, real precision and a continues length. Due to the size of the small berries and oidium in early spring affecting final yields, production for the 2011s is low. The Symington's estimate that their production is down on average by 25-30% on that of the 2007s (and about 45% down on the 1994s) and as a result are expected to sell their full production en primeur (and are not intending to hold stock back (apart for personal use) at the estates).

In anticipation of a possible declaration, a Berry Bros. & Rudd team went out to taste the port a few weeks ago and more information can be read on http://bbrblog.com/.

The full offer can be found by clicking the link below.


More notes on the individual wines can be found by clicking on the links below


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chambolle Musigny 2006 by Patrice Rion

I am still in Burgundy mood, which is a very expensive mood to be in wherever you live but especially when stuck in Norway. Luckily the selection is quite good and Friday my eyes landed on a Chambolle Musigny 2006 by Patrice Rion. Patrice Rion is a small bio-dynamically family run winery in Nuits St George and was created in 1990. According to what I was told previous weekend in Paris, Volnay and the Chambolle are the two most elegant and seductive wines from Burgundy. The wine is not unlike a Beaune Premier cru with  a medium dark red colour but perhaps slightly less "fat" with a lovely delicate smell of raspberries and cherries. The taste was soft, elegant, silky , smooth, velvety with lovely fruit, balance and creamy tannins. Very yummy indeed and so is the price at around 40€, but when you need Burgundy its worth every penny! Chambolle Musigny 2006, Patrice Rion P+ and drink between 4 to 6 years old. Domaine Michele et Patrice RION, vins de Bourgogne and please

Leoville Lascases 1988

Last week was a special week for me as I received my last pay check from my previous employer. An event that required some sort of celebration with some good friends. Of the many bottles opened during that evening was a Leoville Lascases 1988. This Bordeaux wine from St. Julien is second Grand cru classee but it has the quality of a first growth. This chateau was also the wine that made me change from beer to wine as I had the pleasure of tasting a Leoville Lascases 1945 back in 88.  The 1945  just knocked me off my guard and I remember thinking what a fantastic wine it was and what an experience to drink this wine from the year when world war 2 ended. I was in shock and I then just decided to enter into the world of wine. I have always had a soft spot for this chateau ever since. And to my pleasure  it has been performing well at much more reasonable prices than the much more expensive first growths in the 1855 classification. Nowadays a bottle of this wine costs around 180€ while a p

Wiston BdB 2011 - England

This is a fantastic 100% Chardonnay (Blanc de Blancs) from Wiston estate in England. Below are some remarks from the estate itself and Decanter: Selected from the chalkiest and steepest part of our vineyard, Wiston Estate Blanc de Blancs 2011 is elegant and expressive, with enticing notes of white peach, apricot, brioche and crushed oyster shells. Awarded the very top prize of ‘Best in Show’ in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2019 (the equivalent of the Wine Industry’s Oscars!), this decadent single vineyard, single vintage, single varietal Blanc de Blancs is perfect for immediate drinking and will also age beautifully. “Time spent on lees after secondary fermentation pays huge dividends for English sparkling wine, endowed as it always is with high natural levels of acidity. That’s a lesson triumphantly proved by this 2011 Blanc de Blancs, with its soft mousse, lifted, almost floral aromas and deft weave of apple, tangerine and pear fruits rippled through with yeasty, bready rich