Quinta de Roriz Vintage Port
WHY WE LOVE IT
- This is the second declared Vintage Port made at Quinta de Roriz by the Prats & Symington partnership and is one of the first to sell under its own name.
- Vegan Friendly. These wines can be drunk young by those who enjoy a more fruit driven style, but will also age superbly over the decades to come.
- Situated on the South bank of the River Douro halfway between Pinhão and Tua, the quinta forms a natural amphitheatre with a predominantly northerly orientation, which provides a cooler aspect well-suited to the production of DOC Douro wines. The vineyard is North, North-West and North-East facing, with an altitude range of 94-261 metres.
- The classic schist soil of the Upper Douro Valley at Roriz predominates but the composition is also influenced by the specific geology of the site where the presence of tin and gold tailings from the old mines at the top of the estate lend a distinctive minerality to the quinta’s wines.
Varietal Composition: Touriga Nacional & Sousão
Elaboration: The grape bunches pass through a two-stage screening and selection process. First, they are hand sorted on a triage conveyor where any damaged or unevenly ripe clusters are rejected. The chosen bunches are then destemmed in a sophisticated pendulum swing destemmer which selectively detaches only healthy berries from the stems, keeping them whole and leaving any unwanted, raisined fruit on the stems. The remaining berries are then machine-sorted so that any remaining undesirable material is automatically removed. The twice-sorted berries are then gently crushed through rollers ready to begin the fermentation process.
Tasting Notes: Lifted ripe red fruit aromas which are confirmed on the palate with delicious supple flavors of strawberry and raspberry. There is an interesting mineral streak, backed up by dry tannins that give the wine balance and structure.
PRESS
2016 – 94 Wine Spectator | 94 James Suckling | 93 Wine Enthusiast | 90 Vinous | 90 Decanter
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Quinta de Roriz is one of the oldest and finest vineyards in the Douro Valley. It has been known for its estate-bottled wines since the early 18th century. Leading London wine merchants paid premium prices for Roriz Ports and there are numerous 19th century records of the high values obtained for the quinta’s wines at Christie’s fine wine auctions.
Following several years of joint ownership and management by the van Zeller and Symington families during the first few years of the 21st century, The Quinta was acquired outright in partnership with the Prats family in 2009. It has been the cornerstone of the Prats & Symington wines.
The Roriz winery receives all the grapes from Quinta de Roriz and Quinta da Perdiz, as well as selected grapes from the neighbouring Vila Velha vineyard, which have traditionally contributed to the production of Chryseia and Post Scriptum.