2018 | Dow`s | Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira

Senhora da Ribeira 2018 Vintage by Dow's reveals powerful wild red-fruit flavours, leading into rich black chocolate notes, the whole balanced by complex, attractive and peppery tannins.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2018 Quinta de Senhora da Ribeira, the Douro Superior quinta, is a blend of 45% Touriga Franca, 40% Touriga Nacional and the rest Alicante Bouschet and Sousão combined. It comes in with 106 grams per liter of residual sugar. Of the Symington group this issue, nothing is more intensely flavorful as this. It is certainly a step up on its Bomfim sibling this issue in concentration. Some in this set of Symington releases are equally perfumed. Some might be equally or more powerful. Nothing is more expressive except the Vesúvio, which is a bit of an outlier in this group. With violets up front and plums on the finish, it is delicious and sexy, until the h ammer falls. There is plenty of power too. The next day, it shuts down. A few days later, it was drinking fairly well. This is one of the two Ports being released now, en primeur, by the Symingtons (the other being the Vesúvio). The question here will be when this comes into better balance. I`d sock it away until nearly the end of this decade, but it might be approachable sooner. There were 510 cases produced, a bit more than Bomfim, but still pretty small.

• Vinous: The 2018 Quinta Senhora da Ribeira represents just 8% of the Quinta`s production. It is more compact, a bit more standoffish compared to some of the other single quinta 2018s that I tasted. It gradually warms up, revealing marine notes, seaweed and oyster shells tincturing the black fruit. The palate is super-smooth on the entry with plush, saturated tannins, quite spicy and peppery with an assertive, structured finish that is quintessentially Dow`s. Superb. 410 cases produced.

Producer Information

Dow's is a family-owned Port house that has been producing traditional-style Port for more than 200 years, despite war, disease and economic turbulence. One of the most revered of Port producers, it owns some of the finest vineyards in the Douro Valley. The business that would eventually become Dow's was founded in 1798 by Bruno da Silva, a Portuguese wine merchant who moved to London to sell his wines there and quickly became an integral part of the London wine industry. During the Napoleonic Wars, da Silva obtained a Letter of Marque (a Royal warrant allowing a privately-owned ship to fight enemies of the British crown), enabling him to transport his produce in relative security across the naval battleground that was the Bay of Biscay. In 1877, Bruno's grandson sought to expand the company and merged with another famous Port producer, Dow and Co. The co-owners decided that the company would be known Dow's. Since 1961, Dow's has been owned by the Symington family who have historically been heavily involved in the Port industry. The Symingtons are now part of the internationally recognised Primim Familiae Vini, a group of 11 leading winemaking families from aroudn the world, including Mouton Rothschild of Bordeaux, Sassacaia of Tuscany and Pol Roger of Champagne. Dow's owns four vineyards in the Upper Douro Valley, each with grapes that bring different characteristics to the Dow's portfolio. Quinta do Bomfim is the flagship and the source of the company's single quinta release. The grapes from Quinta do Bomfimare generally responsible for the structure of the majority of the Dow's Ports. The other sites are Sehora da Riberia 24km (15 miles) upriver from Quinta do Bomfim, along with the nearby Cerdeira and Santinho sites. The Sehora da Riberia vineyard has the highest percentage of old vines, the majority of which are at least 25 years old. These vines are low yielding and ideal for Vintage Port. The company produces a range of Ports, from basic Ruby and Tawny versions, to aged Tawnies, and the Vintage Port, which is well-regarded by critics.

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