Quinta do Vesuvio is situated far upriver in the Douro Superior, 120 kilometres from Portugal’s Atlantic coast and only 45 kilometres from the border with Spain. The Quinta’s special reputation for producing outstanding wines goes back to the nineteenth century, when the Viscount of Villa Maior wrote, “All this wine is made scrupulously and to perfection… this Quinta was made as if for princes…”

Since acquiring Quinta do Vesuvio in 1989, the Symington family has recovered this Douro vineyard’s legendary reputation. The family preserved the centuries-old method of treading the grapes in granite lagares built in 1827. Each vintage, teams of up to 50 men and women tread the grapes into the night. Vesuvio is the last of the major Douro Valley properties to maintain this tradition. From the outset, the family determined to produce only Vintage Port at Vesuvio; no other style of Ports is released under the Vesuvio name.

Vesuvio has a total area of almost 320 hectares, of which over 130 hectares are planted with vines. The Symington family has made ambitious investments at Vesuvio, turning the majestic property into one of the model vineyards of the Douro. The family has conserved many of the mature vineyards planted in the 1970s, some of the first in the Douro region to be planted in single varietal plots. There are also much older, mixed variety vineyards and these also contribute to the incredible complexity and structure of Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Ports.

Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Ports are very concentrated, powerful wines, showing ripe fruit flavours such as blueberry and blackcurrent.

Quinta do Vesuvio produces muscular yet lithe wines with an exceptionally refined structure that reflects great harmony and elegance. The Ports are simultaneously big and unctuous with succulent fruit, while wonderfully graceful at the same time. The wines have superb inky black-red colours when young, and the nose is always intense, with strong notes of violets and wild spring flowers.

Quinta do Vesuvio is situated in the Douro Superior, which has a more continental climate than other areas of the Douro Valley with very hot summers and very cold winters, as well as the region’s lowest annual rainfall, averaging 470 mm per annum at Vesuvio. The property’s scale and mountainous terrain mean the estate benefits from vineyards facing all points of the compass. The predominant exposure is north-west and west, which jointly account for over half the area under vine. Although Vesuvio experiences very hot and dry conditions, much of the property enjoys favourable aspects that shield the vines from the searing summer heat. The estate’s considerable altitude range, from 100 metres to almost 500 metres above sea level is another very significant factor, as altitude conserves acidity, which is an important feature, particularly in very hot years.