Oporto House Declares 2011 Vintage

The Fladgate Partnership Port Houses

declare the 2011 Vintage

Croft, Fonseca and Taylor Fladgate, the three classic Port houses belonging to The Fladgate Partnership, have announced their decision to declare the 2011 vintage.

Managing Director Adrian Bridge summed up his views on the 2011 Vintage Ports as follows:  "2011 has produced textbook Vintage Ports, classics in every sense.  The wines have a wonderful purity and elegance but also plenty of background and structure."  He added:  "Our 2009 declaration showed that demand remains strong for new release Vintage Ports and we expect it to grow further as new fine wine markets come on stream. Wine consumers all over the world are realising that Vintage Port continues to deliver astonishing value compared to many other classic wines."

The declaration announcement is the culmination of several weeks of painstaking work by the tasting panel, from the selection of component wines from each firm's own properties to the refinement of the blends.

The quality of the 2011 harvest had been apparent from the outset but, as usual, a decision on whether or not to declare was only taken once the final blends were ready for evaluation.  The wines were then assessed for quality, potential longevity and consistency with the house style.

Commenting on the conditions leading up to the 2011 harvest Wine maker David Guimaraens explained:  "Abundant spring rainfall created reserves to keep the vines well supplied with water throughout the hot dry summer.  This resulted in balanced ripening and wines that have elegance as well as depth and stamina."  He added, "The 2011s stand out for the purity of the fruit and the quality of the tannins, which are silky and well integrated but provide plenty of structure."

The Croft, Fonseca and Taylor Fladgate 2011 Vintage Ports will be released later in the year.  Adrian Bridge commented:  "We have recently seen strong demand for large bottle formats, reflecting interest from collectors and investors.  We will be making large formats available from all three houses, including double magnums and imperials. However quantities of large bottle sizes will be limited and requests should be placed early to avoid disappointment."

As well as 2011 declared Vintage Ports from Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca and Croft, there will also be a release of the rare Vargellas Vinha Velha Vintage Port made in very limited quantities from the oldest vines on Taylor Fladgate's Quinta de Vargellas estate.  As in the past the Vargellas Vinha Velha 2011 will be offered in cases of 3 bottles.