Dows Quinta Do Bomfim Vintage Port Wine, 75 cl

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In the good year’s when Dow’s does not ‘declare’ a Vintage, the best Ports of Quinta do Bomfim are carefully selected and bottled as Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port. These wines are exceptionally good. They will tend to mature a little earlier than the very rare ‘Declared’ years, but can be every bit as good as some other Vintage Ports. The very high percentage of Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional planted on the estate result in the powerful aromas of mint and violets on the finest Ports from Bomfim. Bomfim’ s wines are vinified in the quinta’s fermentation vats which have been successively upgraded over the years and which continue to produce excellent wines. Field research and development: advanced vinification practices amount to nothing without careful attention to viticulture and for this very reason, Dow’s employs a full-time viticulturist. One of his primary tasks is to conduct field experiments to assess such aspects as trellising systems, suitability of specific grape varieties, among several others. One of the principal areas under study at Bomfim is the matching of appropriate canopy management techniques to the grape variety and location. Accordingly, parcels of vineyards at the quinta contain six different trellising systems to monitor their performance under Douro conditions, using local varieties. Rigorous fruit analysis is carried out every year, comparative micro-vinifications being conducted in a dedicated winemaking facility at Quinta do Sol. The underlying objective is always to strive for maximum quality and that this may be reflected in the excellence of the Dow’s Ports in the bottle.

Vintage Ports are after meal drinks. Take them with cheese like Stilton or Gorgonzola. But you can also incorporate them into a meal, combining for instance a Steak au Poivre with a young Vintage. Being the “Peste Bubónica” (Bubonic Plague) in Porto, nobody was allowed to leave the city and the vintage at Zimbro, Bomfim and Senhora da Ribeira commenced and was practically finished when we arrived...’ VINEYARD DETAILS Since 1798, the name Dow’s has been associated with the finest Ports from the Douro Valley. Dow’s Ports are made at two of the most famous Quintas in the Douro: Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, together with the privately family-owned quintas of Santinho, Fonte Branca and Cerdeira. In the Quinta’s Centenary year - 1996, Dow’s produced a superb single - quinta Vintage Port from Quinta do Bomfim. This wine has received wide critical acclaim, most notably a Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge (London, 2005).

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In the good years when Dow’s does not declare a Vintage, the best Ports of Quinta do Bomfim are carefully selected and bottled as Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port. These wines are exceptionally good. They will tend to mature a little earlier than the very rare declared years, but can be every bit as good as some other Vintage Ports. Bomfim is a classic ‘River Quinta’ with many natural advantages: it is south-facing ensuring ample exposure to the sun; its stony schist soil affords excellent drainage allowing water to reach the vines’ deep roots; the annual rainfall is near perfect at 800mm (15 year annual average); the altitude ranges from 120 to 340 metres above sea level, accommodating both gentle gradients lower down and progressively steeper slopes higher up the valley side, as well as offering a variety of aspects. A further advantage is the consistency of the climate, blessed with a favourable combination of temperate and Mediterranean influences, respectively from Portugal’s Atlantic coast and the Spanish hinterland.

The winery at Senhora da Ribeira has been extensively restored and the grapes continue to be trodden by foot in the original stone lagares. Three innovative robotic lagares have now been installed at the winery, and Vintage Port is made there in non-declared years and released en primeur.Should be opened two hours before serving and decanted. Serve between 17º and 18º C. Store the bottle on its side, in a cool, dry and dark place. George Warre’s entry into the Bomfim visitors’ book dated October 5th, 1899 (the very year the above picture was taken) recounts a curious episode: Dows Quinta Do Bomfim Single Quinta Vintage Port is made in exactly the same way as Dow’s Vintage Port but in a year that is not declared as a vintage. However, even in a slightly lesser vintage most Port Houses can make a very good wine from their top property.