Anyone who has had the privilege of tasting Vintage Port from the 1960s or earlier will agree that these are some of the best wines they have ever tasted. It speaks volumes, therefore, that the 1994 Vintage Ports have all the ingredients to follow in the footsteps of those great years.
Exactly three decades ago, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, George W Bush Jr became governor of Texas, the last Russian troops left Germany, and the Hubble Space Telescope revealed the first detailed photographs of Pluto and its moon Charon. In the same year, the Douro Valley produced grapes for one of the most amazing Port vintages since 1970. Up to that later time, many questionable decisions had been made in Port production. Several brands were bought by large international groups with little or no experience in the premium wine sector, wrong declaration decisions were made, and largely inconsistent quality even from famous houses in the 1980s led to a rather low reputation for Vintage Port by the early 1990s. On top of all of this, the replacement of vinhas velhas (very old mixed vines) with varietal plantings sadly contributed to a decline in quality.
Following the worst in 50 years…
The harvest in 1993 was a disaster—huge amounts of rain in the Douro Valley just before and during harvest meant that only one Vintage Port was officially bottled that year. The following winter of 1993/94 began mildly, with lots of rain in relatively short periods of time to replenish the underground water reserves. The subsequent rather unsettled weather and a lack of surface water led to a considerable amount of desavinho (lack of fertilization) and naturally reduced the crop size during the harvest, in some areas by as much as 40%. In general, spring and summer settled to be warm and pleasant, without excess heat. A little rain in early September nicely cleaned the berries and provided the right amount of water. When picking started between mid- and late September, the weather was dry, sunny, and warm.
Noval’s chief enologist Antonio Agrellos and Paul Symington (representing Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, and the other brands in Symington Family Estates) agreed that they had great fruit from day one of the harvest. “We have received musts with exceptional quality and the most beautiful aromas in the lagares,” said Antonio. Fladgate’s head enologist David Guimaraens remembers 1994 as a rather warm year but with not a single day above 100°F (38°C). The grapes, therefore, had both perfect freshness and complexity. Unlike most previous Vintage years, all famous houses and major brands bottled a 1994 Vintage Port.
The US market kicks in
1994 can also be seen as the breakthrough Vintage in approaching and consolidating the US wine market. Previously, US wine lovers bought very little Port, but the ecstatic critical acclaim for the 1994 Vintage Ports spread across the country and led to large sales—and even more important, growing interest in the years to follow. It also helped that there was no other great wine region with such success this year, and much of the wine journalism focused on the Douro Valley. For the first time, the emerging wine funds also bought considerable amounts of 1994 Vintage Port, contributing to higher release prices. With the highest sale prices around $129 (£100) at the time, Vintage Port was still a bargain compared to the top Bordeaux crus classés or Burgundy grands crus.
Port producers generally remain shy when talking about numbers, but historically, Vintage Port production rarely exceeded 100,000 bottles from a single house. The two largest bottlings (Taylors 1970 Vintage Port and Fonseca 1985 Vintage Port) are also among the best Vintage Ports bottled in their respective years. The 1994 harvest also provided both a large crop and very high quality. The Fladgate Partnership produced some 100,000 bottles of each of their two flagship Vintage Ports, Fonseca and Taylor’s, and immediately received top scores from leading wine publications upon release. Niepoort’s head Port enologist Nick Delaforce agreed that the high critical ratings did have a particular impact on the US market. Unfortunately, the increased interest from US wine lovers led to an earlier bottling in subsequent years, driven by soaring demand for the most recent Vintage Port bottled to be available in time for Thanksgiving in November—a trend that many Port winemakers regretted.
Nowadays, production volumes of Vintage Port are generally decreasing, because many houses have more brands to look after and prefer to focus on individual terroirs rather than large numbers. Additionally, there are many more small producers on the market, who bottle their own Vintage Port instead of selling grapes or wine to the larger houses.
In the 1980s, the last of the “old-fashioned” Ports were bottled, and in the 1990s, a new generation of enologists took over. This new generation acquired their experience widely in other wine regions and brought much new knowledge back to the more traditional Douro Valley. At the same time, many large houses reduced their purchase of grapes and Port from smaller producers and bought vineyards to take full control of all stages of production. For Peter Symington, Symington Family Estates’ head winemaker in 1994, Vintage Port changed dramatically from a sourcing point of view. When Peter bottled the outstanding 1963 Vintage, only a few houses owned vineyards. Each Vintage was produced with fruit from a number of farmers, who proved to be the reliable backbone of the company’s Vintage Port over the decades. In those days, the farmer was responsible for deciding the grape variety, the time of picking, the time to add the brandy, and often even blended the Ports to sell to the larger houses. From the mid-1960s, producers realized that if they wanted to bottle larger quantities of the same high quality, they needed to be more involved in every stage of production. They could either buy quintas or micro-manage the estates where they sourced the Port. This evolution certainly took time, and the 1990s were probably the first decade in which this process was completed and the houses finally consolidated their Port production. For Peter Symington, 1994 is clearly the superstar vintage of the decade: “Everything went well. Perfect climate led to outstanding grapes, and a picture-book harvest crowned all this. Nowadays, you see these exceptional qualities at the beginning of their perfect drinking window.”
Johnny Graham also witnessed the end of an era when he launched his Churchill’s brand in 1982. (His family had sold Graham’s to the Symington Family in 1970.) In the 1970s and early ’80s, a lot of Vintage Port was produced in smaller quintas, but things changed markedly thereafter. The first Churchill’s Ports were more likely to be bought from small producers, then blended and made like the Ports in 1994, when he controlled the whole process. Johnny was, however, worried that his 1994 Ports were developing too fast and losing color too quickly after tasting one a few years later. With some 100 pipes (one pipe = 550 liters) in total—50 from Quinta da Manoella and 25 each from Quintas Aqua Alta and Fojo—Johnny bottled one of the finest and largest-volume Ports in Churchill’s history.
Fladgate’s chief winemaker David Guimaraens describes the 1990s as a “decade of transition” and believes that, some three decades after the harvest, not all 1994s have proved to be excellent Vintage Ports. He says that many houses had already stopped putting their grapes in granite lagares for foot-treading, preferring stainless steel instead. His “two babies”—the Taylor’s and Fonseca 1994 Vintage Ports—were, however, 100% foot-trodden and were the first Fladgatge Vintage Ports from grapes harvested exclusively from Fladgate’s own quintas. David says that with the traditional old field blends, you can end up with less color in the Port, but he adds that with old Vintage Ports from the first half of the century, color was never that important. After 2000, he noticed a very strong demand for almost-black and more fruit-driven Vintage Ports, which should impress the critics at an early stage—a tendency he does not welcome.
When to drink Vintage Port
Vintage Port has at least three distinct phases:
The fruity phase (for 5–10 years after the harvest);
The reduction/adolescence/puberty phase (from 5/10–20/30 years after the harvest);
The drinking phase (from 20/30 years after the harvest onward).
Using these three phases as a rule of thumb, I believe that there are a few more phases in the evolution of a great Vintage Port, which can age up to a century in bottle. I am quite happy with the first two as they are, but the drinking phase goes through more phases than just this one. In the first part (some 20–40 years after the harvest), you still have some residual fruit and more chocolate and coffee notes. The second part of the drinking phase becomes more about honey, malt, and other more mature aromas. It could be argued that there is a third part of this phase, where the flavors of the second phase become more balanced and the Port might show hints of tobacco and all kind of spices. In between these two or three parts, there may also be a period when the Vintage Port is not as approachable but also not as closed as in the reduction phase from years 5 to 30.
Opening a bottle of 1994 Vintage Port now should always reward you with a Port at the beginning of its best possible drinking window. Perhaps the Noval Nacional needs a few more years to be fully awake, but all others will provide great pleasure from now on and for many decades to come.
Vintage Port: A dinosaur?
In today’s world, where everything has to be delivered the day before yesterday, and where the regular consumer tends to choose wines with less alcohol and certainly less sugar, Vintage Port could not be more contradictory. With Vintage Port, you buy a bottle of wine with around 3.5oz (100g) of residual sugar per liter and 20% ABV for a considerable amount of money and must then ideally store it for at least three decades.
In addition, Port is also a little more complicated when it comes to vocabulary. It’s not rocket science, but you need to have read or heard about it to have a proper understanding. With fewer and fewer Port consumers owning their own cellars over decades, the question of where to store the Ports until their optimum drinking windows can become very pressing. Symington Family Estates was the first major company to address this issue on behalf of the consumer. For several years now, it has been offering Vintage Ports that have been aged for several decades in their cellars, taking care of the aging process on behalf of the consumer. Currently they offer Ports en primeur directly after bottling, but also the Library Release for Ports aged for two to three decades, and the Private Cellar Release for Ports with 40–60 years of age. These Ports are all checked and recorked before release. In the future, they also might start a Final Release, for Ports aged for 80+ years in their cellars.
But every time you finally open a bottle of mature Vintage Port, you know why all the effort was worth it. Vintage Port is truly one the greatest wines in the world. It offers dimensions and layers of aromas that unfortified wines can very rarely match.
Port as investment
For Paul Symington, the 1994s are beautiful Ports that deserve to be on anyone’s list of the five or six best Vintage Port years since the legendary 1945. So, for this great year, I predict that prices will rise sooner rather than later. When young Vintage Port is released to the market, prices get fixed quite soon after critics award their scores. Then, within the next two decades very little happens price-wise, since many Vintage Ports undergo an adolescence. When they emerge from this phase, very few producers still have reasonable stocks. This is the time for the secondary market, mainly merchants and auctions. You should then try to buy the Ports before they celebrate their two most important “round birthdays,” at 40 and 50 years of age, since these wines are much sought after as presents. The stars of the 1994 Vintage initially received very high ratings and were therefore relatively expensive from the start. This price level changed very little until three to five years ago, when prices rose by 20–50%. As they all attain their perfect plateau, it is highly unlikely that prices will ever come down again. So, if you still need to stock up on your 1994 Vintage Ports, now is the time.
Many houses also bottled very good colheitas from this vintage. Colheita is the Portuguese word for harvest, and it differs from Vintage Port only in the way it ages. Like Vintage Ports, colheitas can only use grapes from the harvest of one year, but they age in pipes, 550-liter used-oak casks. Care should be taken when purchasing these Ports, since they are bottled for rather rapid consumption and are not made to age in the bottle. Although not obligatory, most producers also display the bottling year on the label. British-owned houses prefer the term single-harvest Tawny”—but it is exactly the same type of Port.
Tasting (November 16, 2023)
VINTAGE PORT
1994 Berrys’ Own Selection (Smith Woodhouse) Vintage Port
Kindly provided by the famous British wine merchant and shipper Berry Bros & Rudd, which, for its own bottling in generally declared vintages, opts for a blend that normally varies slightly from that bottled by the Port producer. For the 1994, BBR selected Smith Woodhouse, one of the Symington brands. The appearance suggests that this Port is rather slow to mature, since it is one of the darkest from the vintage, with almost no transparency to its dark-red color. Tobacco, floral notes, and white pepper on the nose, with a hint of very ripe, red-berry fruit, mainly plum and strawberry. The ripe fruit disappears with increasing decanting time. Balanced, fresh palate—still quite acidic—with elegant raspberry fruit and white pepper. Medium-long finish. Needs another five years to really shine. | 92+
1994 Burmester Vintage Port
Deep, dark red color, with an appreciably lighter color toward the rim. Extremely elegant and balanced, herbal-fresh bouquet, with malt, pepper, and floral notes. Raspberry and strawberry on the palate, with a long, herbal, slightly acidic finish. | 91
1994 Churchill’s Vintage Port
Completely transparent, medium-red color, with bright, dark red reflections and a lighter rim. Fresh, slightly acidic nose, with coffee- and chocolate-driven red-berry fruit. A fine, fresh palate, reprising the chocolate and fruit of the nose, mainly strawberry and raspberry. Long, fruity, mineral, smoky finish. A more Burgundian style of Vintage Port. | 95
1994 Cockburn’s Vintage Port
Fresh, fully transparent color. The bouquet reveals malt, milk-chocolate, tobacco, a hint of residual red-berry fruit, and some volatile acidity. A moderately intense palate, with balanced chocolate and a soft texture. Tobacco and some herbs. Medium length. Another bottle of different provenance was very similar. | 88
1994 Quinta do Crasto Vintage Port
This is the hidden champion of the vintage, since Crasto Vintage Ports are often very well made but not much trumpeted by the producer, due to its more famous still wines. Full, almost-opaque color, with a dense core. Notes of tar, chocolate, and red-berry fruit are well balanced on the nose. Fresh, balanced and creamy on the palate, with plenty of fruit, raspberry and blackcurrant, followed by fresh chocolate. Long and complex. | 96
1994 Croft Vintage Port
Completely transparent. Balanced, fresh, and elegant on the nose, with fresh malt, coffee, chocolate, and very red-berry fruit. Vibrant sweetness on the palate but also a fine tannic structure, with chocolate, tobacco, and coffee. Medium length and a compact finish. | 92
1994 Dalva Vintage Port
Completely transparent, medium-red color. Sweet fruit on the nose: strawberry and raspberry, with a hint of coffee beans. Balanced on the palate, with nothing out of place, but slightly underwhelming for a 30-year-old Vintage Port. Medium length. | 86
1994 Delaforce Vintage Port
Delaforce had a 25-year contract with Quinta do Corte to provide grapes for its Vintage Ports; this expired in 2003. Even after 2003, Corte grapes were included in Delaforce Ports until the quinta was sold in 2013, when the new owner started bottling its own wines and Ports. Fully transparent, dark-red color, with moderately intense reflections. Fine, fresh, and fruity on the nose, with strawberry, raspberry, and preserved cherries. Chocolate and tobacco flavors. A precise palate, with spicy tobacco notes, chocolate, and very good supporting acidity. Long, fine, and focused on the finish. | 93
1994 Dow’s Vintage Port
The Symingtons bottled more Dow’s in 1994 than they did all their brands combined in 2017, and the earlier vintage was one of their largest declarations ever. Completely opaque, with intense, dark-red reflections. Fresh, fine, spicy-floral nose, with plum, raspberry, blackberry white pepper, coffee, and first hints of malt. A very clear structure on the palate, with raspberry, blackberry, cassis, and chocolate. Fine tannins, with light medicinal and mineral notes. Long and very precise on the finish. | 97
1994 Fonseca Vintage Port
Fonseca winemaker David Guimaraens was a bit worried some ten years ago when he tasted this Port, because it was much less attractive compared to a tasting some years before. Fonseca Ports often seem to have a very long adolescent phase but always reward the patient. Deep red color. Aromas of violets, coffee, chocolate, and freshly ground black pepper. Complex, deep palate, with warm, red-berry fruit, perfectly supporting acidity, and a very complex tannic structure. Strong raspberry fruit. Almost endlessly long on the multilayered finish. Truly one of the stars of this great year. | 99
1994 Graham’s Vintage Port
Brilliant reflections in the luminous, deep red color. Ripe, red-berry fruit, white pepper, and tobacco on the nose, followed by blackberry and chocolate. Firm acidity and fine, still noticeable tannic structure on the palate. Blackberry, cherry, chocolate, and menthol notes. Long, powerful finish. Still completely vibrant on the second and third day. Now in a perfect drinking window, but this will clearly age gracefully for many decades. | 97
1994 Kopke Vintage Port
Minimally transparent, dark-red color, with a deep core. This Port is just changing from the residual fruit, to the malt, honey, and spice phase. Balanced and complex. Supportive acidity and fine tannins on the palate, with red-berry fruit and chocolate. Good length, but this still needs another 3–5 years to be fully into its drinking window. | 90
1994 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
For whatever reason, Noval’s 1994 Vintage Port has not aged very well. Some ten years ago, this was a brilliant, very fruit-driven Vintage Port with a great structure. Medium red, almost opaque color. Fresh red-berry fruit, plum, and milk chocolate on the nose, already quite mature. Already hints of oxidation on the palate, with plum, raspberry, and strawberry, but also dried fruit (sultanas), not all in line. Medium length. A second bottle was the same. | 87
1994 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
This always was, and always will be, a truly fantastic Port. Completely opaque, dark-red color, with minimal reflections. Pepper, chocolate, and red-berry fruit on the expressive nose. Currently still slightly reductive, needing a long time in the decanter before it even begins to reveal its full potential. Fine firm tannins, white pepper, red-berry fruit, and milk chocolate on the palate. Long, chocolaty, and fruity to finish. Not fully awake yet, but with a huge potential. | 100
1994 Ramos Pinto Vintage Port
Medium-intense, dark-red color. A powerful, fruity, and spicy bouquet, with cherry, tobacco, white pepper, and chocolate, floral notes in the background. Noticeable acidity on the palate, but rich fruit, chocolate, and spice notes resonate subliminally. Long finish. Still closed, so give it the few more years it still needs. | 93+
1994 Ramos Pinto Ervamoira Vintage Port
My second hidden champion from this vintage, and the first single-quinta Vintage Port bottled by Ramos Pinto in a very long time. When José Antonio Rosas died in 1996, the winemaking team bottled this Port as a tribute to him, since he discovered Ervamoira together with João Nicolau de Almeida in the 1970s and cultivated the quinta. Barely transparent, dark-red color, with moderately intense reflections. Expansive, fresh-fruit nose, with raspberry, cherry, a very soft structure, and a hint of vanilla. A hint of sweetness on the palate, but also fresh, red-berry and floral notes, very well-structured acidity, and fine ripe tannins. Raspberry, strawberry, and the first malty notes. Long and very well-balanced finish. Bottled in 46,000 regular bottles and 350 magnums. | 95
1994 Quinta de la Rosa Vintage Port
Dark-red, fully transparent color, with bright reflections. A complex and spicy-fruity bouquet, with cherry, plum, coffee, chocolate, and tobacco. A hint of brandy on the palate, with very well-supporting acidity, perfectly balanced fruit, with black cherry and plum jam, coffee, and milk chocolate. Long, balanced finish, with plenty of intensity. Will continue to age very well. | 93
1994 Rozes Vintage Port
Transparent, deep, orange-red color, with moderately intense reflections. Spicy, malt-coffee nose, with complex spices. Balanced, elegant palate, with very supportive acidity and elegant, strawberry, coffee, and chocolate flavors. Medium length. Not for long aging. 15,000 bottles. | 88
1994 Sandeman Vintage Port
For George Sandeman, the 1994 harvest presented a very challenging situation: His brand had been bought in the early 1990s by the multinational company Seagram, which had almost no experience in the wine sector. After declaring neither a 1991 nor a 1992, it was essential to bottle a decent Sandeman 1994 Vintage Port to put the brand back on the map. Bright reflections to the dark-red color. Balanced notes of malt, coffee, red berries, and white pepper on the nose. Very well-structured acidity on the fresh, chocolaty palate. Medium length. | 92
1994 Skeffington Vintage Port
This Port is hardly seen beyond the UK. Transparent, dark-red color. Fresh, fruity nose, with balanced and elegant strawberry and raspberry and a hint of chocolate. Fine tannic structure on the palate, with chocolate, fresh, red-berry fruit, and very good supporting acidity. Medium-long, fresh finish. | 92
1994 Taylor’s Vintage Port
This has always been, is, and always will be, a fantastic Vintage Port! All made in lagares with 100% stalks. It is a blend of Vargellas and Terra Feita, and for head winemaker David Guimaraens this perfectly shows the characteristics of Vargellas. Almost opaque, deep-red color, with a discernible rim. Incredibly powerful bouquet, with coffee, tar, pepper, tobacco, chocolate, and residual red-berry fruit. Perfectly integrated tannins and supporting acidity on the palate, balancing the massive fruit; all kinds of red berries, black cherry, dark chocolate, and a colorful mix of spices here, too. Long, powerful, and complex finish. This Port is now at the beginning of a very high, long plateau. It is still very closed from magnum but much more open from half-bottles. | 100
1994 Tesco Vintage Port
Even buyer’s own brands from the 1994 vintage are still showing well. Until relatively recently, this Port was available in Tesco supermarkets for around £25 a bottle. Minimally transparent, dark-red color. Medicinal notes on the slightly dusty nose, with plum and dried fruit and the first malty notes. Overripe red-berry fruit on the palate, which seems rather baked: strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. Otherwise, well structured, with a medium-long finish. Drink up soon. | 87
1994 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port
Another star of the Vintage that still hasn’t received proper recognition. Opaque, dark-red color, with moderately intense reflections. Fresh, mineral nose, with lots of intense, precise, red-berry fruit, a hint of licorice, and milk chocolate. Balanced complexity on the palate, with perfectly integrated acidity and tannins, surprisingly pronounced mineral notes, and a hint of sweetness. Balanced raspberry and cherry flavors. Long, fine, and complex finish. | 98
1994 Warre’s Vintage Port
Bright, dark-red color, still almost opaque at the core. Straightforward, powerful, mineral bouquet, with a hint of residual fruit, chocolate, coffee, and malt. At the same time, intense and elegant on the palate, with a hint of noticeable sweetness, malt, and coffee. Perfectly integrated acidity and fine, ripe tannins. Long, powerful finish. | 97
COLHEITA PORTS
1994 Dalva Colheita (bottled 2020)
Dark, orange-red color, with a thin rim. Balanced, nut-and-orange nose, some spicy notes in the background. Harmonious, lightly spicy palate, with nuts, honey, and tobacco. Excellent balance and medium length. | 91
1994 Graham’s Single Harvest Tawny (bottled 2023)
Fully transparent, dark-red color, with orange reflections. Medicinal notes, nuts, and caramel on the nose, with subtle spicy notes. Fresh and complex on the palate, with finesse and spiciness, white pepper, dried fruit, and walnut. Medium-long finish. This colheita is developing magnificently. | 94
1994 Messias Colheita (bottled 2014)
Dark red with orange reflections. Balanced bouquet, with myriad spices, coffee, and chocolate. Soft texture but with enlivening acidity, malt, coffee, and milk chocolate. Medium length. | 92
1994 Niepoort Colheita (bottled 2006)
For reasons that I have not yet fully discovered, Niepoort colheitas can age perfectly well in the bottle, while others lose freshness and complexity. This was bottled 12 years after the harvest but has kept beautifully for another 18 years. Dark tawny color with a broad rim. An extremely fresh, very herbal and complex bouquet, with assorted nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate. The palate revealed a huge variety of nuts, raisins, and other dried fruits, as well as chocolate, coffee, and tobacco. One of the brightest Tawny stars of the vintage. | 97
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