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Symington launches fifth edition of Graham’s The Stone Terraces Vintage Port
Leading Port producer Symington Family Estates has made a rare edition of Graham’s The Stone Terraces 2021 Vintage Port following a particularly good yield that year.
The making of the micro-terroir wine is a rare decision by the Symington family who only ever produce it when the vines deliver wines of incomparable elegance and complexity. It is just the fifth of its kind following the 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions.
The wine is produced from two relatively shaded blocks, one east-facing and the other north-facing. This combined with the schist stone terrace, gives a distinctive ability to store and contain the heat from the sun through the night, creating a gradual, homogenous ripening process.
The two very cool exposures combine to create a wine with fresh, lifted aromas and hints of tropical fruit, characteristic of the unique terraces in which they are grown. It is concentrated whilst being supremely refined with polished tannins and taut acidity combining to deliver sublime elegance and balance, the brand said in a press release.
Because of the cooler temperatures in the 2021 growth cycle, the conditions facilitated a slower, gradual maturation of fruit with balanced ripening.
The stone terraces are planted mostly with mature Touriga Nacional and a few younger plantings including Touriga Franca, Sousão and Alicante Bouschet. Grapes from these vines were then picked at the same time and co-fermented to enhance complexity, structure, and freshness.
Only 4,800 75cl bottles and 280 tappit hens (225cl bottles which are named for their likeness to a hen’s crest) will be made, representing a mere 2% of the years’ total production at Quinta dos Malvedos.
Charles Symington, the company’s head winemaker, said of the terroir: “The hand-built stone terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos have long been prized by my family for producing wines with an incredibly unique profile, which is entirely distinct from the rest of the estate.”
The Stone Terraces 2021 Vintage Port will be bottled in May and be available from mid-June 2023.