Producers highlight 2024 vintage Port with UK masterclasses
A trio of Port producers is set to host events in London and Manchester, with a focus on vintage Ports including the recently declared 2024 wines.
Hosted by Adrian Bridge of The Fladgate Partnership, Carlos Agrellos of Quinta do Noval, and Rupert Symington of Symington Family Estates, two events next week will shine a spotlight on vintage Port. Each exclusive event will feature walk-around tastings and masterclasses led by those experts.
Between them, the three companies make some of the most recognisable names in Port: Quinta do Noval itself, but also the likes of Taylor’s and Fonseca from The Fladgate Partnership and Dow’s and Graham’s from Symington Family Estates. Moreover, it is a particularly timely opportunity to rediscover the wines, as the last month has seen all three declare the 2024 vintage.
The first event will take place on Monday, 18 May, at Christie’s in St James’s, London. It will feature a walk-around tasting running from 10am to 4pm, as well as two one-and-a-half-hour masterclasses; first at 11am and second at 2pm.
On Tuesday, 19 May, the trio will head to The People’s History Museum in Manchester, with another walk-around tasting and a further masterclass at 11am-12.30pm.
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Interested parties are advised to RSVP via fladgate@hopeandglorypr.com.
A noteworthy year
With large numbers of key Port players having declared it, 2024 is a particularly significant vintage. The last vintage that was generally declared was 2017, itself a rarity as a back-to-back general declaration after 2016. This seven year gap marks the longest in recent memory.
In announcing the 2024 vintage, Symington Family Estates’ head winemaker and joint managing director Charles Symington declared: “2024 delivered what we hoped for but couldn’t force – the return of a classic Douro vintage.”
Meanwhile Christian Seely, managing director of AXA Millésimes (owners of Quinta do Noval) described the declared wines as “precise, refined and very well balanced, with a remarkable combination of elegance and intensity.”
For The Fladgate Partnership, the 2024 vintage is significant as the first time since 2017 that its three major houses – Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft – have all declared a vintage.
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