Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha Vintage Port, Douro, Portugal, 2006

Very deep colour; practically opaque with a crimson rim. Intense and brooding black fruit aromas marry with distinctive rockrose and freshly  picked mint fragrance. Gorgeous fresh notes of mango. Delicious ripe plum and blackberry flavours; very compact and mouth filling but simultaneously smooth and elegant. Beautiful chocolate notes on the lingering finish. Irresistible now but with a long life ahead of it.

A rich, fruity 2006 vintage port from Warre’s, made with grapes from its Quinta da Cavadinha vineyard. One of the finest vineyards in the Pinhao Valley, Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha is known for the elegance of its wines, which form the backbone of Warre’s vintage port.

Single Quinta Vintage Ports are made in a similar way to other Vintage Ports in that they’re bottled, without filtration, after a couple or so years in barrel and continue to mature in bottle from there. They will have a sediment and so should be decanted before drinking.

Quinta da Cavadinha is one of Warre’s best and most reliable estates and, outside of vintage years, its wines are frequently released as single quinta vintages.

In declared’ years, the wines of Quinta da Cavadinha are an important component of Warre’s Vintage Port. In years between declarations, the wines from Cavadinha are often released as a Vintage Port solely from this property. These wines show a recognisable provenance, directly reflecting the vineyard’s cooler ripening cycle defined by its altitude and relatively sheltered aspect, which produce fragrant, fresh and very elegant wines. The 2006 vintage was quite challenging due to a very hot summer and some persistent rain in late September, which delayed the start of picking. Yields were much lower than in the previous vintage but the quality was high and Cavadinha’s altitude shielded the vineyard’s grapes from the heatwaves experienced during July, August and early September, which adversely affected some lower-lying vineyards.

When to drink:
Irresistible now but with a long life ahead of it.

Storage:
Store the bottle horizontally, ideally in a cool place with a constant temperature. Decant before serving, ideally a few hours beforehand.

Serving:
An  excellent dessert wine to enjoy on its own or with chocolate desserts. A very good match with blue cheeses and terrific with mature hard cheeses.

PROVENANCE · GRAPE VARIETIES
Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha vineyard Pinhao Valley · Douro Demarcated Region Portugal.
Grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, old mixed vines and Touriga Franca.

YEAR AND HARVEST OVERVIEW
The winter of 2005/06 brought good levels of rainfall which was most welcome following the previous year’s drought. Settled spring weather encouraged good budbreak and fruit set, although the hottest May in 40 years and a very hot June caused the vines some hardship. These conditions were broken by a substantial hailstorm on the 14th of June which affected the Cavadinha vineyard, reducing the size of the
crop from the old mixed vineyards by 50%. However, the rain also brought benefits, proving timely given the hot and mainly dry months of August and September. The vintage started much later than usual at Cavadinha on the 25th of September to allow balanced ripening of the grapes, delayed by the hot, generally dry summer conditions. A succession of Atlantic storms brought some rain just before the harvest started but strong winds rapidly dried the bunches, thus pre-empting any harm to the grapes, and these were delivered to the winery in fine condition. It’s clear that some very fine wines have been made during this harvest.