By Quinta do Vallado
2018 Vintage Port

Wine Data
Producer: Quinta do Vallado
Region: Douro
Country: Portugal
Wine Composition: Mix of grapes from old vineyards in the valley of Rio Torto

Description
A full-bodied Port with deep and strong aromas of intense dark fruit. It is full-bodied, with ripe and soft tannins and excellent structure and complexity.

Winemaker Notes
The grapes come from vineyards controlled by Quinta do Vallado in Rio Torto. The grapes (70% with stalks) were fermented for four days in 'Lagares' with periodic foot-trodding. The wine is then aged for 21 months in stainless steel vats.

History
Dona Antonia Adelaide Ferreira was an ancestor of the current owners of Quinta do Vallado. A remarkable woman, especially for her time (mid-to-late 1700s), she was one of the most powerful Port producers in Portugal who built the Ferreira Port label into one of the best in the country. It also was one of the very few Port houses owned by a Portuguese family (at that time, most were owned by British companies). It is on her land that Quinta do Vallado is situated.

Serving Hints
A classic vintage Port from the region, it is perfect served on its own and also very tasty when served with aged Stilton or other blue cheeses and nuts.

Technical Analysis
Alcohol: 19.50%
Total Acidity: 4.6 g/l
Residual Sugar: 91 g/l
pH: 3.85
[Information provided by Quintessential Wines]

QUINTA DO VALLADO Vintage Port 2018
Score: 97
Release Price: $110
Region: Portugal / Port
Type: Dessert
Issue: Feb 28, 2021
Really vibrant, with bramble-laced blueberry, blackberry and raspberry compote flavors driving along, while mouthwatering anise, violet and fruitcake accents add detail and sparkle throughout. Finish sports a gorgeous late kick of fruit and spice. Best from 2030 through 2050. - JM

Quinto do Vallado, Porto (Douro, Portugal) Vintage Port 2018
Price: $110
Importer: Quintessential Wines
Vintage Port is always so interesting to taste upon release. There's a quality, one particularly brought to the fore by this house, of a clove spiked orange, that sits atop the barrel and fruit components that’s pretty delicious in its own right. Of course, there is greatness to come, as the citrus notes fold into the rich berry fruit and the oak dovetails in, and brings out deep exotic spice aromas and flavors. I wish I was of an age where I could revisit this in forty years.
Points: 95
Reviewed By: Rich Cook
Review Date: Mar 9, 2021

Quinta do Vallado 2018 Vintage (Port)
Rating: 95
Price: $110
Designation: Vintage
Variety: Port, Port Blend
Appellation: Port, Portugal
Winery: Quinta do Vallado
Alcohol: 19.50%
Bottle Size: 750.00 ml
Category: Port/Sherry
Importer: Quintessential Wines
Date Published: 12/31/2020
Reviewed by: Roger Voss
This estate, founded by the legendary Dona Antonia Ferreira, has produced a massive Port. Dark with tannins and full of opulent black-stone fruits and prunes, it obviously has a fine future ahead. Drink this great Port from 2030.

2018 Quinta do Vallado Vintage Port
Producer: Quinta do Vallado 
From: Portugal, Douro, Porto
Color: Red
Type: Fortified
Sweetness: Sweet
Variety: Proprietary Blend
Rating: 93+
Release Price: $110
Drink Date: 2026 - 2063
Reviewed by: Mark Squires
Issue Date: 29th Jan 2021
Source: End of January 2021, The Wine Advocate
The 2018 Vintage Port (formerly called "Vintage Port Adelaide," but it's the same wine) is a field blend from old vines aged only in stainless steel. Very dry, it was bottled in June 2020 [...]. Overall, this is a Port with a difference that has been consistently excellent of late. This is always a bit different, given the lack of wood. It's pretty dry this year too. That said, in most respects, it has a classic demeanor, with pure flavors and inky black color. Given the method of vinification, it seems slight in mouthfeel on opening, but it is bigger and more persistent than it seems at first. The texture becomes silky as it airs out. As always, its hallmark is its purity. It is all clean fruit with steel underneath. It finishes dry and stern and broods just a little.

This is not quite as expressive as in some years—and it seems a step behind the gorgeous 2017—but it still has time to improve. Even now, the blackberry nuances are intriguing. It should improve considerably in the cellar. It will be approachable relatively young—I can just see some drinking it now—but that doesn't mean that you should dive in. Giving it a few extra years wouldn't hurt, and it should hold well.

Quinta do Vallado 2018 Porto Vintage
Price: $110
Rating: 92
Rising up from the eastern bank of the Corgo River, above its confluence with the Douro in Regua, Quinta do Vallado was Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira’s prime property in the Baixa Corgo, the Douro region’s westernmost Atlantic-influenced zone. More than a century later, it is run by three of her great-great-great-grandsons, CEO Joao Ferreira Alvares Ribeiro, agriculturist Francisco Ferreira and winemaker Francisco Olazabal. This powerful 2018 is a good example of why the family has held onto the property for so long. It combines a chic, modern sense of elegance with the stink of schist in its saturated blueberry-skin tannins. There’s a fresh, green floral intensity in the aroma that calls out its youth. Tense and concentrated, this is set for 20 years or more of development ahead.
Quintessential, Napa, CA
(12/20)

Quinta do Vallado 2018 Port 
Producer: Quinta do Vallado
Appellation: Port
Region: Port
Country: Portugal
Colour: Red
Alcohol: 19.50%
Score: 16.5+/20
When to drink: 2028 – 2045
Published on: 25 Aug 2020
Date tasted: 23 Aug 2020
Reviewer: Julia Harding MW
Foot-trodden in lagares over 4 days. 50% whole bunch. RS 91 g/l.
Intense and very deep crimson with black core. An unexpected lightly herbaceous note at first, then on aeration, dark, rocky and spicy and more like an alcoholic Douro red than a port in its lack of raisiny sweet fruit notes. On the palate, dark and finely dry, lot of dark-chocolate character in both flavour and texture. Not luscious but still packed with dark fruit. In port terms, a relatively austere style but a long, powerful finish. Embryonic and well balanced. Not quite up to the 2017. (JH)