Vintage Report

1998 Vintage Report

1998 was a smaller than average crop and the old vines at Agua Alta produced a Vintage Port with plenty of fruit and structure.

The 1998 AGUA ALTA VINTAGE has a deep, full colour, masses of jammy fruit and an excellent balance and structure; a Vintage Port which will age gracefully.

This was a year that favoured the traditional Grade “A”, lower altitude vineyards in the Douro such as Água Alta.

Very cold weather in late April and May, combined with severe frosts, badly affected the higher and less protected vineyards and provoked a 30% drop in production in the Douro against the previous 5-year average.

The Summer was hotter than usual and grape maturations were irregular due to the poor berry setting caused by the unsettled spring weather. However, South facing, sheltered vineyards such as Agua Alta came off much better than other more exposed vineyards.

By the second week in September the grapes at Agua Alta had reached full maturity and although the Vintage was interrupted by heavy rain, the best grapes were by then already in the lagares.

The rain brought cooler temperatures and the fermentations were long and even with the lagares taking a lot of work. The resulting wines were sensational both for their colour and their grapey aroma.

Grapes Varieties: