"Symington Family Tasting Room, 2006
Due to the summer heat, yields were well down on previous years. Consequently only a small quantity of Dow’s 1991 Vintage Port was bottled. The wine is in the great tradition of Dow’s Vintage Ports. It is very dark with very good colour colour, excellent balance of tannins and acidity and an exceptionally attractive and concentrated nose. This Vintage has structure and quality, placing it amongst the finest Vintages produced in the postwar years.
Serena Sutcliffe MW, A Century of Vintage Port (Sotheby's, 2002)
Massive full bloom, full blown roses. Packed down berries. This sings. Winey, gummy and something else. Intensity, deep violets. Lovely heart to it. Even a bit of coffee at the end. Another recent bottle had a really plummy nose. Very berryish. Very gummy intense taste. Concentrated with a huge heart to it. Roasted coffee and prunes at the end. Glycerol and structure."
The story of Dow’s, unusual amongst all the great Port houses, began in 1798 when a Portuguese merchant, Bruno da Silva, did the opposite of most contemporary Port merchants by establishing himself in London. New partners later entered the thriving company, which became Silva & Cosens and then Dow’s when the two merged in 1877. Andrew James Symington joined as partner in 1912 and since then five generations of Symingtons have worked in the family company and in its Douro vineyards. Dow’s was one of the first companies to invest in Douro vineyards, acquiring Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira in 1890 (25 hectares) and Quinta do Bomfim in 1896 (61 hectares). These two riverside estates define the style of Dow’s Ports and each has its own small lagar winery where the finest Dow’s Ports are made, including the unique Dow’s Vintage Ports, Late Bottled Vintage, Reserve and Old Tawnies.
