The family’s first classic Vintage Port declaration in seven years marks a return to classical Douro harmony, with wines defined by remarkable elegance.
April 14, 2026 (San Francisco, CA) — Symington Family Estates, a five-generation producer of world-renowned Ports and premium wines, has declared their 2024 Vintage Ports. After reviewing the best wines made in 2024 from across their Douro estates, the family felt compelled to take the rare decision to make a classic Vintage Port from each of their port houses – Dow’s, Graham’s, Warre’s, Cockburn’s, and single estate, Quinta do Vesúvio, together with their two micro-terroir Vintage Ports – Graham’s The Stone Terraces and Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio. Different expressions of one exceptional vintage, each faithful to the signature character of its house and the estates that define it.
Charles Symington, Head Winemaker and Joint Managing Director, commented: “The harvests from 2018 to 2023 were marked by challenging growth cycles. We made some great wines, but they weren’t classic. We drew on the multi-generational experience of our vineyards, we adapted, and we innovated. We also waited. After seven years, 2024 delivered what we hoped for but couldn’t force – the return of a classic Douro vintage. These are the wines that our family have always aspired to create in any given vintage since 1882. And we made the very best of it that we could.”
Following a succession of harvests marked by prolonged heatwaves and erratic rainfall, 2024 saw the return of an old-style Douro vintage with more typical conditions, producing wines of remarkable elegance and precision. The key barometer for a great Douro vintage rests on the performance of the Touriga Nacional and the late-ripening Touriga Franca, with both reaching their apex in 2024.
Symington continues: “The 2024 Vintage Ports whisper rather than shout. After years of heat-driven power, these wines are characterized by their precision: taut structures wrapped in pure, crystalline fruit. This is Douro elegance with backbone, and refinement with staying power. It was worth the wait.”
The Symington family are committed to only making their classic Vintage Ports in the most exceptional years – which has typically been 2–3 times a decade over the last 144 years that they have made wine in the Douro. The seven years between the 2024 and 2017 Vintage Port declarations is the longest since WWII, when there was generally no Vintage Port made between 1935 and 1945.
In addition to the family’s principal Vintage Ports, they will also make a small quantity of Smith Woodhouse and Quinta de Roriz 2024 Vintage Port.
The Symington family will be presenting their 2024 Vintage Ports at a series of special trade and media events May 5-7 in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. For more information, please contact Michelle@calhounwine.com.
2024 Vintage Port Declaration
Graham’s 2024 Vintage Port
Made from Graham’s four estates across the Douro Valley, with Quinta dos Malvedos being the cornerstone. Fabulously opulent and seductive, with polished tannins and bright acidity.
Production: 5,935 cases (9L) – 15% of Graham’s total vineyard production in 2024
Grape Varieties: Touriga Nacional 55%, Touriga Franca 30%, Old Vines 9%, Sousão 6%
Graham’s The Stone Terraces 2024 Vintage Port
Made from two low-yielding vineyards of just under three hectares laid out on magnificent stone terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos. 2024 is only the sixth vintage of this extraordinary wine.
Production: 520 cases (9L) – just 2% of the total production at Quinta dos Malvedos in 2024
Dow’s 2024 Vintage Port
The combination of the finest wines from Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira gives this 2024 the peppery concentration and powerful structure that Dow’s is known for.
Production: 5,535 cases (9L) – 17% of Dow’s total vineyard production in 2024
Grape Varieties: Touriga Franca 40%, Touriga Nacional 35%, Old Vines 15%, Alicante Bouschet 10%
Warre’s 2024 Vintage Port
Shaped by its high-altitude vineyards with their large proportion of old vines, the 2024 Warre’s offers a unique combination of floral elegance and multilayered concentration.
Production: 4,280 cases (9L) – 13.5% of Warre’s total vineyard production in 2024
Grape Varieties: Touriga Franca 38%, Old Vines 34%, Touriga Nacional 17%, Sousão 11%
Cockburn’s 2024 Vintage Port
This wine is characterised by Cockburn’s signature palate of red fruits combined with a structured grip leading to a long, drying finish – born from the Canais estate in the warmer eastern Douro.
Production: 2,980 cases (9L) – 7.5% of Cockburn’s total vineyard production in 2024
Grape Varieties: Touriga Nacional 63%, Touriga Franca 24%, Alicante Bouschet 9%, Sousão 4%
Quinta do Vesúvio 2024 Vintage Port
Made using the centuries-old method of foot-treading in granite lagares at this magnificent estate, the 2024 Vesúvio combines complexity and refinement.
Production: 1,510 cases (9L) – 4% of Vesúvio’s total vineyard production in 2024.
Grape Varieties: Touriga Franca 47%, Touriga Nacional 30%, Alicante Bouschet 13%, Sousão 10%
Capela da Quinta do Vesúvio 2024 Vintage Port
An exceptional expression of a few special vineyards at the iconic Vesúvio. 2024 produced wines with the power, structure and refinement required to make this micro-terroir Vintage Port.
Production: 430 cases (9L) – 1% of Quinta do Vesúvio’s total vineyard production in 2024
Smith Woodhouse 2024 Vintage Port
Smith Woodhouse Vintage Ports are sourced from one of the Douro’s finest areas, the Rio Torto Valley, with the 2024 delivering the signature floral elegance and excellent structure.
Production: 1,270 cases (9L)
Grape Varieties: Touriga Franca 40%, Touriga Nacional 30%, Old Vines 30%
Quinta de Roriz 2024 Vintage Port
Quinta de Roriz is one of the oldest estates in the Douro, with Vintage Ports characterized by structure, balance, and a distinctive minerality influenced by tin and gold tailings at the property.
Production: 360 cases (9L)
ABOUT SYMINGTON FAMILY ESTATES
The Symingtons of Scottish, English and Portuguese descent have been port producers in northern Portugal since 1882. For five generations they have combined their passion for producing fine wines and ports with a deep commitment to the region’s land and people.
Today, nine Symingtons work across their four port houses: Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s, as well as their Douro wine brands – Quinta do Vesúvio, Quinta do Ataíde, Altano, Prats & Symington (of Chryseia fame), and Vértice (one of Portugal’s leading sparkling wines). They also produce wine at Quinta da Fonte Souto in the Alto Alentejo, Casa de Rodas in Monção & Melgaço, and Hambledon in the UK through a joint venture.
Symington Family Estates is the world’s leading premium port producer and farms the largest area of prime (‘A’ rated) vineyard in the Douro valley, with 26 Quintas (estates) covering 2,462 hectares and 1,114 ha of vineyard. The family business is a founding member of Primum Familiae Vini – an association of 12 European wine families – and in 2020 was voted in 7th place in The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands list by a panel of over 200 international wine experts organised by Drinks International.
All Symington vineyards are sustainably managed under a minimum intervention certification and 130 ha are organically farmed – the largest area of organic vineyard in northern Portugal. The family have invested significantly in viticulture R&D to adapt to climate change and have an ambitious sustainability plan, with a series of public goals under the banner of Mission 2025.
The company is a certified B Corporation – the first wine company in Portugal to take this step – joining a global community of businesses audited for the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. Symington was named Ethical Company of the Year in The Drinks Business 2019 Green Awards. In 2023 Symington Family Estates became the first wine producer in Portugal to achieve the new Sustainable Winegrowing Certification, following a rigorous audit.
More information:
www.symington.com
www.instagram.com/symingtonfamilyestates
www.twitter.com/symingtonfamily
