Also a wine we need to pay more attention to

[Axel P]

We all know Vesuvio for great Vintage Ports. Those of us who have tasted the recent Ports are fully aware of its potential.

As I am getting more involved with the Douro DOCs I begin to understand that it is economically much more rewarding for a producer to make Douro DOC than Vintage Port as the same quality of grapes for the DOC can be purchased cheaper (or sold more expensivly) and the ex cellar price for a Maria Teresa is roughly twice as high as for a Taylors Vintage Port.

Nevertheless the quality of the Douro DOCs is extremely on the uprise. As 1952 was the first production year of the legendary Barca Velha, it took the producers decades to come up with anything else. As late as the 90s producers like Alves de Sousa, Dirk Niepoort, the Rquettes (Crasto), Quinta do Cotto or Ramos Pinto produced Red wine. As these producers did know what they were doing, many actually somewhat produced a Vintage Port without the brandy (this is at least what some of these wines look like today). 2004/2005 many more producers joined this and the quality got much better. In 2011 you find splendid, brilliant, big wines, but as the demand rises, they are not cheap wines any more.

One of my favorites of the 2011 Douro DOCs is this one: http://worldofport.de/Wein/Wein15-05%20EN.html

I believe that Vesuvio will receive more attention in the future so now is the time to grab some of these bottles and store them away for the next 2-3 decades.

Axel