The very hot climate through the summer at this vineyard results in highly complex and concentrated wines but very low yields.

Many of the Dow’s Colheitas available today have been aged for considerably longer and Dow’s has one of the finest collections of cask aged Ports in existence today. There was plenty of beneficial rainfall early in 2020 but also plenty of heat which has given exceptionally low yields. In September 2006, Jancis Robinson MW wrote, “One very exciting new bottling is Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira 2004. Senhora da Ribeira’s wines are some of the finest in the Douro and they complement those from Bomfim in the composition of Dow’s classic Vintage Ports. A rain affected start to the season, coupled with hail, reduced yields to very small levels in 2018.The acidity was near perfect and the tannins are tame but omnipresent; while the finish was spicy, warm and extremely long. Dow’s Quinta do Bomfin Vintage Port has the potential to age for decades and can develop even more complexity and nuance over time. Luxurious and silky on the palate, Dow’s 30 Year Old Tawny is extremely refined with flavours of quince and citrus and a stylish, lingering dry finish with nuances of tea leaf.

This grape variety - very important for Vintage Port - now represents almost exactly a third of the total planted at the quinta. James Suckling of Wine Spectator tasted a Dow’s port over a hundred years after its bottling, an 1896, and described it as: “…an amazing ruby colour with a garnet edge, it smelled of raisins, black pepper and berries. The collected data is always anonymized and does not reveal any specific information about the users identity.The vineyard commands a magnificent north bank position, overlooking a broad sweep of the Douro, directly opposite another famous Symington owned vineyard: Quinta do Vesuvio.