Vesuvio is the Symington’s investment for the 21st century, a vast Douro Superior vineyard project initiated by the 19th-century land baroness Dona Antónia de Ferreira, from whose heirs they purchased it in 1989. They...
Vesuvio is the Symington’s investment for the 21st century, a vast Douro Superior vineyard project initiated by the 19th-century land baroness Dona Antónia de Ferreira, from whose heirs they purchased it in 1989. They immediately began a replanting process to bring the A-rated vineyard back to its 19th-century glory, expanding on the 250 acres of old vineyards that covered less than a third of the entire property. The new plantings are now beginning to come into maturity, providing a modern profile to the grandeur of Vesuvio’s Vintage. This 2010 has the purple fruit and violet floral character of modern plantings (particularly touriga nacional), boosted by the exotic spice range of old vines and their mouthfilling intensity. The wine is generous in its detail, finely wrought and approachable—though it’s not a vintage for the ages, the wine’s Douro expression is already beautifully apparent, and it will gain momentum over the next two decades.