A Bit of Fortification: Port and Madeira New Releases

BY NEAL MARTIN | JULY 8, 2025

This short article covers new releases of Port and Madeira I’ve tasted in recent weeks. I am long overdue trips to both regions to compose a more in-depth report on fortified wines. Like many wine categories, it’s a tough market out there for these wines, though both benefit from tourists flocking to the exquisite cities of Porto and Funchal. The Douro is experiencing additional strife in terms of the beneficio system that was designed to regulate production in the valley, the lei do terço rule stipulating that growers can sell only one-third of their fruit per year. In 2022, the number of pipes (550-liter barrels) produced was the lowest since 1993, and declining sales have put immense pressure on Douro’s viability. Winemaking can be unprofitable and vines too costly to replant, all against a backdrop of younger generations drifting away from the Douro Valley to the cities. Nevertheless, Managing Director Christian Seely, accompanied by Technical Director Carlos Agrellos, was as upbeat as ever during this tasting. The pair presented a clutch of recent releases from Quinta do Noval and Passadouro in London.

Currently, around half of Quinta do Noval’s production is fortified. Of the dry cuvées, 85% is red and 15% is white. “Two thousand twenty-four was set up to be a fantastic year,” Seely offered as the 2024 Branco from Passadouro was poured. “It was a wet and rainy winter and then a rainy spring, so production was slightly above average at Quinta do Noval. There is always a hot summer in the Douro, and it all went perfectly for us. Excluding two rainy spells during harvest, the picking went well. At Noval, we made 35 different cuvées.”

The main focus of this tasting was the 2023 vintage. "Two thousand twenty-three is not a General Declaration,” Seely continued, “but that does not mean it was a bad year. It was a warm and wet winter, but overall, it was a warm year. There were some problems with severe thunderstorms in May and June, though we were spared. We experienced the third-highest rainfall in the last 24 years and had to navigate that during the picking, waiting out the rain and selecting exactly where the good grapes were located. The Noval Vintage Ports are made entirely in lagares and matured in old, 2,500-litre chestnut and acacia vats."

My tasting notes speak for themselves, although my advice is not to overlook the Vintage Port from Quinta do Passadouro, which is probably the best value-for-money.

We also briefly discussed the 2022 growing season.

“The 2022 vintage was exceptionally dry, which meant there was low disease pressure. From our experience in 2020 when some grape varieties shrivelled, we started picking quite early, so unusually in August we were picking fruit for the dry whites, reds and Ports. One key point in 2022 was the sorting. Just 0.5% of the grapes were deselected—a sign of the healthy fruit."

Staying in the Douro, I also received samples of both dry and fortified releases from Symington and Taylor Fladgate, the latter sending a miniature test tube of quite remarkable 80-year-old Victory Tawny that commemorates the end of the Second World War. Last, but not least, I include the latest releases from Blandy’s down on the Atlantic Island of Madeira, covering both dry and sweeter styles. 

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