Dow's Port
For over 200 years, the name Dow has been associated with fine Port from the Upper Douro Valley. Dow’s are known for their superbly concentrated wines; intense and tannic when young, maturing to a superlative racy elegance with violet and mint aromas. Their distinctive drier finish is the hallmark of Dow’s Port wines. James Suckling of the 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. It was full-bodied, with masses of fruit intertwined with layers of velvety tannins. It was superb.”
The story of this House is unusual – rather than a British merchant journeying to Oporto, it was Bruno da Silva who travelled from Oporto to London. Importing wine from his home country, he was quickly accepted into London society and gained a fine reputation for his wines. With the outbreak of the Napoleonic wars, many merchants ceased shipping rather than coming under fire in the Bay of Biscay, but da Silva obtained Royal permission to arm his ships. Securing safe passage, his became the first and only port shipper to use its own armed protection for transport across the Bay. In 1877, the company merged with Dow & Co. With the merger, it was decided to keep the brand name as ‘DOW’S’, the name remaining to this day.
Dow's owns the Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira vineyards and, using these, even on undeclared years produces some truly superb Single Quinta port wines.
47 products found.
Dow's Port, 1970
Vintage Port
Reviews:
Sweet, voluptuous bouquet. Coffee and cinnamon tastes. So beautifully balanced and elegant. Stunningly poised. A 1970 like this is sheer perfection and exactly what great, mature Vintage Port should be.
Serena Sutcliffe , CUISINE & WINE ASIA 2008 VOLUME 12
01/01/2008
“Exceptionally deep crimson with remarkably little evolution and few orangey hints. Very lively, even a hint of orange peel. Lots of concentration and life. Quite animal too. Very sweet and impressive with a great combination of richness and structure. This is serious wine with a serious future. Long and well balanced”. …
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Price: £159.00
Stock: 4 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1966
Vintage Port
"This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port since 1977. The 1966 is a top success for that vintage; in fact, it would be hard to find a better port from that year." Robert Parker, Wine Buyer Guide.
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Price: £189.00
Stock: 5 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1965
Reserve Port
The 1965 Dow is a rare wine.
Generations of Symington winemakers have worked at the Dow's vineyards: Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, creating from them Dow's superbly concentrated wines that are intense and tannic when young, maturing towards a superlative racy elegance with age and scented with violet and mint aromas. Dow's attractive and distinctive drier finish is the recognisable hallmark of the wines from this great Port house.
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Price: £195.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1963
Vintage Port
A superb port from a top, top vintage which has certainly continued to improve over the last forty nine years. It is close to its optimum with an excellent structure, complex multi-faceted taste and aroma. Very smooth, slightly sweet and sublimely easy to drink featuring attractive, mellow fruitcake flavours and lightness on the palate.
"A beautiful rich nose of roasted coffee beans, cherry liqueur and Asian spice. The palate is smooth, hedonistic and loaded with sweet red fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. There is a saturated quality to this Dow, a sense of completeness that I love. …
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Price: £225.00
Stock: 9 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1962
Vintage Port
The Dows 1962 is a very rare Vintage Port. The bottles were registered at the institute but never declared. Deeper orange red compared to the 1960. Fine nose of peppery sweet fruit with some balsamic tones, honey cake, beef soup and Indian spices. The fine elegant start of taste is smooth, refined and mouth filling. A well balanced vintage port with medium length. All there in a more approachable style. A very nice vintage port which was just bound to be forgotten once the strong classic 1963’s were ageing in the cellar. Last tasted July 2017. (Christies Tasting Note)
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Price: £545.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1960
Vintage Port
This is an extraordinary house that seems to have been particularly successful with its vintage port. The 1960 is a classic, a monumental, rich, still tannic wine
Reviews
"Superbly balanced and at its peak. Light ruby with a garnet edge, a rich coffee and chocolate nose, medium-bodied, with lovely balanced fruit and coffee flavours and a long, silky finish. A joy to drink." James Suckling - Vintage Port Book
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Price: £199.00
Stock: 33 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1955
Vintage Port
Still very deep in colour, only just browning on the rim; extraordinaily fresh, powerful, tight-knit bitter chocolate aromas, minty fruit; very fine and focused, dry in characteristic Dow style, remarkably fresh ripe, minty fruit. Absolutely delicious. Just about as good as it gets. Score: 5 Stars
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Price: £495.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1955
Vintage Port (labelled with embossed capsule)
Still very deep in colour, only just browning on the rim; extraordinaily fresh, powerful, tight-knit bitter chocolate aromas, minty fruit; very fine and focused, dry in characteristic Dow style, remarkably fresh ripe, minty fruit. Absolutely delicious. Just about as good as it gets. Score: 5 Stars
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Price: £495.00
Stock: 5 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1955
Vintage Port
Still very deep in colour, only just browning on the rim; extraordinaily fresh, powerful, tight-knit bitter chocolate aromas, minty fruit; very fine and focused, dry in characteristic Dow style, remarkably fresh ripe, minty fruit. Absolutely delicious. Just about as good as it gets. Score: 5 Stars
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Price: £495.00
Stock: 6 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1950
Vintage Port (Unlabelled embossed capsules)
Sexy, silky and delicious. Deep garnet with a ruby center, cassis and plum aromas, medium-bodied, with delicious, delicate plum flavours, a silky texture and a super finish.
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Price: £595.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1950
Vintage Port (Unlabelled rewaxed capsules id from cork)
Sexy, silky and delicious. Deep garnet with a ruby center, cassis and plum aromas, medium-bodied, with delicious, delicate plum flavours, a silky texture and a super finish.
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Price: £395.00
Stock: 2 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1947
Vintage Port
From the outstanding 1947 vintage, this stunning port is deep and rich with nice weight and a dry liquorice finish. Light tawny color with spicy aromas and a hint of balsam, but the palate delivers very sweet, smoky plum, herbs and mint characteristics. Well balanced and with good length on the finish.
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Price: £695.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1945
Vintage Port (Mid shoulder)
Axel Probst
"One of the darkest red colours on the night. Fresh and complex coffee and fruits on the nose, fading residual fruit. A very balanced palate, with a noticeable acidity and a strong aftertaste".
World of Fine Wine
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Price: £650.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1945
Vintage Port Base of neck
Axel Probst
"One of the darkest red colours on the night. Fresh and complex coffee and fruits on the nose, fading residual fruit. A very balanced palate, with a noticeable acidity and a strong aftertaste.
World of Fine Wine
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Price: £1100.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1942
Vintage Port - capsule damaged and rewaxed - good label
A very rare wartime vintage.
Provenance:
No Dow vintages were formally declared during the war.
However it was common practice for shippers to bottle a small quantity of port to lay down. There was a shortage of part in the UK in the late 50's and the wine society brought up all of the bin ends of mature port - including some 1940's undeclared port. This bottle originates from the wine society purchase.
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Price: £2900.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1934
Vintage port - Berry Brothers Capsule
Colour, Mature tawny in colour. Bouquet, Rich malty and nutty in the nose. Taste, Delicious roasted nuts. Mature. Still some sweetness. Wonderful finish. An attractive old port. Review on vintageport.se
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Price: £1995.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Dow's Port, 1927
Vintage Port (UK Bottled Hatch Mansfield)
Vintage Port (book, Suckling, 1990)
This was the second bottle I tasted within a span of four months. The first was more like a 20 year old Tawny. Medium red with a garnet rim, cherry and blackberry aromas, medium to light-bodied, with a lovely, delicate mouth-feel, quite dry, with elegant cherry flavours and a medium finish.
Michael Broadbent MW
Vintage Wine (book, Broadbent, 2002)
Late 1980s: palish rosy-tinged tawny; light, spicy, high-toned, madeira-like bouquet; still fairly sweet, medium weight, faded though remnants of power, good length, acidity.
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Price: £1875.00
Stock: 1 in Stock
Dow's Port, 2000
Vintage Port
**94 Points** Robert Parker
"An opaque blue/purple colour (typical of this vintage's top offerings) is followed by a strikingly provocative aromatic display (flowers, licorice, blackberries, and cassis). This firmly-structured, classic, tightly-knit, restrained port exhibits brilliant purity as well as impressive intensity. While not the most dramatic or flamboyant, it is a beautiful, classically structured port that will age gracefully. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2030." Robert Parker
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Price: £79.95
Stock: Out of Stock
Dow's Port, 1997
Vintage Port
1997 Dow's displays a dark ruby/purple colour, attractive liquorice, chocolate, and roasted coffee aromas, medium to full body, sweet tannin, and a moderately tannic finish. This excellent vintage port should drink well until 2030+
Rating 90 Points Outstanding
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Price: £69.95
Stock: Out of Stock
Dow's Port, 1992
Quinta do Bonfim
(a very rare bottle from the 1992 vintage)
*** 93 Points - Robert Parker ***
Reviews
Robert Parker 93 points
“Dow's 1992 Quinta do Bomfim is an expressive, fragrant, up-front style of port with a pungent, peppery, floral, cassis-scented nose, full-bodied, rich, chewy, ripe flavors, light tannin, and sensational extract and length. The wine explodes on the back of the palate, announcing its considerable richness and intensity. This port should drink well young, and last for 30 years.”
Wine Spectator 92 points.
"Much better than from barrel. Perhaps better than Dow's blended 1991 vintage Port. …
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Price: £99.00
Stock: Out of Stock
Dow's Port, 1977
Vintage Port
Medium cranberry red center and slight bricking on the edge. Intoxicating floral fragrance that filled the room, during its nine hour decant; accented by anise, plum and raspberry notes and a bit of spirit. Fresh, fleshy grape, dark cherry and fig flavors melded with underpinnings of licorice, chocolate and warming spirit. It's developing into a stunning middle-aged Port at 34 years of age, with little signs of nearing peak yet. Rich and multi-faceted, smooth and velvety ... even more so the second day it was opened. The acidity was near perfect and the tannins are tame but omnipresent; while the finish was spicy, warm and extremely long. …
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Price: £119.00
Stock: Out of Stock