Warre

Founded in 1670, Warre’s is the oldest British port producer still operating in Portugal. It is several decades ahead of most of its competitors, having produced vintage port for over 350 years, and is currently run by six members of the Simington family spanning two generations. The company is renowned for producing port wines with a particularly elegant and floral character, distinct from the drier style of its Simington family counterpart, Dow’s.

History

William Warr founded the company in 1670, making it the first British port wine company in Portugal. The company grew steadily throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, cementing its reputation through vintage port. In 1905, Andrew James Symington, known as AJS, became a partner, and by 1908 he was the sole owner. Following a subsequent share swap in 1912, George Warre rejoined the company as a shareholder alongside Symington. By the 1950s, the Warre family had divested themselves of their shares entirely, leaving the Symingtons as the sole owners.

Warre’s is now part of Symington Family Estates, the largest privately owned port trading group, which also includes Dow’s, Graham’s and Cockburn’s. The Symington family’s commitment to the Douro dates back 350 years, an unrivalled record in the port trade. Six family members, five of whom represent the 13th generation in the port business, are actively involved in the day-to-day management of Warre’s.

Vineyards

Three estate-owned vineyards form the basis for the production of Warre’s premium port wines. Quinta da Cavadinha covers 46 hectares in the Pinhão Valley, the heart of the Cima-Corgo region. Quinta do Retiro Antigo covers 40 hectares in the Rio Torto Valley; this 18th-century estate features impressive stone terraces, most of which are planted with a single row of vines, yielding concentrated wines from old vines.

Quinta da Telhada, acquired in 2006, covers 35 hectares in the remote Upper Douro, just 25 kilometres from the Spanish border. In addition, family members individually own and cultivate the 35-hectare Quinta do Alvito and the 5-hectare Quinta das Netas, the grapes from which are supplied directly to Warre’s.

Terroir

Warre’s vineyards span three distinct zones of the Upper Douro: from the relatively temperate Pinhão Valley through the drier Rio Torto to the extremely hot Upper Douro near the Spanish border. All are planted on the steep schist slopes characteristic of the region, with fine, stony soil that forces the vines to dig deep with their roots. The wide variations in microclimate between the three estates provide the blending team with a vast palette to work with for each vintage.

Grape varieties

Classic Douro varieties are used: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão. The Quinta da Cavadinha estate also houses Warre’s experimental vineyard, dedicated to research into clonal selection, during which different grape varieties and rootstocks are compared under identical conditions.

Winemaking

Fermentation is halted by adding grape spirit, which stops the process at around half the natural sugar content and gives the port its characteristic sweetness. Warre’s pioneered the development of a robotic wine press at Quinta da Cavadinha, where six automatic wine presses, installed for the 2003 harvest, are fitted with stainless steel pistons that mimic the gentle action of the human foot.

A small proportion of the wine is still produced using the traditional method, by foot-treading. According to Warre’s, this approach allows them to produce wines of superior quality to those made using the traditional method, whilst eliminating its practical drawbacks.

Wines

Warre’s flagship range is vintage port, produced in the best years and made predominantly from Cavadinha, Retiro Antigo and Telhada grapes. In non-vintage years, Quinta da Cavadinha is bottled as a single-estate vintage port.

Warrior Reserve Ruby is an entry-level blend, aged for four years in oak barrels. Sir William, named after William Warr, who served under the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War, is a 10-year-old Tawny. Otima is a range of aged Tawnies in 10- and 20-year styles, bottled in distinctive clear bottles. The range is rounded off by Late Bottled Vintage.