Under Symington family ownership since 2006, substantial vineyard investments have been made at Quinta dos Canais, reflected in the widely acclaimed Cockburn’s 2011, 2015 and 2016, which were our debut Cockburn’s Vintages. We took inspiration from Cockburn’s famous early 20th century Vintage Ports, and our family believes that the exceptional 2017 Vintage Port represents another substantial leap forward in Cockburn’s reemergence.
2017 will be remembered as one of the hottest and driest years in the Douro. At Quinta dos Canais we had half the rainfall of an average year (just 246 mm) and temperatures broke several records during the spring. The summer was bone dry, just 6.2 mm recorded in June (monthly average: 24.3 mm), and not a single drop fell during July, August or September. It is quite extraordinary just how well-adapted our indigenous grape varieties are to the Douro’s challenging conditions. Fortunately, summer temperatures provided some respite – they were slightly below the 30-year average. This was critically important; if the lack of rain had been combined with extreme temperatures, the outcome could have been very different.
In 2016, the start of the vintage was deferred several times and the finest grapes were only picked from the third week of September and into the first half of October. By contrast, in 2017, the prized Touriga Nacional parcels at Canais were picked during the first week of September, the harvest having started on August 28th — unprecedented at Canais and Vale Coelho.
It is often the case in the Douro that years that test the vines to the limit are those that deliver the most memorable wines: 2017 is one of those years. The low yields resulted in very concentrated and well-structured wines of incredible intensity. The well-ripened fruit shines through, giving the wines stunning freshness and vitality. The 2017 Cockburn has the usual important Touriga Nacional component, but the proportion of Touriga Franca, given its excellent performance, was increased relative to the previous Cockburn’s Vintage.
Reviews
Insane aromas of crushed berry, flowers and lifted ester like a fermenting lagar. Full body, tannic yet so finely grained in texture. Extremely long and beautiful. It goes on for minutes.
Packed with creamed blueberry, açaí berry and boysenberry fruit and carried by waves of velvety structure and warm fruitcake notes, this is showy in style, featuring an embedded graphite spine, alluring spice details and a flash of floral nuance through the finish, imparting superior range and length.
The 2017 Vintage Port is a blend of 52% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca and small portions of Sousão and Alicante Bouschet bottled after 18 months in seasoned vats. This has velvet for texture, fine aromatics and a long finish, but it is always elegant, never jammy. It is still concentrated, and aeration proves how well it can evolve. It finishes with some pop and power, but it will be approachable relatively young.
#43 TOP 100 CELLAR SELECTION - This wine's opulent intensity comes from the powerful tannins. A jammy blackberry flavor shines through and is lifted by bright acidity. Depth and structure ensure long-term aging.
Mostly sourced from Quinta dos Canais, this is a blend of 52% Touriga Nacional and 30% Touriga Franca, backed by Sousão and Alicante Bouschet. This is one of few wines in 2017 showing a touch of warmth on the nose, with opulent, heady floral fruit. The palate is sweet and fleshy initially, with ripe berry fruits and solid, spicy tannins. It’s classically structured with lovely concentration and a powerful finish, very impressive.
The 2017 vintage, which Charles Symington reports as particularly noteworthy for touriga franca, helped guide Cockburn’s back toward its classical elegance. This is tight and firm, with a cool feel in spite of its peppery intensity of alcohol. As the wine develops with air, there’s a moment when the wine achieves an impeccable balance—a taste of chocolate in heaven—before the tannins begin to show the green edges of youth.