Anthony Symington is the fifth generation of his family to produce wine in the Douro Valley. The Symingtons, of Scottish, English and Portuguese descent, have been Port producers in northern Portugal since 1882. For five generations they have combined their passion for producing fine wines and Ports with a deep commitment to the region’s land and people. Today, ten Symingtons work across their four Port houses: Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s, as well as their Douro wine brands – Quinta do Vesuvio, Quinta do Ataíde, Altano and Prats & Symington. In 2017, they launched a new venture, Quinta da Fonte Souto, in the Alto Alentejo.

All Symington vineyards are sustainably managed under a minimum intervention certification and 130 hectares are organically farmed – the largest area of organic vineyard in northern Portugal. The family have invested significantly in viticulture R&D to adapt to climate change and have an ambitious sustainability plan, with a series of public goals under the banner of Mission 2025. In 2019, the company became a certified B Corporation – the first wine company in Portugal to take this step – joining a global community of businesses audited for the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. Symington was named Ethical Company of the Year in The Drinks Business 2019 Green Awards.

We will begin our tasting with an introduction to the increasingly popular and extremely well regarded dry Portuguese wines. Tasting two wines from the Symingtons latest project in Portalegre, the specialist sub region of the Alentejo in southern Portugal. We will then move onto to Quinta do Vesuvio ‘The Queen of the Douro’ Portugal’s original First Growth, whose majestic wines are highly sought after. Starting with the recently released Comboio and ending on the estates top wine Quinta do Vesuvio DOC.

For the second half of the evening, we move to Port, for which the Douro Valley is famous. We have a wonderful line up of Ports taking us through the different styles from Graham’s bespoke second wine the opulent Six Grapes Reserve Ruby, through to two wonderful Tawny Port’s Graham’s 20 Year Old and Graham’s limited edition 1997 Single Harvest Tawny showcasing their unique nutty and toffee characteristics, contrasting the aged blend with the single year special edition. Capping the evening off is the limited Library Release Graham’s 1994 Vintage Port, one of the finest Vintages of the last century, currently at an extremely interesting stage of its evolution.

Quinta da Fonte Souto Florao White 2021

Quinta da Fonte Souto Red 2018

Graham's Six Grapes Reserve Ruby Port

Comboio do Vesuvio 2019 DOC

Graham's 20 Year Old Tawny Port

Pombal do Vesuvio 2018 DOC

Graham's 1997 Single Harvest Tawny Port

Quinta do Vesuvio 2017 DOC

Graham's 1994 Vintage Port

Tickets are £50 for members and £55 for guests.

If you have any questions, please contact the organiser, Megan Schellinger, on 07478 670 369 or at megan.schellinger@bakermckenzie.com.