Churchill's 2020 Vintage Port

While the 2020 harvest was particularly challenging across the region, our winemakers were excited with the quality of the young wines when they first tasted them soon after the vintage. 2020 turned out to be a hot year, with early ripening and very low yields; the month of July was the hottest month since 1931. When comparing with 2019, the crop yield was 30% to 35% lower.

We were one of few port companies to continue foot treading grapes during the pandemic, instituting measures to protect the team whilst ensuring the quality and culture of foot treading carried on. Every year, all our port grapes are foot-trod at Quinta da Gricha in ancient granite lagares (treading tanks), that date back to 1852. To keep this method alive during these unprecedented circumstances, we instituted strict physical distancing protocols across the production and viticulture teams – keeping the winery, vineyard, and treading teams separate. Happily, due to these policies, none of the team became ill, and the results speak for themselves in the quality and character of these vintage ports.

This is a big, ripe year where the natural acidity of Quinta da Gricha plays an important role in the Vintage blend. With a powerful ox-blood colour, this muscular Port has a fresh vein of tannin that enhances its fruity aroma, bringing vibrancy to its rich, jammy palate and ensuring a balanced and elegant finish. This is a concentrated but fresh Vintage Port with an intrinsic quality to age beautifully in bottle for several decades.

Churchill’s is delighted to declare 2020 a vintage year, with the release of Churchill’s 2020 Vintage Port and Churchill’s Quinta da Gricha 2020 Vintage Port. This unprecedented year for the world and unusually difficult harvest has produced two spectacular and different wines from Churchill’s.

THE YEAR

When comparing with 2019, the crop yield was 30 to 35% lower. In August, the vines were exposed to high temperatures and a lack of water, creating hydric stress and resulting in fast maturation, which led us to speed up the picking pace to ensure that the grapes were harvested inside the ideal maturation window. We started picking grapes for our Ports on the 2nd of September in the Douro Superior, and we started harvesting the old vines at Quinta da Gricha on the 7th of September. We finished the picking for Ports on the 27th of September.