Quinta de la Rosa joins declarations

Quinta de la Rosa has added its name to the growing roster of Port houses who have made enthusiastic declarations of the 2011 vintage during the last month.

The steep terraces of Quinta de la Rosa

Following in the wake of all the major houses, including Sogrape, Symington Family Estates, The Fladgate Partnership, Churchill’s, Niepoort and Ramos Pinto, Sophia Bergqvist, co-owner of Quinta de la Rosa, hailed 2011 as an “exceptional” vintage.

Although the Bergqvist family has owned the estate since 1906, Quinta de la Rosa only established itself as an independent Port and wine brand in 1988. With winemaker Jorge Moreira having joined the house in 2002, Bergqvist highlighted his belief that the 2011 vintage is “the most impressive he has made at La Rosa.”

Having started the 2011 harvest on 9 August, Bergqvist recalled it progressing on a “stop and start basis over the following two months,” with two days of rain at the end of August presenting “ideal conditions” for the grapes to ripen and develop.

The house uses foot treading for its vintage Ports, which are predominantly a blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, with the addition of some deep-coloured Sousão from its famously steep terraced (see picture) older vineyards in the Douro’s Cima Corgo heartland close to Pinhão.

With 10,000 bottles produced of its 2011 vintage, Bergqvist described the Quinta de la Rosa house style as “slightly drier without any cloying sweetness that can be associated with Ports.”