The winter was much drier and colder than normal with only 183,6 mm of rain falling at Pinhão between November and March, approximately 50% of the 30 year average. Budburst occurred on the 19th of March under very dry conditions, with April and early May bringing a welcome 141 mm rain in Pinhão. Cool temperatures during April ensured the vines remained free of fungal disease, however this conditioned the growth of the canopies, and in some varieties affected the development of the grape bunches. At the end of May, the vineyards showed low vigour, caused by the combination of the extremely dry winter and cooler than normal spring.
Flowering occurred over a longer period than usual, between the 14th and 30th of May. Continued good weather during June and July led to the healthy development of the vines, and apart from an extremely hot period around the Feast of Saint John (São João), on the 24th and 25th June, the temperatures were very balanced, with the average temperature in July being 23.6ºC. The vines maintained their lower than usual vigour, and the smaller berries and bunches showed a low yield for the year. Véraison (colouring of the grapes) was inevitably later than usual.
In mid-August, when we started evaluating the ripeness of the grapes to determine the start of harvest, they were still very low in sugar and with high levels of acidity. The vegetation however, was remarkably healthy for this time in the season. The fully performing canopies and fewer grapes resulted in a significant and continuous ripening of the crop during each week that passed, something that rarely occurs. As a result the picking started between the 18th and 22nd September across our Quintas. The rain that fell on the 24th of September led to a pause in picking, but good weather for the rest of the harvest resulted in excellent Ports being produced both before and after the rain.
The low vigour and extremely healthy vines this year, with very balanced temperatures during the ripening of the grapes, combined with small bunches and berries resulted in Ports being produced with great freshness of fruit and excellent natural acidity.