Wine and Port Vintage
Vintage Summary and Recommendations:
Welcome to Vintage Wine and Port's 2011 wine page. Read on for our summary of the 2011 vintage, our top recommendations and region reports. Scroll down to see all of our wines currently available. If you cannot find what you are looking for please call us on 01425 837177 or Contact Us. We would love to help you with your wine choice!
The 2011 vintage globally was very much a mixed bag, with the growing season appearing to favor cooler climate regions over hot. In Europe, the year was characterized by a back to front growing season. For many, an unseasonably hot spring, cool summer and relatively warm autumn threw the vintage into disarray.
Our Wine Expert currently recommends the following wines for this year:
This Year in History: Fun Fact: our planet reached a population of 7 billion people in 2011.
Eurovision Winner: Azerbaijan with the song "Running Scared" by Ell/Nikki
Top Grossing Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Bordeaux: Poor summer weather in 2011 led to mildew and rot. A warm September saved the vintage, but with uneven ripening and a difficult harvest. There was less rot on the Right Bank than on the Left; sorting was essential, but Pomerol produced some excellent wines.
Italian: Piedmont, particularly the Langhe and Roero, experienced an earlier harvest than usual in 2011; warm spells in April, June and July accelerated the development of the vines. Though conditions were dry, nights were cool, distinguishing 2011 from the hot 2003 vintage. What's more, water reserves from winter rains prevented the vines from suffering too much. Tuscany, on the other hand, was under a heatwave from Africa throughout August. This resulted in a harvest roughly three weeks earlier than usual, challenging vintners to retain freshness and elegance in early ripening grape varieties.
Portugal: The 2011 Port vintage is hailed as a legendary vintage one of the best in decades. All of the major port houses declared the 2011 Port vintage as being of exceptional quality. The avalanche of declarations started with Sogrape, owners of Sandeman and Ferreira, followed by Symington, the company that owns Dows, Graham, Warre, Smith Woodhouse and Cockburn and then Taylor Fladgate, owners of the Fonseca, Croft and Taylor's brands. According to Charles Symington, "The 2011 Vintage Ports are characterised by an unusual combination of elegance with power and structure. Whereas “elegant” usually implies lighter-bodied, the 2011s have fantastic aromas and great elegance but are big wines - not an easy balance to achieve." These ports would be an excellent 15 year old wine gift for an anniversary this year, reaching their peak between 2020 and 2050, perhaps even onwards.
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