Quinta da Romaneira was bought in 2004 by Christian Seely, who is most famous for his work at renowned Port house Quinta do Noval. Since arriving in the Douro Valley in the 1990s, it has been his dream to own Quinta da Romaneira and restore the terraced vineyards to their former glory. It is a single Quinta planted with 81 hectares which run along 2 kilometres of the Douro River; Christian only uses grapes from his own estate to make the Quinta da Romaneira wines, and they are all ‘A’ Class, ie the very best vineyards of the Douro. The 2008 is a blend of 60% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Francesa and 10% Tinta Cao. The grapes were trodden by foot and fermented in traditional lagares before being aged for 20 months in large wooden pipes, or casks. The 2008 was bottled in July 2010. Christian Seely: I am very excited to be able to declare the Quinta da Romaneira 2008 Vintage Port. We acquired Quinta da Romaneira in 2004, inspired by our belief that this great historic Douro Quinta has some of the finest vineyard terroir in the Douro. With the 2008 Vintage Port, of which we produced less than 600 cases, we are moving into new territory, with a wine that I consider to be the loveliest Port wine yet produced at the property. The 2008 has a wonderful spicy aromatic character that seems to be characteristic of Romaneira, together with great length and depth on the palate, and great finesse on the finish. 2008 Vintage Report Winter of 2007/2008 was relatively dry, with 146 mm of rain below average. Summer was slightly cooler than normal; low temperatures at flowering led to low yields of Touriga Nacional in particular. Heat-stress was minimal and the vines retained good leaf coverage resulting in balanced grapes. Ripeness accumulated slowly, and nearly two weeks later than in 2007. A few days of rain in mid September meant patience was required; the harvest was made at the end of September in dry, sunny conditions. Romaneira reported deep colour and fine aromatics in the grapes; good sugar and acidity levels ensured excellent balance.