Celebrating 50 years.

This wine reflects the importance of complementary crafts and areas of expertise which are essential for shaping wines that are aged for decades. It celebrates true craftsmanship and elegance.

On the 25th of April 1974, a military-led coup overthrew the dictatorship which had governed Portugal for half a century. In its immediate aftermath it unleashed social and political tensions, in the prevailing turbulent climate the family elected not to bottle Vintage Port. Nonetheless, many of the year’s wines were so exquisite that they were selected for maturing in cask. For Peter Symington, this was just his fifth vintage in the Douro, but as he gradually took on the position of head winemaker, taster and blender, it became his responsibility to nurture the development of this wine during its prolonged ageing in cask, before passing that responsibility to his son Charles.

Port producers faced that year’s harvest with some trepidation due to the volatile political, social and economic climate. Their fears were, however, largely unfounded as Michael Symington testified in his harvest notes, dated October 1974 ‘here all has been very peaceful and many report one of the happiest “vintage atmospheres” for many years.’ he also reported one of the finest vintages in recent years — ‘the overall 1974 Port wine vintage must prove to be one of the best for many years