Warre's

Warre's is one of Portugal's most famous port houses. It makes a range of ports in various styles, including tawny, ruby and white expressions, as well as several single-vineyard vintage ports.

The house traces its origins back to 1670 when a company trading in wine, oil, fruit, fresh produce and wool was established in the region by two Englishmen, Burgoyne and Jackson. In 1729, William Warre arrived in Portugal and became a partner in the business, which by this point was known as Clark, Thorton and Warre. By the end of the 18th Century, Warre's was one of the largest merchants of ports, contributing around 10 percent of total exports. The house stayed exclusively in the Warre family until 1905 when Andrew James Symington was admitted into the partnership of Warre and Co. Today Warre's is run by the 13th generation of the Symington family, who also own the Dow's and Graham's port houses.

Warre's has vineyards throughout the Douro, the most famous of which are the Quinta da Cavadinha, Quinta do Retiro Antigo and the recently acquired Quinta de Telhada. These three vineyards are used to make various ports throughout the portfolio, each contributing different characteristics – Cavadinha gives fresh aromatics and acidity, whereas Retiro Antigo produces wines with higher concentration. The estate's Vintage Port tends to be blended from these two vineyards, although fruit from Telhada will soon be included in the blend as well. In years where a vintage is not declared, a single vineyard vintage port is made from the Cavadinha vineyard.