Borges Vintage Port (1989)

About this wine

Borges 1989 Vintage Port is a bottle aged fortified red from Portugal’s Douro Demarcated Region. Borges’ Vintage Port is commonly built on Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Sousão, varieties the producer lists for recent declared vintages, with the exact blend varying by year. As a Vintage Port it is bottled young and typically unfiltered after a short time in wood, then it gains its complexity in bottle over decades, which is why older bottles often throw sediment. With age, this wine tends to move away from primary berry fruit into notes like crème caramel and burnt sugar, plus dried fig, raisin, and gentle tobacco and baking spice nuances. On the palate expect medium to full body, a softer, resolved tannin feel compared with its youth, and a balanced sweetness and acidity that keeps the finish lively rather than heavy.

About the grape

Borges Vintage Port is built on three classic Douro red grapes, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, and Sousão, all permitted for Douro and Port production by the IVDP. Touriga Nacional is an indigenous Portuguese variety strongly linked to the Douro and Dão, it is naturally low yielding with small thick skinned berries, and in the Douro it is typically managed with strict pruning and trained for steep schist slopes to keep its vigor under control. Touriga Franca, a natural cross of Touriga Nacional and Marufo, is the most planted red grape in the Douro, it handles heat and water stress well, so it is a reliable backbone partner to Touriga Nacional in a Vintage Port blend. Sousão, also known as Vinhão, is a teinturier grape originally associated with northern Portugal and valued in the Douro for its ability to deepen colour while keeping blends lively, which is why Borges includes it alongside the two Tourigas in this 1989 Vintage Port.

Quick facts

• 🗓️ 1989 was a “not generally declared” Port year, so a Borges Vintage Port from this harvest is a comparatively uncommon find versus classic declared years.
• 🏛️ Borges ties its Vintage Port heritage to Quinta da Soalheira in the Douro, an estate the Borges founders acquired in 1904.
• 🍮 Tasting notes logged for Borges 1989 Vintage Port describe a surprisingly tawny leaning evolution, with a mature yellow hue and crème caramel and burned sugar aromas.
• 📜 The house behind this bottle began in 1884 as a Porto trading company run by two brothers, and its business history even included launching Banco Borges & Irmão in 1937.
• 🖤 Sousão in the blend is a Douro “color booster” grape, famous for intensely pigmented skins that can deepen hue and keep brightness, which is one reason it’s prized in Port blends.

Palate profile

Producer

Sociedade dos Vinhos Borges S.A. was founded in 1884 by the brothers António and Francisco Borges, and grew from their early trading activity into a long standing Portuguese wine house. In 1918 the brothers separated the wine business into a dedicated company, helping Borges expand its focus on producing and marketing wines, including Port. Borges developed sparkling wine expertise early on, and launched the classic Fita Azul in 1934, which became a signature name for the house. Since 1998 Borges has been part of the JMV Group, a Portuguese owned group led by the Vieira family. Today the company supports its range with estate vineyards across key demarcated regions, including Vinho Verde, Douro, and Dão.