A successful year for wines for reds and whites from the Alentejo and Douro regions but more uneven for the coastal regions. Winter was unseasonably mild and warm and this had the effect of kick starting the growing cycle far earlier than normal. May was humid and June and July witnessed damp and cold weather. August was hot and dry and the harvest took place in September under blue skies. Crisp, dry, aromatic whites were produced and most should have been drunk by now. The finest reds are ripe, well structured and very age-worthy.