Colheitas from Maynard´s

In February the Portuguese winemaker and master blender Álvaro van Zeller visited Denmark. He was invited by the The Vintage Port Club to participate in the annual Winemakers Dinner, which this year took place at Restaurant Pasfall in Odense.

Together with his brother Fernando, Álvaro van Zeller founded Barão de Vilar as late as 1996. The company is young but is building on long traditions. The van Zeller family owned Quinta do Noval until 1993. When they sold the prestigious quinta to the French insurance company AXA, they were not allowed to sell port in the next five years. The first vintage from the new company is therefore 1996, bottled in 1998. Since then they have declared in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 and latest 2011.

The company sells its port under two different labels, Barão de Vilar and Maynard´s – the latter for the English speaking marked and named after the late Walter Maynard, who through his marriage with Dorothea Augusta Kopke became part of the family. Besides that they own the label Feuerheerd´s too.

The vintages are doing well in tastings, but the company’s speciality is old colheitas based on stocks bought from small quintas and matured by the Casa do Douro. Álvaro van Zeller brought both with him to the tasting in the Club. Listed in the order, they were served, we had:

White Colheita 2003

Colheita 2001

Colheita 1988

Colheita 1982

Colheita 1977

Colheita 1973

Colheita 1970

Colheita 1963

Colheita 1951

Colheita 1939

Vintage 2011

Vintage 2007

Vintage 2004

All were bottled under the Maynard´s label. Here are a few remarks and notes:

The white port was excellent – especially when it comes to value for money – and convinced me again that white port with age is underestimated. A golden and beautiful colour, powerful in the nose with almonds and some orange peal. Soft, well balanced and tasty. Álvaro told us that more white colheitas will be released and mentioned the years 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. I am looking forward.

In the long row of Colheitas, I will mention 1982. Impressive and well balanced as usual. Even better were the 1963 and the 1951. Both dark brown with a lot of almonds in the nose. 1951 with brown sugar, prunes and sweetness. 1963 better balanced with acid and fruit to match the sweetness. 1939 was very dark and concentrated. Brown sugar and balsamic, a bit burned in the taste and very intense.    

Among the younger 2001 still had a lot of fresh fruit and acid, but was closed. 1988 unfortunately had too much Douro-bake after years on barrels in the Douro. 1977 and 1973 were not that impressive.

All three Vintages were still young, but with potential, even though 2007 was surprisingly open and drinkable right now, but had fruit and acid for a long life as well. 2004 was not that powerful, but quit elegant. 2011 had loads of fruit, fresh berries and powerful tannins.

After the tasting we had a lovely dinner created by chef Thomas Pasfall and of course served with wines from the hands of Álvaro van Zeller except the wonderful CV Douro Red from Quinta Vale D. Maria, made by Álvaros cousin Cristiano van Zellers and winemaker Sandra Tavares.

Here is the menu:

Starter: 

Cod, crispy cod roe, toast and herbs

Solar das Bouças Vinho Verde 2012

Main course:

Vale tenderloin, shank, creamy and salted celery, mushrooms & truffle sauce

Quinta de Zom Douro tinto 2009 & CV Curriculum Vitae Douro tinto 2010

Cheese:

Variations of cheese, stewed fruit & grilled bread

Maynard’s Vintage 2004

Dessert:

Caramelised pure of apple, kiss of yoghurt, sorbet & chocolate ganache

Maynard´s 20 Years Old Tawny

Coffee & sweets

A Port Triathlon

Four different houses in three different years. The last tasting in The Vintage Port Club was both vertical and horizontal. The port houses were Quinta do Noval, Graham’s, Warre’s and Smith Woodhouse and we tasted Vintage 1970, 1985 and 2000.

All three years are rated among the best. 1970 is a classical vintage with 41 house declaring. Besides that it was the last year, when it was allowed to bottle the wine outside Vila Nova de Gaia and just before most of the houses went from foot treading to mechanical treading. Later they changed their mind and reinstalled lagares – and not just for the tourist’s sake, but for the quality of the Vintage as well. 1985 is different and discussed. The harvest went well under good circumstances, 46 houses declared vintage and the wines were highly rated after the release. But then after a while some of them started to act suspicious. Today the quality is unstable – a year full of surprises, good and bad. The millennium year 2000 resulted in a small harvest but of high quality. Another classical vintage, but of course not mature yet.

The wines were served semi blind in flights of four, but in 12 glasses, so we could compare all of them too. At first we had the four from 1970, then 1985 and 2000. After each flight the identity was exposed.

The oldest wines were of course lighter in the colour and more mature. Noval and Graham’s 1970 were both very nice and harmonious. Noval more brownish, with some floral notes and a tail with pepper. Graham’s still powerful and with fruit and a long beautiful aftertaste. A great glass. Warre’s was dark, spicy and with a long tail. Smith Woodhouse very brown and a hint of acetone in the nose.

In 1985 Graham’s had power and fruit as well. In a matter of fact it was so fresh, that the glass was coloured red. But in the beginning it was a bit sticky, which faded later in the evening. Warre’s and Noval were both very light in the colour – the latter nearly like a tawny, without fruit and with some orange peel in the taste. Smith Woodhouse was straight and reminded a bit of an LBV.

2000 was full of power. Lots of fresh fruit, acid and tannins and a milky nose. Smith Woodhouse very straight, but perhaps with a small palette. Graham’s with more depth, some herbs and stable in the nose, but surprisingly well balanced at the moment. Warre’s had a long tail of pepper and Noval was very dark, with dark berries in the taste and dry.  

No doubt that Graham’s performed best this evening. More structure and depths and of course the well knows sweetness. The change in the style of Noval was obvious. The oldest age more like a tawny – the young one with more fruit and power and with a long way to go. And finally my conclusion was, that Smith Woodhouse are good and straight, but with a smaller palette and maturing faster that the other houses.  

After the tasting we voted for the best wines, and as usually there were differences between the two teams due to different bottles. Team A – including myself – preferred 1970, while Team B voted for the two other years as well. All together the result was:

 

1. Graham´s 1970 with 54 points

2. Quinta do Noval 1970 with 25 points

3. Graham´s 1985 with 24 points

4. Smith Woodhouse 2000 with 17 points

5. Warre´s 1970 with 15 points. 

Perhaps bit of a surprise that 2000 did so well, but on the other hand some members of the club prefer younger and fruitier Vintages, not to mention that promising wines with a huge potential shall be awarded too. Therefore I voted for Graham’s 2000 myself, but I had Graham’s 1970 and Noval 1970 on the first two places. Vertically and horizontally 1970 got most points followed by 1985 and 2000 and Graham’s took the first place followed by Smith Woodhouse, Noval and Warre’s.

Eusébios 70th

Benfica and Port. I like both of them, and recently I had the opportunity to experience the combination. No, I was not drinking port at Estádio da Luz… I tasted a Port wine released as a tribute to the legend of football, Eusébio, when he turned 70 last year.

The Black Panther, as Eusébio was nicknamed, was born in 1942 in Lourenço Marques (Maputo), Mozambique. At first he played football in a local club called Os Brasileiros. Here he was scouted by the Italian club Juventos, but he declined. Instead he chose his favourite team Benfica and moved to Lisbon when he was 18 years old. He played for Benfica until 1975 and managed to win 11 national championships, 5 Cup finals and one Europe Cup final. All in all he scored 638 goals in 614 matches for As Águias – The Eagles.   

During Estado Nova, Salazar decided that the colonies were overseas provinces, and because of that Eusébio could join the Portuguese national team in 1961. During the following years he scored 41 goals in 64 matches for the team. Most legendary was the 1966 World Cup in England, where Portugal ended as 3rd. Eusébio was the top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals, and 4 of them in the match against North Korea. Portugal was behind 0-3, but the final result was 5-3 to Portugal (link below). 

The legend still visits Estádio da Luz, when Benfica is playing, and there is a statue of him in front of the entrance.

At a tasting in The Vintage Port Club his profile and his signature was on the label of one of the bottles of Port on the menu.  

”Eusébio 70^th” is a 30 years Tawny from Quinta das Gregocas, near Sambrosa in the Douro. They released exactly 638 Magnums – one for each goal he made for Benfica!

The Port wine was light red brown, some spirit in the nose, dry fruits, floral notes and notes from the oak as well. It was not that powerful and did not have a broad palette compared with others 30 years Tawnies. Drinkable, but I must admit that the history behind and the nice design was more exciting that the port itself.

The tasting was the clubs Christmas tasting, where we usual have Tawny and Colheitas. Here is the full list as they were served:

Maynard Colheita 1982

Feist Colheita 1983

Vista Alegre 30 years Tawny

Kopke Colheita 1984

Kopke 40 years Tawny

Pocas 40 years Tawny

Grahams 40 years Tawny

Andresen 40 years Tawny

Burmester Colheita 1957

Quinta das Gregocas Eusébio 70^th

Cristiano van Zellers Millennium Port, Colheita 1880

Feuerheerd Colheita 1990

The best wines in my opinion were Maynard 1982, Kopke 1984, Kopke 40 years, Burmester 1957 and the Millennium Port. Both Kopke and Maynard (Barão de Vilar) are making very good Tawnies with age and Colheitas. It is told, that The Millennium Port was made of wine from a pipe, Cristiano van Zeller found, when he was out visiting Quintas in search for old lagares. He bough it and added some Niepoort Vintage 1945 – and it was approved by the Port and Douro Wines Institute. It was bit unclear, but full of brown sugar, dried plums, cinnamon and burned figs. Powerful but with a short finish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agmUnnjM8eQ

Dry White and Golden White Colheita

Among the different types of port, White Port seems to have less attention. The common opinion is that they are useful as aperitifs either with or without tonic water. Or when it comes to the sweet ones, typically named Lagrima, they can go well with sweet desserts. But without debts and quality and perhaps even the new type, Rosé Port, is trendier with all its youthfulness.

But White Port can be good quality as well. In a matter of fact when it is aged it can be splendid. In connection with the port festival at Børsen in Copenhagen in November, Henrik Oldenburg invited Jim Reader from C. da Silva who owns Dalva Port to comment a tasting of 10 different ports among which eight were white. Dalva is not a name that we hear a lot about when it comes to ruby and Vintage Port. Its specialities are Tawny with age and recently White Port. C da Silva was founded in 1862, when Clemente da Silva moved to Portugal from Brazil. Jim Reader started in the company as a consultant when he left Cockburn’s after the Symington’s bought the company. 

Dalva is selling standard ruby and tawny to countries like Germany, Belgium, Holland and France. And then they have huge stockings of both red and white Colheita – and that was the reason why Jim Reader moved to the company, he told us.

Here is what we tasted:

Dry White: Dry but not among the driest White Port (sugar contest 45 g/l). Light and a bit golden in colour. A nose with lots of lemon, elderflower and a bit peach. Elegant and fresh.

Dry White Reserva: 6-7 years on oak. Yellow and with a darker impression in the nose. Slightly toasted and typically notes from the oak. Sweeter (60 g/l) and without the same freshness.

10 years Dry White: Golden. More complexity and less toasted. A fine balance between sweetness, fruit and acid. Nice, long tail.

20 years Dry White: A bit brown in the golden colour. Close to a tawny character. Some orange, figs and raisins in the nose. Orange, almonds and honey in the taste. Nice acidity.

40 years Dry White: New on the marked. Light red and brown. A bit shy in the nose in the beginning, but with power and full-bodied. Still fruity and then of course notes from the oak. A very nice glass, but lighter in the style than a red 40 years tawny.

Golden White Colheita 1971: More sweetness and a different bouquet. A bit toasted, almonds and vanilla from the oak. Still with acid.

Golden White Colheita 1963: A great wine from a great vintage. Darker and more brown. More heavy in the nose, but still fresh in the mouth. Dry fruit and honey. Sweet, but with acidity as well. Good balance.

Golden White Colheita 1952: Very powerful and with more acidity, which makes it crisp and fresh. Caramel, honey and vanilla and a long, beautiful aftertaste.

Colheita 1966: Brown with brown sugar and almonds. More spirit and acidity.

Colheita 1975: Cherries in the nose, fruit, brown sugar, nuts and almonds and with quite some sweetness.

As written above, we had a couple of red Colheitas to compare with after the white ones. And the latter did very well. Lighter with more freshness and elegance. And we could see how the colour of the wine was closer as we went back in time, even though the two red Colheitas were a bit more red brown.

Jim Reader told us, that Dalva wants to send a Golden White on the marked each decade. When it comes to the 80s, they still have not decided which year to choose. I don’t know, what they have in their lodge, but 83 or 84 could be possibilities. In general white grape varieties are showing their best in a bit cooler years. High temperature can result in over ripeness. But when it comes to a year like 1963 it was splendid for both red and white grapes, Jim Reader told us.

After the tasting of Dalva, we went through 27 different examples of vintage 2011. I did not taste all and didn’t take notes, but among them I will shortly recommend Ferreira 2011, Niepoort and Niepoort Bioma, Taylor and Ramos Pinto.  

At the Port Festival afterwards I noticed more white ports than usual. Ferreira brought a fine 10 years white, Andresen had some nice examples as usual and so did Niepoort and Santa Eufemia. I am pretty sure, that more companies will produce White Port with age in the future. It will never gain a big market share, but I think that there is a growing interest for Colden Colheitas. Especially if the quality is high like those from Dalva.

Read more about Dalva here: http://www.cdasilva.pt/

And about the Port Festival at Børsen here: http://www.forlaget-smag.dk/

Trains and Wines

Old steam locomotives, the Royal Family’s carriages, omnibuses and model railways. And then Riesling, Pinot Noir, Touriga Nacional, Sangiovese and Gewürztraminer. Trains and Wines. I love both – for travelling and for pleasure.

The Danish wine retailer, Holte Vinlager, recently invited to a Wine Festival at an extraordinary place, The Danish Railway Museum in Odense. Thereby they made is possible to drink lovely wine from all over the world while looking at old locomotives and carriages.

The Wine Festival was part of a caravan with many producers touring around Denmark. Tasting wine is always nice, but even better when it is served by the people who have made it and know all the details about grape varieties, soil, harvest, fermentation and storage of their wine. Not to mention people who are enthusiastic and have passion.

”It is always something special to taste wine with the people, who are making it. Therefore it is a unique chance for our customers”, explained Boy Levin from Holte Vinlager.

All together is was possible to taste more than 140 different wines from sparkling Champagne over white and red to late harvest wine and sherry from countries like France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, United States, New Zealand and Australia. With so many different possibilities, you have to make some decisions. My decision was to concentrate on a few regions and taste both the entry level and the more expensive bottles. Here are some of the notes from the choices I made.

After dry Champagne from Charles Ellner, I started in Alsace, first Joseph Cattin and then Chateau d´Orschwihr.

The Cattin family has produced wine through three centuries on a broad range of grape varieties from all over Alsace. I tried some of their basic wines, Riesling 2012, Pinot Gris 2013 and finally Pinot Noir 2011. The first was dry and fresh with citrus, minerals and floral notes. The second had more fruit flavours and apricot and was a bit spicier. And then I must admit that I have always found Pinot Noir from Alsace to light. It has some of the typical fruit flavours, but is lacking body and power.

The Hartmann family, who owns Chateau d´Orschwihr, has vineyards both around Enchenberg and Bollenberg, the latter a terroir famous for its Gewürztraminer. I tried the fresh, dry and fruity Riesling Bollenberg 2011 with lemon and pineapple on the pallet, and then Pinot Gris Bollenberg 2012 which had more acid. They were followed by to very delicious vines, Gewürztraminer Bollenberg 2011 and Cuvée Madame 2002. The first with exotic fruits like apricot and elderberry, the latter sweat with peach and honey and some floral notes in the nose. 

From Burgundy Georges Lignier & Fils brought a white, straight and clean Chardonnay, Montagny 1. cru 2011 and then three red: A very young Morey St. Denis 2011, Morey St. Denis des Ormes 1. cru 2009 and Chambille-Musigny 2008. Typically tasty Pinot Noir with a good structure, raspberry, fruit and some spices.

From the Douro in Portugal came Rafael Molezun from Real Companhia Velha, whom I met some days before at the Port Festival in Copenhagen. This time he brought the companies table wine from non expensive Porca de Murca and from Evel. The white Porca de Murca Bianco 2011 was very fresh with lemon, a bit pineapple and nice acidity. It is a blend of Viosinho, Gouveio, Moscatel, Arinto and Fernão – and a very good buy when it comes to cheap white wine. The Porca de Murca Tinto 2012 and Tinto Reserva 2009 is made of typically port varieties like Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, both fruity and well bodied. The Evel Reserva Douro 2008 was very dark and had cherries and plums on the palette and a lot of power. More structure and the typically Douro-taste.  

Finally I visited two Italian tables. In my opinion the most impressive one, when it comes to value for money, was Produttori di Govone – an association of 250 members, who produce more than 3 million bottles a year. From Piedmont I tried their Anniversario 2011, Barbera d´Alba 2007, Barbaresco 2010 and Barolo Reserva 2005 and then they also had a Tuscan wine, Ca´ del Toscanello 2009. The Barbera was very fruity and creamy. Ca´del Toscanello based on Sangiovese was a nice surprise. Cherries and darker notes, mature and smooth, but with good tannins as well and a long tail.

From Valpolicella Cantine Benedetti presented their Ripasso and Amarone wine from the entry level to the top. The entry level, Antico Borgoceo, honestly disappointed me. Benedetti Ripasso and Amarone Croce del Gal 2006 (Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella and Croatina) were both very concentrated with a lot of red berries, black currant and some almonds as well.

All in all the Wine Festival was a very inspiring event with producers showing both their entry levels and some products of high quality. I sure will be back next year.

http://www.holtevinlager.dk/

http://www.jernbanemuseet.dk/

Umbria – close but not Tuscany

Last week I went to a kind of Giro d´Italia of wine. It was the independent Danish importer, Vinotek A Fynnis, who invited to a tasting through the Italian wine regions: Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, Abruzzi etc. and a region that is less known, Umbria.

When we talk about Umbria we normally refer to white wine from Orvieto. But the region produces a growing amount of red wine as well with better and better result.   

Umbria was represented by export manager Gian-Andrea Dutler from Castello Monte Vibiano, who served five different wines and one of them in different years. The castle is placed on a hill close to Perugia in the district called Colli Perugini.

Gian-Andrea Dutler told me, that there has been a change in the region during the last 10 years. Before most of the wine was produced by bigger cooperatives and they mostly made white wine. But today small and independent producers are having focus on red grape varieties as well – both local grapes like Sangiovese and Sagrantino and international ones like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The area gets less rain and has a hotter summer than Tuscany. The result is wine a bit like those from Tuscany, and Gian-Andrea compares his best wine, L`Andrea with a Super Tuscan.

All in all Castello Monte Vibiano produce around 220.000 bottles a year of which 180.000 is red. More than 90 % of the production is for export.

I tasted these wines from Castello Monte Vibiano:

Maria Camilla, Umbria Bianco: White wine based on a blend of Trebbiano (52 %), Grechetto and Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh and crisp with lemon and a bit pineapple. Nice acidity but perhaps a bit one-dimensional.

Villa Monte Vibiano, Rosso dell`Ubria: Made mostly of Sangiovese. Some red berries in the nose, a bit light in the colour and the style and a bit sharp too. Typically Sangiovese-taste, but will do better with food.

Mon Vì, Colli Perugini Rosso: Made of 70 % Sangiovese, 15 % Merlot and 15 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Darker in colour and fuller bodied. Fruity with soft tannins and very drinkable, but not that deep and broad on the palette. A more international style and a bit of a pleaser due to the blend.

L´Andrea, Colli Perugini Rosso: Made of a selection of the best grapes, 50 % Sangiovese, 15 % Sagrantino and then some Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Stored in barriques for 15 months. I tried 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, and notices how the style has change to the better. In general it was a great wine, with red berries and typically notes of vanilla from the barriques. Less smooth than the second wine, darker and more powerful and with stronger tannins. 2003 had softer tannins now, but it seems like the cask was a bit too much burned. From 2006 that changed and gave room for elegance and fresh cherries. A great wine with beautiful tannins. 2007 had more fruit and more power. It still has a long life. 2008 was still young but promising too, but not as good as the two previous years. 

After Castello Monte Vibiano I tried wine from other regions too. Among others I tasted a fresh white wine from Piedmont, Roero Arneis Camestri 2012 from Marco Porello, a Soave 2012 and Soave Classico 2011 from Monte Tondo in Veneto. Among the reds I had Chianti Classico 2010, Chianti Classico Riserva 2008 and Poggiassai 2010, all from Poggio Bonelli. In my opinion the Riversa was much better structured than the Super Tuscan, Poggiassai, which truly disappointed me a bit. And finally I will mention a nice red from Sardinia, Cerasio Cannonau di Sardegna 2009 from Cantina Pedres. Sorry, just for namedropping and not adding notes…

http://vinotekafynnis.dk/

http://www.montevibiano.it/en/

1963 - A great vintage for port

A mighty row of bottles were waiting, when The Vintage Port Club recently invited to another tasting. We were celebrating the 50^th year’s anniversary of the Vintage 1963, which is among the best vintages ever. It was born a classical year, as the Danish port lover Henrik Oldenburg writes in his brilliant book about port.

In most of the vertical tasting’s I have attended, 1963 has performed very well and it normally gets the highest score. This was a horizontal tasting, and I was looking forward to see, which port houses took the lead. We had 10 different bottles out of the more than 40 declared: Fonseca, Grahams, Taylor, Dow, Sandeman, Warre, Cockburn, Croft, Quinta do Noval and Constantino. The last label is today part of Ferreira, but as far as I know they only use it for their brandy. The port was made from the vineyards that today belong to Quinta do Crasto.

All in all the 30 participants drank 1000 years of port! And to be honest, there was less in the spittoons that normally, when we gather together in the club…

Here are my impressions of the evening:

Constantino: Nice and inviting from the beginning, but it did not improve that much further. Dark, a bit slow in the nose, with red berries and brown sugar. Some spirit and a long tail with pepper. Perhaps lacking some debts, but it did well among the big houses.

Quinta do Noval: Dark brown with a light rim. Growing in intensity with raspberry and strawberry in the nose. Needed some time in the glass, but still light compared to later vintages from Noval. I have heard that Noval 1963 is passed its best days. Even that it did not kick that much, this bottle was still alive.

Croft: Light mahogni. The first impression was bad with chlorine in the nose. After a while it changed into the more typically Roêda-style with pine and some strawberries and cherries. Sweetness and fruit. It had its own style, but did not impress me like it did, when we had a Croft-tasting this spring.

Cockburn: Dark red brown and very closed in the beginning. A nice bouquet with red cherries and some vanilla. Improved very well and made its way to my top 3. Nice acid, sweetness and fruit in good balance. Some smoky notes and a good aftertaste. One of the biggest surprises of the evening.

Warre: Very unclear and light colour, due to a bad bottle. But the bouquet and taste was not that badly ruined. Cherries and some fruit, but weak and disappointing this evening.

Sandeman: An impressive red colour. A god smell of Cherrie flowers and a bit blackberry. A taste of sweet cherries and still with power to last. Another good surprise. With a bit more depths and perhaps a broader pallet it could have made it to the top.  

Dow: Brown and very close in the beginning. Cherries and other red berries in the nose and the taste, but some pine and mint as well. Dry and elegant in the style and with good freshness and acid, but perhaps a bit to less fruit. Nice tail.

Taylor: Very impressive and delicious from start to the last drop. Dark red brown with cherries and some coffee notes beneath. Elegant, but with some pepper and spirit as well, which slowly disappeared. Very nice balance and a long, great aftertaste. The best glass of the evening in my opinion.

Grahams: Dark red brown. A heavy smell of fruit and plums. Potent and a good structure with nice sweetness and fruit and some chocolate. Powerful tail. A very nice glass too, which ended as number 2.

Fonseca: Very closed and disappointing after the first sip. Needed time and air. Dark with red notes. Cherries and raspberry, a bit spicy with some tobacco notes. Improved a lot during the evening.

After the tasting we voted for the winners of the evening. With 30 people we were divided into to teams with different bottles, and there were some significant differences in the votes. Taylor had a lot of point in the first team, and less in the second. Croft had no votes at all in the first team, but quit some in the second. And the same goes for Dow. Considering my notes I guess it is not surprise that I was part of the first team.

All together the result was:

1. Taylor with 46 points
2. Grahams with 39 points
3. Fonseca with 35 points
4. Croft with 14 points
5. Noval with 12 points
6. Constantino with 10 points (a bit of a surprise)

The bottles were opened about 2½ hour before the tasting and had about 1 hour in the glass. The wines were not served blind.

My overall conclusion is that Vintage 1963 still is one of the best years ever in port history, and with a good variation in the style and still with the houses characteristic. Mature and ready to drink. Some of them can last longer too, but not all. And I am pretty sure, that those bottles that did not perform well that evening, would have been splendid wines if they were tasted alone or in a vertical tasting.