Quinta de Ventozelo - Porto Colheita - 1890

It's rare that mere mortals such as myself get to drink a wine of this age and acquiring it at an auction with unknown provenance was always going to be a risk.

But it was a risk I decided to take.

Ultimately a wine is only as good as it tastes, but with a rarity such as this there is, and should be, an intellectual element, so I did a little research to try to put a 126 year old wine into context.








1890...

• The year of the British Ultimatum, and the treaty of London
• The massacre at Wounded Knee
• The death of van Gogh
• The birth of Agatha Christie, Ho Chi Minh, Man Ray, Groucho Marx
• Queen Victoria still sits on the English throne Portugal still has a throne, and Carlos I sits on it;  Benjamin Harrison is President of the United States
• Coliseu dos Recreios opens in Lisbon
• No easyJet, no jets, no aeroplanes even
• No FaceBook, no internet, no computers

So - what was it like? Here's my tasting note...

4 hour decant. An 1890 barrel believed to be bottled in 1932. Bottom of cork very much stuck.
Decent at pop time but, when I poured 8 glasses of this to start my birthday dinner (no, I'm not 126 years old!), this had become an amazing wine - deep, clear, honey colour - smooth, oh so incredibly smooth - gentle warmth, with no real noticeable alcohol - nuts, an almond, hints of peel - so much going on - and a finish that lasted and lasted. We left the (empty) glasses on the table as we moved to wine, but the aroma was all pervasive. Truly a privilege.
98