A Ladder of Aged White Ports from Messias
The Messias family are relative newcomers to the Port business having started out in 1934. They run their operations in Vila Nova de Gaia and the Douro and in tandem with a winery in the Bairrada region to the south of Oporto. The company has a substantial vineyard holding in the Douro with two well-situated properties, Quinta do Cachão and Quinta do Rei at Ferradosa in the Douro Superior, adding up to 130 hectares of vines. The company’s main markets are Belgium, Holland and Portugal and, as a result, the wines are not that well known in the UK. Tawny Ports are a strength. I was delighted to receive samples of aged white Ports from Messias, from 10 to 50 years old. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to taste a range of aged white Ports spanning all the designations permitted by the IVDP at the same sitting and I am very grateful to Messias for sending these samples. They were not accompanied by any technical specification so I can’t be specific on levels of residual sugar etc. but these wines clearly gain in richness and depth with age but none of them were overtly lifted. I imagine they were aged in Vila Nova de Gaia for there is no hint of ‘Douro Bake’ and the wines making up these blends have clearly been well cared for over many years. They are a tribute to the Messias family.
Messias 10 Year Old White ***/****
A lovely pale amber-gold in hue with an appetising, slightly spirty yet savoury nutty character on the nose and a hint of dried fruit; dry in style retaining dried apricot freshness and sweetness mid-palate and a lovely clean, spicy-spirity finish. Not the most characteful wine but clearly well-made and well looked after. 16.5
The line up of Messias (from L to R) 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 Year Old White Ports with the final wine a 50 Year old Tawny for comparison.
Messias 20 Year Old White ****/*****
Turning pale tawny-amber with age with the merest hint of olive green on the rim; lovely rich dusky-spicy fruit on the nose with a hint of leather and wood smoke; showing lovely concentration on the palate, dried fruit richness and all-spice, dates and dried figs yet retaining wonderful apple and citrus freshness all the way through to a long, softly sublime tarte tatin finish. 18.5
Messias 30 Year Old White ****/*****
Pale-to-mid amber-tawny with a glint of olive green on the rim; entrancing heady aromas combining a hint of dusty-raisiny fruit with old leather and Cognac showing delicacy, complexity and the concentration of age; complexity on the nose mirrored on the palate, glorious sultana and raisin richness mid-palate offset by spicey toffee apple freshness and a hint of mince pie on the finish. Showing great poise and persistence. 18.5
Messias 40 Year Old White Port *****
Just slightly deeper than the 30 Year Old with the same hue; there’s a feeling of going back in time on the nose, like opening up an old cupboard full of really good and interesting things: polished wood, leather bound books and a hint of all-spice; the richness, intensity and delicacy on the palate is a glory to behold, liquorous dried fruit and spice all gliding into a seamless finish that retains its freshness and verve. 19.5
Messias 50 Year Old White *****
A lovely pale-to-mid tawny with a hint of mahogany; gently singed and maderised on the nose (I might even have guessed at madeira if this was served blind but for its lack of funk), heady, rich, a touch autumnal but not overly lifted or high-toned which is remarkable for a wine of this age; mincemeat and quince marmalade, seamlessly melded on the palate with spicy richness and piquancy, remarkably fresh with perfect poise on the long, lithe finish. 20
