Bismarck Port

‘Bismarck’ 1871, Real Vinicola *****

This remarkable wine was served to me at the end of a tasting of Douro wines at Real Companhia Velha hosted by brothers Pedro and Tiago Silva Reis. It was bottled for Otto von Bismarck who oversaw the unification of Germany and became Chancellor in 1871. The wine was bottled sometime in the 1870s but there is not much more information on it than that (Real Vinicola also have an 1871 Garrafeira which seems to be a different wine. The bottle has RCVNP embossed on it which stands for Real Companhia Vinicola do Norte de Portugal, Real Vinicola for short.) Still deep at the centre with an amber-tawny hue and a pale yellow-tawny rim; all there on the nose with lovely rich, dense, caramelised fruit, a touch of syrup of fig but no vinagrinho (that whiff of volatile acidity that sometimes lifts the aroma in an old Port); similarly rich and dense for its age on the palate, silky fruit with vestigial tannic grip, long and very fine, barley sugar richness with just a hint of smoke on the finish. A really fascinating wine. 19.5