A wine bottled after 128 years in cask…

Quinta do Vallado celebrated its tercentenary in 2016. To commemorate this, the family have bottled a wine that has been held in cask since 1888. Three 650 litre pipes, set aside in 1888, have been reduced through years evaporation to just 700 litres. The wine comes from pre-phylloxera vines and is named after António Bernado Ferreira (ABF) who bought the quinta in 1818.  The wine is offered for sale in an Atlantis crystal decanter and a walnut case – there are just 300 bottles. Happily I managed to drink a generous glass on a cold January day in the UK.  

Quinta do Vallado ABF 1888 *****

Deep, red-tinged mahogany colour with an olive-green rim; wonderfully expressive, rich and figgy with a lifted (balsamic - vinagrinho) floral character; intense, powerfully concentrated on the palate, verging on unctuous with manuka honey, Elvas plums and syrup of figs. Mellifluous texture, the richness just offset by citrus zest on the finish which keeps the wine fresh and upright. A truly magnificent wine: elixir of tawny Port.  19