Vintage Port in Excelsis: 1924-1950

Port and Madeira. These fortified wines have been vinous passions of mine for many years. I recently joined a small lunch at Cloth restaurant in London to taste seven exceptional fortified wines from the cellar of Raby Castle in County Durham in the north of England. Lord Barnard presided over an astonishing treasure trove of fortified wines that had begun with his forebears, who would buy pipes from the Douro Valley in Portugal. Barnard passed away in 2016, and his widow decided to auction off the collection through Christie’s, each bottle re-labeled with a back label designating its origin. I mention this because it means these wines were kept in impeccable conditions, unmoved for their entire lives. Such is the provenance that, as I’ve heard, some of the Port houses have already purchased bottles to augment their own libraries.

Let’s start with the Port, and I’ll tackle the two Madeira wines next week.

My inaugural encounter with the rare 1924 Dow’s Vintage Port is a wonder to behold. Pale amber/brick in hue, it has a fragrant bouquet that curls its way around your senses like a wily feline, with beguiling aromas of fireside hearth, Montecristo cigars and Earl Grey. There is just a vestige of fruit remaining. The palate has exquisite balance, with brown spices, gingerbread and just a hint of licorice. This centurion exudes stately grandeur, albeit just beginning to fade with time. And yet returning to my glass after one hour, it defies logic and gains intensity and depth, as if to say, “I’m not done yet!” Ethereal! 99