1963 Ferreira Vintage Port

[Al B.]

I had the opportunity to taste this wine - one that I have not tasted before - due the the generosity of a very kind lady who I was talking to on Friday. When she found out that I was a 1963 baby she insisted that I accept a gift of this bottle on the grounds that it had been leaking and was so badly ullaged that the contents were probably spoiled beyond redemption. It was a bottle bought by her father in Oporto in the mid-70's and which he left to her when he died 11 years ago.

So I would like to dedicate this note to Mr & Mrs Alyn Owens.

The bottle was an "older" style square, dumpy bottle with very square shoulders. The label was in good condition and had been reapplied to the bottle. The sealing wax cork seal was mostly missing and the IVP seal was damp and sticky. The letters "AAF" had been moulded into the bottle. The bottle had clearly been leaking and was very badly ullaged, to a level approximately 1 inch / 2½cm below the bottom of the shoulder.

The cork fell apart on being extracted, but enough of it could be reassembled so as to make out the branding on the cork as reading "Ferreira Vintage" but no numbers could be made out.

The wine decanted very easily off the large and heavy sediment that had been thrown. The bottle had leaked so badly that after decanting, the clean wine filled a single half bottle to the cork, leaving only a single 2oz tasting sample.

Having had no experience with this wine and considering the bottle had been so badly ullaged, I decided to take an initial tasting note immediately.

The wine was a pale, tawny colour with a pale centre and an orange rim - almost a watery appearance at the edge. Well pronounced legs in the glass.

The nose was tired and oxidised with a touch of bottle stink. Reminded me of the smell of washing up liquid and boiled cabbage.

Sweet entry into the mouth. Pleasant flavours of brown sugar and raisins on a thick textured wine. Mid-palate complexity of marmalade and oranges and - if it was possible - I would swear the wine got thicker in the mouth as it was held and swirled. The flavours reminded me very much of a fine, aged tawny.

Caramel and black treacle on the aftertaste with just a flush of alcohol immediately after swallowing. Aftertaste lasts a good time.

My overall impression of this wine and this first taste was that it is stunning the wine had been able to survive in this condition with so much air in the bottle. However, given the dampness of the IVP label I might have been lucky either because the leak was very recent or perhaps it has been very slight and the wine has oxidised in a controlled manner and therefore now tastes like a 1963 colheita.

I can't wait to try it again in a couple of hours and see if the bottle stink has blown off and to see if the wine has improved at all. On this initial tasting, I would give this wine a score of 87/100 or 4-2.

Alex

[Andy Velebil]

Alex, I had a 1955 Ferreira earlier this year. That bottle probably was not stored the best either and turned to the tawny side. I recall similar impressions, and even though it was past its prime was still a very good bottle. Just goes to show that good things can come from bad looking bottles.

[Richard Henderson]

My Ferreiria experience starts in 1977 but I can imagine your 1963 having every characteristic you described. it is a fine underrated port. I am envious of any Ferreria experience from 1963!

[Al B.]

The only other Ferreira that I have tried was their wine from 1985, which I thought was a pleasant wine, but nothing special. This '63 Ferreira is something special. Here's a later tasting note.

3½ hours
Wine has now lost its bottle stink and smells of toffee and caramel. It has darkened through the exposure to air but is still distinctly orange on the rim. Much less viscous in the mouth but also more complex. Entry is still very sweet but is now balanced by a very pleasant acidity. Layers of sweet syrup, toffee, marmalade, citrus and raisins - think Canadian raisin pie where the raisins have been soaked in lemon juice before being baked in a maple syrup filling. Long, long length.

Overall, this is a stunning wine from a terribly out of condition bottle. This now rates a solid 91/100 or 6-4 on the Tom scale.

[Eric Ifune]

I had a bottle of this a year or so ago. Reports are that it is starting to decline, but the bottle I had was still vigourous and plummy. It was excellent. I guess a 40+ year old bottling is expected to have some variation.