For The Love Of Port

Tasted at the official launch at Christie's in London on 18th June 2014.

Unofficially from the 1882 vintage from a private reserve bought by A. J. Symington in 1922. Only one of three casks being offered for sale at €5,500 per bottle.



Incredibly intense and concentrated citrus nose. More red in the colour than I was expecting. Thick, viscous mouthfeel - very smooth and fresh. Fabulously complex with none of the clawing acidity that often comes with wood aged ports of this era. The finish goes on forever.

This is a stunning wine. The presentation is worthy of the contents.

Nice!!!


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I have had this Port on a couple of occasions and this notation was made the first time, back during the very first Port Harvest Tour in 2005:
This is the kind of story I will tell my grandkids some day. This juice was vinified in 1882 and sat in a Rio Torto farmer's property until 1970 the same year the Symingtons bought Grahams. They bought all five smaller than normal pipes of this incredible nectar that the farmer was selling to pay for his daughter's wedding. The Symingtons never did bottle the juice and so it sits, at least two of the casks do, in an office just outside of the tasting room. We were most fortunate to be invited to try this fabulous treat. Coincidentally, or maybe not, the 1882 vintage was vinified during latter stages of Phylloxera in the Douro, also was the year that Andrew James Symington arrived in Oporto from Scotland.

Derek, if pressed to give this Port a score, where would you rate it?

If pressed I might give it 5 stars, 19/20 or 95+

Thanks!