I have got a challenge. I have been asked to buy a collection of port. It is from a estate of a deceased person. I know the heirs and I knew of the grandfathers collection. It is not a big collection but there should be some good experiences among the 12 bottles, eg. Nieport Colheita 1912, some 1924 vintage and others but...... there is a bottle that I am much uncertain about. The label, the capsule and everything outside looks like it is bottled perhaps 30 years ago - it could be several decades wrong (all bottles are in perfect condition). On the label it says
VINHO do PORTO
Garrafeira
1790
and with small letters that I hardly can see on the picture it says
Companhia Vinicola do Norte do Portega...(can't see the last 1 or 2 letters)
Gaia - Porto
From the seal I can only see that the letters in the top of the round part is I V P there is no number only a kind of coat of arms.
I know this is not much information but for the moment I only have a hard copy picture. Can anybody help to clarify anything about this bottle.
Garrafeira.jpg (150.04 KiB) Viewed 5056 times
Last edited by Soren Bodker on Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Vinho do Porto in those days was not meaning absolutely dry or fortified wine at all. In 1790, most of the chance this is a dry wine that we added brandy afterwards for shipping.
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
Until about 1756, the making of shipping wines, as Port Wines were called in those days, followed the so called "ancient winemaking" techniques. The addition of brandy (and only in very limited amounts) only occurred after fermentation was over so that wines that were made were dry.
In 1820, a new method for adding brandy the so-called modern winemaking technique was applied whereby brandy was added to stop fermentation, thus creating a sweeter wine in the mouth. This method only became widespread in 1852 when the Ports began to take on the characteristics of the Port Wines we know today.
Vinho do Porto in those days was not meaning absolutely dry or fortified wine at all. In 1790, most of the chance this is a dry wine that we added brandy afterwards for shipping.
Correct, but that doesn't mean is not a Port, means the Port was made in different way. In that year, George Sandeman bottled his first Vintage Port.
This sounds like a Colheita. Until relatively recently RCV (Royal Oporto) used the term Garrafeira (meaning old wine) to describe their Colheitas. I tasted their 1917 Garrafeira a couple of years ago with Simon Lisle.
RCV recently sent me a list of VP and Garrafeira dating back to 1804.
I have to look at my notes when I get home, but I am fairly certain the oldest Port still in RCV's cellars dates back to the late 1700's. I'll double check that later tonight.
I'd also guess it to be a Colheita if it looks like it was bottled in the 1900's. When a photo is posted I'm sure that will really help unravel the mystery.
They must have been labeled from their cellars at a specific moment. This looks really modern and clean with 2 IVP seal even, one over and one under the cap. I had a bottle of 1912 during the hollidays and the label was the same too.
Living the dream and now working for a Port company
Dear Miss Soren Bodker,
Yes it is a Port Wine. It is really from the harvest 1790. It should have been bottled after seven year's.
The Company "Real Companhia Vinícola do Norte de Portugal" - Real Companhia Velha, exist's Since 1756.
We don't have more detail's because it's a wine with more than 200 year's
We are sure The wine you have is OK to drink and Very Good,
this is most probably a red wine and should have been placed in another forum 
)