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1991 Quinta do Vesuvio Finest Reserve Colheita
Posted: 11:06 Fri 13 Jul 2007
by Lady Roots
Had this port Nov 2004:
This Finest Reserve '91 (colheita) is used for private consumption at Quinta do Vesuvio. Therefore, you will never ever find it in a shop. It is non filtered. Don't know the bottle date, but I assume very recent.
Rusty brown to orange colour, a bit cloudy. Incredible nose of dried vigs, almonds, some nicely integrated oxidised tones, strong Douro-Bake and meaty aromas. The taste is everlasting and very intense and complex. Flavours of citrus, nuts, brown sugar, orange peel and bitter almonds at the end pallet. Very elegant and harmonic. The finish shows dried red fruit and coffee tones together with orange peel bitterness.
JUST WOW, this is one of the best tawny-type ports I've ever drank. Incredible, what an intensity and yet so elegant. (and a shame we only had 2 bottles for 7 people)
Due to the fact that the Symmingtons store this port at the quinta itself, it is under great influence of the hot climate. Therefore, the port shows much older and matured than it actually is. A typical example of Douro-bake!
Posted: 14:07 Fri 13 Jul 2007
by DRT
I spotted some of this at Vesuvio last October - the 96 vintage I think. Unfortunately we didn't get a taste
Derek
Posted: 13:57 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by KillerB
Edited the title - Admin
Posted: 14:57 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by uncle tom
I've wondered whether we'll eventually see wines other than vintage port come from Vesuvio - aged tawnies perhaps..
Tom
Posted: 15:04 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by Andy Velebil
Derek T. wrote:I spotted some of this at Vesuvio last October - the 96 vintage I think. Unfortunately we didn't get a taste
Derek
Derek it was the 1991...here is a pic I took of it
Posted: 17:17 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by uncle tom
Interesting photo - if it's only for private consumption, I wonder why they've taken the trouble to prepare a special label..
.. looks like they're producing a variant of the Garrafeira - so many years in wood followed by so many years in glass - albeit in regular sized bottles.
I wonder how much they've made..?
- Curious!
Tom
Posted: 18:38 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by Andy Velebil
Tom, you're right. I wondered why they made labels for it to. IIRC, there was about 2 pipes of it produced (but don't hold me to that). Not sure how much is left though.
Posted: 19:19 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by Alex Bridgeman
The 1991 at least is purely for private consumption. You can see that there is no sello on the bottle that Andy took a picture of and that - as far as I understand the IVDP rules - means that the port was not registered and therefore cannot be sold or officially recognised.
That said, I would give my eye teeth to get hold of a bottle ... if anyone is heading over to Vesuvio in the near future then please let me know.
Alex
Posted: 23:59 Mon 30 Jul 2007
by DRT
I can confirm with 100% certainty that those are my hands clasping that very rare bottle in ADV's photo
Derek
Posted: 00:05 Tue 31 Jul 2007
by Conky
I bet you loved handing it back!!!
Posted: 00:33 Tue 31 Jul 2007
by DRT
Was I supposed to hand it back
Posted: 13:47 Tue 31 Jul 2007
by Frederick Blais
When I asked the Symingtons in 2005 if I could taste it, they said yes but only at Vesuvio. From what I understood, it is for private consumption and only stored at the Quinta. They had no intentions in those day to release it on the market. Just a guess that maybe in a near future if they can increase the production or quality.
Posted: 02:36 Fri 03 Aug 2007
by DRT
I'm not convinced that the Symigtons will ever release this. Just put yourself in their shoes - how cool would it be to know that your "go to" port was something that no one else in the world could get their hands on
I really wish our host had still been around when we seen this. I am quite sure we would have been allowed the privellege of tasting it if he had
I must go back one day soon
Derek
Posted: 08:26 Fri 03 Aug 2007
by uncle tom
how cool would it be to know that your "go to" port was something that no one else in the world could get their hands on
For us mere mortals, yes - but for the Sym's?
- They've probably got hundreds of oddities that have never seen the light of day...
Two pipes is a lot to bottle for private consumption - I reckon they'll sell some eventually, but probably in wooden presentation boxes - and a ludicrous price tag..
Tom
Posted: 17:08 Thu 27 Sep 2007
by Lady Roots
I'm not hanging around a lot on this forum, here are my 2 cents:
You can call me a lunatic if I did not try to get a bottle back home
, but the Symmingtons didn't allow that, not even an empty bottle....not even just the label..... Only pics. The port is indeed not registered and what Euan McKay (export director Europe) told me, they've made the label kinda for fun
Ronnie and I were at Vesuvio in June, and saw a couple of pipes laying around in the cellar. Also different vintages than the '91, but I forgot which onces......
) Looks like a very small production and this time we we're not allowed to taste it....
Posted: 20:05 Mon 22 Oct 2007
by RonnieRoots
Just looked back at some pictures of our trip in June, and I made pictures of the 1991, 1992 and 1998 lying there in pipes. There may have been one or two other vintages as well, but I'm not sure.