Berry Brothers & Rudd Bottling Questions.

[Mike J. W.]

I'm in the process of entering all of my Port (& Wine) into a spreadsheet that I created to track it. I am inputting a few bottles of 1966 Fonseca that were bottled by BB&R (or so the label claims). The first bottle I entered has a red metal cap (mostly worn off) but it doesn't have the BB&R name on the top of the cap like I've seen with a few other bottlings (different Producer, different year). The next 2 1966 Fonseca's that I entered into my spreadsheet were also from BB&R, but instead of having a similar red cap, they both have the melted (similar to candle wax, but harder) black cap / enclosure instead. All 3 BB&R labels are the same. So my questions are as follows...first, would BB&R use different types of enclosures in the same year? That seems odd to me, but is it possible? Finally, is it possible that the 2 black capsule ones or possibly all 3 are fakes?

[PhilW]

I agree it sounds odd, and unlikely.
There are some years where there have been multiple colours for a single port bottled by BBR, but they've always (to my knowledge) used BBR/arms capsules.

For Fonseca '66, all the BBR-bottled bottles I have seen are dark green capsules with BBR/arms on top. See https://www.vintageport.info/bbr/index.htm

It does seem quite likely that the bottles you describe might not match the label. Whether they might be other F66 bottlings, or just anything else/fake, who knows. If you want to send/post any pics, happy to look further.

[Mike J. W.]

Thanks Phil, I appreciate your input. I'll be tied up the next few days, but I'll try and post pics on Sunday when I have a spare minute. And I came across a 3rd 1966 BB&R bottled Fonseca that also has the black wax capsule.

I'm not inclined to crack any of them open now to see if they're lesser Ports, but maybe for Christmas, I'll open one or else wait until next summer when my college buddies and I have our annual weekend at the beach. One of the nights I'll be serving all 1966 VP's and the Fonseca is on the list.

[Mike J. W.]

@ PhilW. Just a minute ago, I came across a 4th BB&R 1966 Fonseca. This one has the dark green capsule with the BBR / arms on the top. The labels are identical across all 4 bottles (although I know they could easily be faked.).

[PhilW]

Rather than fake, could the hard black perhaps be someone rewaxing, if the bottles may have been damaged and/or seeped at some point? (how do the levels and (wine) colour compare to the known bbr/arms-capsule bottle?

I'd be tempted to take the lower level or poorest colour black waxed bottle and either open it, or remove the wax and see what if any capsule is underneath; if none/different, possibly read cork through the glass.

[Mike J. W.]

These are the 3 different types of capsules, but the labels are all BB&R. The black wax capsules look professionally done. And the other black wax capsules (4 including the one in the pic) are identical to the one in the pic. Fill levels are either base neck or top shoulder. All bottles are green.

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[Alex Bridgeman]

Berry’s did use hard black wax on some of their bottlings, but always stamped with a seal that made it clear it was bottled by them.

The hard black wax you’ve posted a picture of looks like a rewax to me. Possibly a rewax of a bottle which originally had a foil capsule - those capsules do get battered over the years.

[Mike J. W.]

Thanks Phil and Alex. I'm hoping they are a rewaxing. I'll know when I crack a bottle open in the next year or two.

[MigSU]

I'm in the process of entering all of my Port (& Wine) into a spreadsheet that I created to track it.

Welcome to the dark side. Come in, the water's fine.