1961 Quinta de Val Coelho LBV

[Alex Bridgeman]

A half bottle; from a quinta recently purchased by the Symington family as part of the Cockburn deal.

Murky and cloudy in appearance, very brown in colour and totally opaque from the sediment despite being filtered through unbleached coffee filter paper. Very rich smelling on the nose, full of Christmas cake and apple juice, just a touch of heat. Very thick texture; full of rich apples and raisins, spiced with cinammon and nutmeg. Very dusty, slightly hot. Sweet and rich aftertaste, with a big flavoursome finish of astonishing length.

This was a really delicious wine and something of a snapshot of history given how unusual it is to find bottles like this. 90/100. Drunk 26 September 2010.

[jdaw1]

Quinta de Val Coelho 1961 LBV, bottled 1967 (the valley of the rabbit): cloudy orange-brown. Not an auspicious colour. Nosing of sugar, Christmas cake, orange rind. To taste very sweet, heat, orange, and a little acidity. Very long. Long aftertaste of orange peel and Christmas cake.