At Quinta Vale D. Maria Port wines are made in a traditional way, with foot treading in granite lagares. All Ports are produced with the same care and dedication, in order to create the highest quality wines. We thus maintain the same philosophy for our Ports as for other wines: obtaining a unique character. Since the beginning of the project at Quinta Vale D. Maria, we have been producing Vintage, LBV and Reserve Ports, all from a single harvest.
The selection of vines was based on knowledge of Port wine production over several generations. Each of the plots, planted with various indigenous varieties and mostly exposed to the South, has ages ranging from 25 to 60 years old. These vineyards allow you to create Port Wines with complexity, depth, aroma and structure, which represent a time and a place.
“It is pretty brilliant and irresistible at the moment, effortlessly projecting both harmony and complexity. This is the first in a series of old Tawnies that the winery plans on releasing. It’s a great start.”
Vale D. Maria has been creating unique vineyard wines since its first bottling in 1996. Our vision of the Douro is that each corner of this region, due to the variation of the landscape, climate and grape varieties has its own character. This is a project that began in the hands of Cristiano van Zeller, who through the knowledge acquired throughout generations and his own years of experience in the Douro, recognized the value of the terroir at Quinta Vale D. Maria for the production of Douro Reds and Port Wines. For our Ports, we always looked at each bottling as something unique. Following this philosophy, we have decided to only produce Old Tawny Colheita Ports. We searched in old cellars in the Douro Valley, for some of the last ageing barrels of very old Colheitas. Throughout time, we had the opportunity to acquire a few remaining barrels of some selected years that we have carefully guarded as one of our most valuable collections. It’s now time to start unveiling our special collection. We begin to reveal it with the release of the Vale D. Maria Old Tawny Colheita Porto 1969.
Vinification and ageing: These extraordinary wines age in Port Wine casks until their bottling date, with a minimum of 50 years of age. The casks are kept under the ideal conditions for a long ageing, where temperatures are kept cool and the cellar with a low light. The wines matured slowly, allowing them to develop very elegant, concentrated and sublime aromas. They become intensely rich and fresh, with great persistence and creating a memorable experience, worth the wait.
Tasting Notes: Throughout time, this wine has concentrated nuances of mahogany and amber, with a touch of yellow hints that shine through. With an opulent nose, with honey and butterscotch, scents of dried peaches and plums and a hint of mint and eucalyptus tree. It is sweet and succulent, greatly balanced showing lots of fruit flavours in a well-structured wine. The wine is bright and lasts for a very long time on the palate, marking the finish to a great start.
Technical Analysis
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