Some old bottles of port

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Maarten Ds
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Location: Ghent, Belgium

Some old bottles of port

Post by Maarten Ds »

I would like to get some more information about these bottles.
At this moment I don't have much details and would like to learn more
about their age, value and drinkability.
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souzaguedes.jpg
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Eric Menchen
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Re: Some old bottles of port

Post by Eric Menchen »

Well, the first two look like a basic tawny and a basic ruby, which you would buy new for about US$ 10-15 today. Now your bottles are clearly very old. But the problem is that these aren't wines meant to be aged, so I wouldn't expect them to be good, other than as a tasting experiment. I think the neat wicker wrapping makes the bottle worth more than the contents.

There isn't enough visible for the third bottle to really evaluate it, but I'm guessing it falls into the same class as the above.
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Glenn E.
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Re: Some old bottles of port

Post by Glenn E. »

+1 to what Eric said. Though there's some chance that the first bottle has more wood age to it than a standard tawny, as it claims to be "Vinho Velho Especial". Today (though possibly not when that Port was created) a Port must be a certain age before it can be called an "old wine" whether special or not. I don't recall the exact age off the top of my head, but it is significantly older than a standard tawny.
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Al B.
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Re: Some old bottles of port

Post by Al B. »

Age looks to me to be the 1960s, but if you can post a picture of the sello (both sides) we might be able to tell you more.

They all appear to be basic types of port, probably still drinkable and with pleasure, but with very little value. A few years ago I shared a bottle of 3 star Sandeman ruby which had been bottled about 80 years before we drank it, and it was quite pleasant.
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Andy Velebil
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Re: Some old bottles of port

Post by Andy Velebil »

Al B. wrote:Age looks to me to be the 1960s, but if you can post a picture of the sello (both sides) we might be able to tell you more.

They all appear to be basic types of port, probably still drinkable and with pleasure, but with very little value. A few years ago I shared a bottle of 3 star Sandeman ruby which had been bottled about 80 years before we drank it, and it was quite pleasant.
And the stars tended to be from one to three. With three being the "best" quality and one the lowest quality. Mind you still a Ruby of some sort, but the probably closer to a good LBV in todays realm. I'd assume they had a one and/or two stars as well, or just took advantage of what was a system in use for naming back then.

The Guedes looks like a more modern Selo, so post about 1972-ish or so. The color appears to have really dropped out of this one for a Ruby. I wouldn't hold out much hope of it being very good at this point given the color issues.

The "29" is the old Selo so sometime prior to the early 1970's. I'd hazard a guess it was what would be today's equivalent of a Non-Vintage Tawny Reserve. Around the $25 and under price point in today's money. If stored well is probably still drinkable...exactly how drinkable would be a coin toss.

None of them are worth much money. At best $10-15 for the curiosity sake is about all I'd be willing to pay or tell others to pay.
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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