I am new to 'For the Love of Port' and I wonder if someone can help me please. About 30 years ago I was given 2 bottles of Royal Oporto Wine Co. port wine, vintage 1945. I understand that this wine producer ceased to exist some years ago. I am not sure how, but I still have these intact and am wondering if (a) they are still likely to be drinkable and (b) what is the likely value of them. There is various information on both the cardboard cases and the labels, some in portugese and some in english. Can anyone help me please?
Richard Howard
Vintage Port Information
Moderators: Glenn E., Roy Hersh, Andy Velebil
Richard,
Glad you have joined us. Nice to have you here!
I'll check to see if I can find the value for you but will say two things first:
a. Royal Oporto is a company that alive and well.
b. They have very rarely produced good Vintage Ports and the 1945 in your hands, although from an absolutely remarkable vintage ...
For example, James Suckling in his "Bible" on Vintage Port, scored no Royal Oporto VP higher than 80 points between 1963 and 1980. Some further examples:
1963 = 73 points
1970 = 75 points
1977 = 74 points
1980 = 60 points
1983 = 66 points
1985 = 71 points
In his most recent book, Michael Broadbent gave the 1945 vintage - ***** but did not even list the Royal Oporto.
My advice would be to find a nice evening during the upcoming holidays and pop the cork, decant for sediment and taste it immediately. If it seems like it is fading, drink up ... otherwise allow it to sit for a half hour and then start drinking in earnest.
Winesearcher does not list any from 1945, but the non-declared year's vintage Port produced by Royal Oporto in 1944 is available in the UK for just under $500 USD. The 1960 a lackluster and much younger vintage is available in the USA for $188.
Look, it is certainly possible that my bias from reading is off base. But I trust Suckling (generally) to get VPs correct and I have had my share of Royal Oporto wines during two visits in the past 3 years, not to mention what I've tasted here in the USA with their agent. I have enjoyed SOME of their wood-aged Ports, mostly their Colheitas over the Tawny Ports with an indication of age. I hope this helps somewhat and maybe someone else here has tried this wine before and can shed some futher light on it.
Good luck and here is hoping that your bottle has been well-stored and drinks beautifully for you.
Welcome to FOR THE LOVE OF PORT and please do sign up for the newsletter if you are even remotely interested in Port, Madeira and the wines of the Douro.
Glad you have joined us. Nice to have you here!
I'll check to see if I can find the value for you but will say two things first:
a. Royal Oporto is a company that alive and well.
b. They have very rarely produced good Vintage Ports and the 1945 in your hands, although from an absolutely remarkable vintage ...
For example, James Suckling in his "Bible" on Vintage Port, scored no Royal Oporto VP higher than 80 points between 1963 and 1980. Some further examples:
1963 = 73 points
1970 = 75 points
1977 = 74 points
1980 = 60 points
1983 = 66 points
1985 = 71 points
In his most recent book, Michael Broadbent gave the 1945 vintage - ***** but did not even list the Royal Oporto.
My advice would be to find a nice evening during the upcoming holidays and pop the cork, decant for sediment and taste it immediately. If it seems like it is fading, drink up ... otherwise allow it to sit for a half hour and then start drinking in earnest.
Winesearcher does not list any from 1945, but the non-declared year's vintage Port produced by Royal Oporto in 1944 is available in the UK for just under $500 USD. The 1960 a lackluster and much younger vintage is available in the USA for $188.
Look, it is certainly possible that my bias from reading is off base. But I trust Suckling (generally) to get VPs correct and I have had my share of Royal Oporto wines during two visits in the past 3 years, not to mention what I've tasted here in the USA with their agent. I have enjoyed SOME of their wood-aged Ports, mostly their Colheitas over the Tawny Ports with an indication of age. I hope this helps somewhat and maybe someone else here has tried this wine before and can shed some futher light on it.
Good luck and here is hoping that your bottle has been well-stored and drinks beautifully for you.
Welcome to FOR THE LOVE OF PORT and please do sign up for the newsletter if you are even remotely interested in Port, Madeira and the wines of the Douro.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Richard
I echo Roy's welcome. This is an interesting forum to visit if you are looking to learn about port or madeira.
One thing you said in your description of the bottles interests me greatly. You mention that they are in cardboard cases. This is not what I would expect. On the rare occasions when I see wines from 1945 they tend to either be in an old cardboard box of 12 bottles or loose and on their own. Please could you describe the boxes in more detail - are they old or "new" looking (ie. contemporary with when you were given the bottles)? If you can also type out what the box says on its back label in English, this would also be of interest.
As Roy has already said, 1945 was a great vintage for port. However, the downside is that Royal Oporto (a brand name of the Royal Companhia Velha) has a pretty poor reputation for quality in the UK for its wines from the second half of the last century.
But I can't find a record of anyone having tasted this wine and posted a public tasting note. You could be the first!
If you really wanted to sell the wine, you would certainly find a buyer for it. My suggestion to sell it would be to either approach a local, independent wine merchant or to go to one of the local auction houses who occasionally hold auctions of wine (such as Straker Chadwick in Abergavenny). I have no firm idea of what you would expect to get from selling in this way as Royal Oporto wines tend to be seen as "bargain basement" due to their reputation...but 1945 has such a great reputation that the reputation of the Royal Oporto brand may be counterbalanced to some extent.
£100 may be a reasonable guess as to what you might achieve as a hammer price. From that you would have to deduct the auctioneer's commission and transport costs (and VAT). If a bottle sells for £100 then you might expect to receive £75-80, after costs.
But, my best advice would echo Roy's. You have a unique opportunity here to try a wine of which there is probably very little left in the world. If you can afford to, give yourself a fabulous treat this Christmas and try a wine that is over 60 years old.
But be sure to tell us what you think, please.
Alex
I echo Roy's welcome. This is an interesting forum to visit if you are looking to learn about port or madeira.
One thing you said in your description of the bottles interests me greatly. You mention that they are in cardboard cases. This is not what I would expect. On the rare occasions when I see wines from 1945 they tend to either be in an old cardboard box of 12 bottles or loose and on their own. Please could you describe the boxes in more detail - are they old or "new" looking (ie. contemporary with when you were given the bottles)? If you can also type out what the box says on its back label in English, this would also be of interest.
As Roy has already said, 1945 was a great vintage for port. However, the downside is that Royal Oporto (a brand name of the Royal Companhia Velha) has a pretty poor reputation for quality in the UK for its wines from the second half of the last century.
But I can't find a record of anyone having tasted this wine and posted a public tasting note. You could be the first!
If you really wanted to sell the wine, you would certainly find a buyer for it. My suggestion to sell it would be to either approach a local, independent wine merchant or to go to one of the local auction houses who occasionally hold auctions of wine (such as Straker Chadwick in Abergavenny). I have no firm idea of what you would expect to get from selling in this way as Royal Oporto wines tend to be seen as "bargain basement" due to their reputation...but 1945 has such a great reputation that the reputation of the Royal Oporto brand may be counterbalanced to some extent.
£100 may be a reasonable guess as to what you might achieve as a hammer price. From that you would have to deduct the auctioneer's commission and transport costs (and VAT). If a bottle sells for £100 then you might expect to receive £75-80, after costs.
But, my best advice would echo Roy's. You have a unique opportunity here to try a wine of which there is probably very little left in the world. If you can afford to, give yourself a fabulous treat this Christmas and try a wine that is over 60 years old.
But be sure to tell us what you think, please.
Alex
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Tom Archer
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