Corgo Port

[John M.]

My Mother moved this weekend. In the back corner of a cabinet in the house that was my step-Dad's was this bottle of port....It looks like a basic Ruby, the color looks tawny, its been stored stood up, cork is very depressed and this is much sediment on the bottom. Have not found a date. Cannot find anything here on this brand. Do you have any ideas on age, know the producer, etc.?...any info really.

[Glenn E.]

Weird. That's not an IVDP Selo, which makes me suspicious. But other than that, I've got nothin'!

[Moses Botbol]

Can't see the writing on the neck tag with the glare. Bottle shape and color looks to be 70's or older...

[John M.]

Bottle tag is Pennsylvania tag....I'll take more pictures.

[Phil W]

From a little googling:
- The "Sociedade dos vinhos do alto corgo" appears to have an office/premises in Gaia
- According to several business websites, their business purposes is "port"; only one site also lists "industrial transformers" but I am guessing that this might well be erroneous!
- They have produced several colheitas (1910, 1937, 1963) the labels of which do not match your picture, so the bottle is either older than these bottlings (likely) and/or not colheita (likely due to lack of a displayed year, and tbh looks more like a ruby, probably).

That's all I can see, not especially enlightening.

[Andy Velebil]

It has 5 crowns. I've seen in the really old days varying levels of Ruby's with different amounts of symbols to denote a higher quality Ruby. Such as Sandeman did back in the early 1900's. Pure speculation here; it could be a "5 Crown" Ruby that would be comparable to an unfiltered LBV or top end Reserve Ruby in todays world.

The unit of measurements being pints, means it was imported to the USA prior to the late 70's (forgot exactly which year we switched). So it's at least that old.

[John M.]

Thanks for the info so far...here are a couple more images and info. I would guess mid 70s or older. Per my Mother, my step-Dad's father hosted a Christmas Party every year from the 30s until 1972 and there was one guest who was famous for bringing odd liquors/wines as gifts, and in turn the father would have something odd for him. It was a game they played and sometimes one would not get opened. Hence a liquor closet with many odd things, many of which are very old and partially consumed. This appears to be one of them--but never opened. The PLCB did not exist until after Prohibition so the oldest it could be is 1933.

As is evident, the cork is very depressed. There is no back label. When I do open this, I will certainly tong the bottle to preserve the cork in case it would yield some more info.

[John M.]

I opened this bottle last night for tonight's gathering. Once I got the wax chipped off it was apparent the wine was compromised as the cork was barely wide enough to seal the bottle if that--it looked so small. I tonged the bottle open---very wide neck and very think green glass.

The cork is branded Corgo Port---nothing else. Still wish I knew when this was bottled.

The wine came out in a light honey color, faint red hue in the decanter (despite likely being no more than a ruby port, there was obvious sediment in the bottom). Smells a bit harsh with pine, pine nuts and a sweetness. Took a small nip---rather undrinkable now---but may need time---clearly very oxidized. It was poured into another bottle and corked--will open this morning and let it breathe to see if it opens up and becomes drinkable by tonight.

Below are two pictures, one showing the thickness of the glass, the other comparing to a regular cork--you can see how small the cork is.

[Andy Velebil]

Thanks for the follow up. How's it taste the next day?

[John M.]

This port, sadly, was so oxidized it was barely drinkable and had a definite pine resin taste over everything else---although I picked up orange and a nutty overtone. I would surmise based on the bottle, the wax, lack of selo, the quality of the glass bottle that this bottle is likely from the 1950s into the early 1960s at the latest.

I was expecting nothing (likely just a ruby or ruby reserve that was far older than intended and stored poorly) so I am not disappointed and it was a nice science experiment if nothing else.

No score

[Andy Velebil]

Science experiments are always fun. Sorry to hear the Port wasn't.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Bummer, but thanks for sharing the pictures, experience, etc!


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[John Trombley]

When was the Selo made mandatory, anyone know?

[Roy Hersh]

Corgo Port is just a Port "brand" and very likely a "buyer's own brand" from the first half of the 20th century -- not the producer. Baixo Corgo (= lower Corgo) and Cima Corgo (= top or upper Corgo) are two of the 3 sub-regions in the Douro, going from west to east. Lastly further east and upriver is the Douro Superior. This producer mostly was involved in producing wood-aged Ports. The earliest Colheita I know of from this company was 1900, (someone above mentioned 1910). The last one I know of was 1970 ... that I am aware of, which is definitely not conclusive. I also have seen Colheitas of theirs bottled in 1991. I am pretty sure that their US importer was in NYC and no longer exists; but I believe the company itself is still alive today.

To point you in the right direction, the producer is: Sociedade dos Vinhos do Alto Corgo, LTD. If you would like to get in touch with them: 351+ 22 377 0450 if you want to go further in your search to learn more specifics of your bottle.