Oh no, the Duque is dead!

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Roy Hersh
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Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Roy Hersh »

Last summer, I was asked to keep a secret and now that it is being released around the world, it is time to make sure FTLOP'ers know too.

Ferreira was preparing to make some significant changes with their packaging, at least the pair of their top selling Tawny Ports, one White Port and a Reserve Port too.

The 10 Year Old which had been linked for years to their Single Quinta: Quinta do Porto, is no longer labeled that way. But in a questionable move, (and I tried to convince them that this was just "wrong" to do ... :shock: ) the world famous Duque de Bragança, has finally expired somewhere in Gaia.

In all seriousness, the powers that be decided that it was time to freshen up the image, and both 10 and 20 TWAIOA have a new name and new label. DONA ANTONIA 10 and 20 Year Old Tawny Ports are fortunately, the identical blends as before. But Sogrape/Casa Ferreirinha have decided to reinforce the Dona Antonia name and image. Under the same umbrella, there is also a White Port and Reserve using the same name, so there is a new marketing campaign that will incorporate all four Ports.

What do you think?
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Andy Velebil
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Re: Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Andy Velebil »

While I’ve loved the old names as a Port lover, looking at it as a simple consumer and not a Port nerd, they are too much to deal with... long, hard to pronounce and good luck with spelling them. Keep it simple. Sogrape has done a very good job with dry wine labels recently and glad they are cleaning up some Port ones too. Just my worthless $0.02 LOL!


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Moses Botbol
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Re: Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Moses Botbol »

I think it was smart move and glad they kept blends the same. Ferreira tawny is one the best IMO.
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Eric Ifune
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Re: Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Eric Ifune »

I understand why, but I'll miss the old fashioned names.
Will W.
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Re: Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Will W. »

I just bought a dozen bottles of the Dona Antonia 20 year old from a distributor in Portugal; it arrived with a piece of paper inserted into each cardboard tube which assured consumers that it was nonetheless the same blend bottled previously under the name Duque de Bragança. I was left to wonder why the producer had bothered to change the name, at least for the Portuguese market.
Christian Gollnick
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Re: Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Christian Gollnick »

Eric Ifune wrote:I understand why, but I'll miss the old fashioned names.
+1
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Tom Archer
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Re: Oh no, the Duque is dead!

Post by Tom Archer »

The oldest bottle of Duque I've seen was bottled in 1962. It changed from being a 40yr to a 20yr sometime in the mid seventies.

I'm not too fussed about the name, just so long as they carry on keeping making the same enduring wine. It was more of a pity when they ditched the stocky bottles and started using plain ones..
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