For The Love Of Port

Pardon me for being a little bit late to offer another reply regarding the new-looking capsule. I don't pretend to know as much about ancient Madeira and Port as Roy and others, but I will say that it is not uncommon to see wax capsules stand up to the test of time, unless we are talking about Leroy's burgundy or Dunn Howell Mountain, both of which I am convinced leave their respective wineries in crumbs. I have seen Taylor Fladgate from the very early part of the century with seemingly original wax capsules that are in fantastic shape, though labels may have long since deteriorated.

We know these bottles were distributed in 1989 and then dressed for sale some time thereafter, so it is very likely they were given a fresh cork and capsule. It is also a good possibility that they had been stored in demijohns and rebottled in 1989 when they were allocated to the family. Unforunately, this part of our work is hardly a science and a lot of crazy things can happen to bottles along the way. I actually have a client with a very damp natural cellar who actually schlacks all his labels and applies his own wax capsules to his new release bordeaux because he believes it will preserve better. Good luck selling those wines in 20 years! In this particular case though, the overriding evidence that makes me comfortable with moving forward with a sale is that we can trace the bottle back to it's producer in two documened and reputable steps.

Frank

I know we laid this to rest some time back.
BUT the explanation described here is suddenly 'questionable' again!

The source of the "Palther" is claimed to be Henrique Borges - and all bottles were (purportedly) similarly misspelled (and waxed).
A recent tasting note from a Swiss tasting (in French https://ecole-nobilis.ch/?p=8127 ) featured a bottle of 1720 and...

This 1720 Pather bottle was inherited from Joao Maria's son, Henrique Borges, who later had it covered with regular black wax by the Borges company. Henrique kept this bottle for several years in his house in Funchal before putting it on the market. [English translation of French text].
A picture of the bottle is included in the review - and clearly it is NOT spelled the way described in this thread.

Or maybe the Swiss bottle is a 'fake'.

Thank you, Alan, for reviving this thread!

I can add that I have bought a bottle of "Palther" from Mannie several years ago along with several other Borges family wines bottled in 1989. All were recently re-waxed without the usual "B" seals on top. Mannie told me he acquired all of them directly from Henrique Borges.

A plausible theory would be that the bottle in the Swiss tasting might have been a genuine Pather, but the note about its origin was copied from some auction blurb (perhaps as a result of research by some intermediate owner). I often find that when I ask about provenance of old bottles, some vendors just compile all of the information they can find about similar bottles.

There is another mystery with the bottle in the picture - it appears to have an oval wax seal on the neck. It is similar to an old JNV seal; if this is the case, the story clearly has nothing to do with the bottle.