For The Love Of Port

Al B. wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:So why would someone totally rebottle something instead of just recorking it?

Because the wine was originally being matured in demijohns before being bottled? We know of at least one current port producer who states on his labels that a wine is "bottled in year X and decanted in year Y". It's not a huge leap of imagination to picture the year in which a wine is moved from demijohn to bottle as being the year of "reengarrafado".

Just to be clear, this is only speculation as I don't know the history of this wine, but wanted to point out that there could well be a legitimate reason for the wording on the label.

Met with Ricardo Freitas of Barbeito today, and we discussed this very wine. He believes it to be legitimate, the date is probably an estimation, but the wine is of the period. Barradas is an old grower family. It probably is Verdelho. Most likely bottled by Silva Vinhos, an old partadista, infamous for using cheap bottles and labels.

Eric Ifune wrote:Ricardo took one look at the bottle and said, Silva Vinhos. Apparently the bottle is characteristic of them. Light green tinge and very light in weight.

Ricardo also said it's not unusual to rebottle old wines decades in bottle. Madeira loves air and to refresh, bottles are opened, dumped into demijohns for a period of time, then rebottled.