1960 Quinta do Sibio Vintage Port

Tom Archer · Post by **Tom Archer** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:42 pm

One of seven bottles very recently acquired (all with levels i/n) for little more than £10 apiece - not much return for 46 years of maturation!

Clearly Oporto bottled, but, unusually, bottled in green glass.

Decanted a few minutes ago. Came quite cleanly off it's sediment despite having been only stood up for a few hours.

In the decanter it has the colour of treacle - not unlike Taylor's from the same vintage.

First sip. Not much bouquet, but no bottle stink either. Quite fruity - seems fairly robust. Holds out the promise of respectable drinking.

See how it evolves.

More anon

Tom

Tom Archer · Post by **Tom Archer** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:10 am

Five hours on..

Only minutes after posting my first report, I was taken aback by the colour change in the decanter. I have seen colour changes before, but never so quick or so noticeable. The wine is now dark and sultry. It looks slightly 'past plateau' or 'third age'.

A glass proper.

Slightly hazy (but the bottle was not stood up for as long as usual) a warm dull red colour going to a clear edge.

Modest, venerable bouquet. On the palate it has a little fire. I wonder if this will subside by tomorrow..

It has a certain attribute that I have noticed in other 60's - perhaps best described as 'shallow' - a lack of depth. However, it does not seem inferior to the famous names from that vintage.

Tom

Tom Archer · Post by **Tom Archer** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:56 am

20 hours on,

This is drinking really well now, no longer hazy, the fire has all but gone.

The wine is very much middle-of-the-road in terms of sweetness, bouquet and finish. It is slightly past it's best, but only slightly - not as noticeable as with Taylor or Dow.

Time for a score.

The only real de-merit is the light, shallow nature of the '60's. Judged against all other VP's it is very much on the middle ground, so for immediate gratification, I give it a 5

Where's it going? This is fully mature and a little besides, but I don't think there is much urgency to drink up, so one point off, a 4

So my score is:

5-4

Tom

Steven Kooij · Post by **Steven Kooij** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:59 pm

Who produced this VP, Tom? I thought Qta. d. Sibio is (now) owned by RCV - was that also the case in 1960?

Tom Archer · Post by **Tom Archer** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 4:29 pm

-'Real Vinicola' is emblazoned across the top of the label, and further down the full name: 'Real Companhia Vinicola do Norte de Portugal' appears. RCV, I assume.

This is continuing to improve - a little nutty now, and much more depth.

Looking back at my previous notes on the 60's, I've observed that they need a full 24hrs in decanter to show properly - this wine is very consistant with my previous observations.

On the immediate gratification front this is now showing a 6, going on 7 -

- great QPR!

Note to me: one a year

Tom

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:26 pm

Thanks for the notes, it's always good to read about bottles from rarely heard about producers.

Mario Ferreira · Post by **Mario Ferreira** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:16 am

On the best of my knowledge, it seems that only two Producers own properties in the Sibio. One is RCV - Real Companhia Velha (Royal Oporto) and the other producer is Quinta do Silval.

I was told that some of the fine wines produced by RCV do come from Sibio. Besides that I do know that Quinta do Silval use their Sibio's grapes for their Magalhães LBVs & Vintage Ports. So, it seems that Sibio is a good area for fine grapes in the Douro.

BTW, the 2006 FTLOP Port Harvest Trip early this month included a visit to the Sibio. The whole gang seated in van and went for a "jeep ride" up & down the vineyards of Quinta do Silval's Sibio. That was funny. :)

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:55 am

Mario Ferreira wrote: BTW, the 2006 FTLOP Port Harvest Trip early this month included a visit to the Sibio. The whole gang seated in van and went for a "jeep ride" up & down the vineyards of Quinta do Silval's Sibio. That was funny. :)

And quite scary when one looked down, but a really fun ride.