GOULD CAMPBELL Vintage Port, Oporto 1927
Bottled by Matthew Lang & Co. in October 1929 - Re Corked in 1955 and then in the Late 1990's.Minor Label Damage
It's a very unusual listing for my neck of the woods (there are 12 bottles all up in 1 or 2 bottle lots), but it has got me thinking about re-corking. I found it unusual that this one had been done twice. This would have been bottled in Australia as Matthew Lang was a wine and spirits merchant in Melbournre back in the late 1800s. There is a label that still bears his name which is the cheapest and nastiest swill ever put in a bottle. Estimated price range is AU $190 - 270
Is it common to get bottles re-corked? What are the pros an cons of re-corking a port?
Does it say who did the recorking? And are you able to find out if they topped up the bottle or was it just a simple recork job? If they topped it up, what they used to top it up with would be important.
Paul Fountain wrote:This would have been bottled in Australia as Matthew Lang was a wine and spirits merchant in Melbournre back in the late 1800s. There is a label that still bears his name which is the cheapest and nastiest swill ever put in a bottle.
This is good news and bad news for me.
I own one bottle of Australian port, which is a bottle of Lang's 1888. It is great to have confirmation that there was indeed a Wine Merchant named Lang in that time period as it helps authenticate my bottle. However, your description of the quality of their wines put a bit of a dent in my enthusiasm for drinking it one day.
Andy Velebil wrote:Does it say who did the recorking? And are you able to find out if they topped up the bottle or was it just a simple recork job? If they topped it up, what they used to top it up with would be important.
We aren't given any more information than what is in the listing, so I have no idea whether it was topped up or not. There is no mention of the levels being higher or lower than normal and that is something that normally gets specified if there is any variation.
Paul,
Given that lack of very important information I'd be very hesitant to buy it. Unless, the price was very cheap and you're willing to take a punt on it.
And yes, the fill level is a very important part of the description to include, especially on older bottles. If you're able I would ask for a picture of the bottle. Often that can give a lot more accurate info.
I've done a bit of re-corking, but it's not a very satisfactory exercise on old bottles, and I mostly drink any bottles that require it instead.
A small percentage of corks are inherently unsound from the word go, while others begin to give up later.
My strict 'survival of the fittest' policy - drinking the most ullaged bottles (and those with any signs of seepage) before the others from the same case, ensures that the number of bottles in my cellar that start to show signs of seepage each year can be counted on one hand.
Good corks on well-cellared bottles can last a very long time indeed - but eventually they all have to be pulled (or pushed..!)
Paul Fountain wrote:This would have been bottled in Australia as Matthew Lang was a wine and spirits merchant in Melbournre back in the late 1800s. There is a label that still bears his name which is the cheapest and nastiest swill ever put in a bottle.
This is good news and bad news for me.
I own one bottle of Australian port, which is a bottle of Lang's 1888. It is great to have confirmation that there was indeed a Wine Merchant named Lang in that time period as it helps authenticate my bottle. However, your description of the quality of their wines put a bit of a dent in my enthusiasm for drinking it one day.
It's not as bad for you as it seems Derek. I don't know if the Matthew Lang brand has any real connection to Matthew Lang & Co.
I did find this written in an article by a guy called Andrew Calliard MW on Old Australian wines which will give you more hope
1930 Matthew Lang and Co Hunter River Cabernet, New South Wales
“The best red in my experience up to 1960,” said Max Lake in his book “Cabernet: Notes of a Wineman” (Rigby 1977), “of extraordinary complex flavour, it was a supple and elegant wine consisting of equal parts cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot, grown at Dalwood. Only three hogsheads were made and the vines were pulled out!” Max Lake was “influenced to start a cabernet vineyard” as a result of tasting this wine. Many commentators believed that Cabernet was not suitable to the Hunter Valley micro-climate. Nonetheless Max Lake established Lake’s Folly, one of Australia’s early boutique wineries in 1963.
I managed to get of one of these just recently and the contents were truly outstanding (93 points). The sediment needed to be seen to be believed. The recorking mentioned above was indeed risky and a somewhat unfortunate consideration but having checked back to the source as far as humanly possible, I was happy to take a punt at what I thought was a very reasonable price. I'm extremely happy with the end result. To the best of my abilities and knowledge this ancient fortified wine boasted total Portuguese authenticity yet retained a vein of vitality and underlying freshness amongst the myriad of complexities that had you coming back for more time and time again.
I'm glad to hear it was good David.
I don't remember the exact circumstances, but I missed out on the bottles that were on offer. I'll make sure I'm in the hunt, should any come up again.
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