1944 Nicolau de Almeida Grande Reserve Colheita Port
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 2:03 am
It was time to open up this bottle for i was very curious how it would taste, smell and see what colour it would be. The oldest port i drank so far. I am still searching for the history of this bottle. Recently i send a email to Ramos-Pinto hoping they could provide me with some insights. The name Nicolau de Almeida is somehow related to that company.
1944, in september, around harvest times of the grapes, operation Market Garden took place, an attempt of the allies to conquer some major bridges across the river Rhine in Holland. It failed, which led to probably 6 more months of fighting. When i drink port, i like to read about major events that took place in that year. After all, you drink some piece of history.
Back to the bottle:
The cork came out very well, i did not have to put much effort in pulling it. The cork itself was saturated but looked clean and smelled clean also. The cork was very short though, the shortest i ever seen in abottle of wine. Maybe 1 inch.
The colour of the wine is a very pale brown-reddish one. You can see that the wine is very old. When i swirl it around in the glass it has excellent tearing, syrup-style like. The smell is smokey, with hints of chocolate, caramel and butterskotch.
The first glass i poured directly into the glass, the rest in the decanter.
Taste: No tannines at all, a bit burning on the palate. Very little chocolate, smokey, sharp taste, a bit chemical. It is drinkable, but not a wine i would serve right away to guests or friends.
2nd glass, after 3 hours of decanting.
Roughly the same as above, but smoother, like the alcohol vanished from the glass. Also i can taste and smell nuts, especially walnut. Very funny.
So overall a decent wine, but not a blockbuster and, to my opinion, past its prime.
Now i start to wonder if it was really a port-wine or just a portugese wine.
The empty bottle is green, which i always thought was for normal wines. Anyone seen a green bottle before that was used for port wine ? I give it 88 points.
1944, in september, around harvest times of the grapes, operation Market Garden took place, an attempt of the allies to conquer some major bridges across the river Rhine in Holland. It failed, which led to probably 6 more months of fighting. When i drink port, i like to read about major events that took place in that year. After all, you drink some piece of history.
Back to the bottle:
The cork came out very well, i did not have to put much effort in pulling it. The cork itself was saturated but looked clean and smelled clean also. The cork was very short though, the shortest i ever seen in abottle of wine. Maybe 1 inch.
The colour of the wine is a very pale brown-reddish one. You can see that the wine is very old. When i swirl it around in the glass it has excellent tearing, syrup-style like. The smell is smokey, with hints of chocolate, caramel and butterskotch.
The first glass i poured directly into the glass, the rest in the decanter.
Taste: No tannines at all, a bit burning on the palate. Very little chocolate, smokey, sharp taste, a bit chemical. It is drinkable, but not a wine i would serve right away to guests or friends.
2nd glass, after 3 hours of decanting.
Roughly the same as above, but smoother, like the alcohol vanished from the glass. Also i can taste and smell nuts, especially walnut. Very funny.
So overall a decent wine, but not a blockbuster and, to my opinion, past its prime.
Now i start to wonder if it was really a port-wine or just a portugese wine.
The empty bottle is green, which i always thought was for normal wines. Anyone seen a green bottle before that was used for port wine ? I give it 88 points.
