Quinta do Vallado Vintage 1888 ABF Very Old Port
€ 2,999.00
| Producer | Quinta do Vallado |
| Region | Douro |
| Grapes | Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional |
| Ageing | Its whole life in 650-litre wooden casks, bottled in 2016 |
| Alcohol | 19.5%vol |
| Serving | 16°C, no need to decant |
| Drinking window | 2017-2050 |
| Scores | 98/100 Wine Spectator 97/100 Robert Parker |
A Port from 1888, from pre-phylloxera vines, bottled for Quinta do Vallado’s 300th anniversary.
Tasting note
Mahogany in colour, with greenish hints when swirled, a clear sign of its age. A complex nose of dried figs, plums, vinegar, iodine and spice. Rich, unctuous, concentrated and dense on the palate, with balanced acidity and a fresh, very long finish (after the producer’s description).
The story
ABF stands for António Bernardo Ferreira, the forefather of the current owners, who bought Quinta do Vallado in 1818.
This wine was made in 1888 from pre-phylloxera vines and spent its whole life in 650-litre wooden casks. It was bottled and released in 2016 to celebrate Quinta do Vallado’s 300th anniversary, as a limited, numbered edition.
Food pairing
A wine for meditation, to be savoured on its own. At its launch it was served with a Brazilian bitter chocolate dessert by Pierre Hermé.
The producer
Built in 1716, Quinta do Vallado is one of the oldest and best-known quintas in the Douro. It lies near Peso da Régua, on the banks of the Corgo, close to where it meets the Douro. In 1818 António Bernardo Ferreira bought the estate, which later belonged to the legendary Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira (1811-1896), the ‘Ferreirinha’. Her descendants still own it today.
For almost 200 years Vallado mainly made Port, sold by the family’s Ferreira house until that was sold in 1987. Since the early 1990s the quinta has released wine and Port under its own name. Today the cousins Francisco Ferreira and João Ferreira Álvares Ribeiro run the estate, with winemaker Francisco Olazabal. In Vila Nova de Foz Côa, in the Douro Superior, Vallado also bought Quinta do Orgal, where organic vineyards have been planted since 2009.
Critics & Awards
97/100 Robert Parker | Tasted: Mar 2017
98/100 Wine Spectator (according to the producer)
97/100 Decanter (according to the producer)
96/100 James Suckling (according to the producer)
19/20 Revista de Vinhos (according to the producer)