Some time it is fun, just to walk around my local wine shop, The Fine Wine Source, and look at some items that I won’t be tasting, maybe dreaming about, but not tasting.  I mean life would be boring, if there was nothing to dream about, or to aspire for.

Quinto do Vallado ABF Porto Muito Velho 1888 was bottled in 2016 in celebration of the estate’s Three-hundred-year anniversary, a tribute to Antonio Bernardo Ferreira I, who bought Quinta do Vallado in 1818.  A limited edition of 933 bottles of 75cl, all of them numbered and packed in a solid walnut casing with a unique crystal decanter produced by Atlantis in Portugal of a replica of one used by Antonio.  This port wine was in three 650L barrels, since 1888; and after a century the three barrels still had 700L of pre phylloxera wine.   The wine is a blend of Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Nacional and others.  I went to a couple of sources to report on the wine.  The wine is described as having a seductive color of mahogany with hints of green when stirred.  The complex notes offered were of dried fruits, figs and plums, vinegar iodine and spices.  On the palate, a remarkable freshness that agrees with the nose, with perfect balance and a never-ending finish.

The other gift was a six-pack of “600 Points Grands Cru Classes.”  The perfect way to enhance a cellar immediately, as each bottle was rated 100 Points by the Wine Advocate.  The six wines were: Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac 2010, Chateau Leoville Poyferre Saint-Julien 2009, Chateau Cos D’Estournel Saint-Estephe 2016, Chateau Montrose Saint-Estephe 2010, Chateau Pape-Clement Pessac-Leognan 2010 and Chateau Pavie Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2010.  All legendary wines with great pedigree.  And they could all be opened that evening with a grand meal and enjoyed.