Port house Ferreira has joined with Sotheby's to mark 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo with the charity wine auction of a bottle of Porto Ferreira 1815 Vintage Port.
All proceeds from the Sotheby’s auction at the Tower of London on 7 May will go to APELA, the Portuguese Association for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which helps patients and families to face this currently incurable disease.
The 1815 Port vintage was renamed the ‘Waterloo Vintage’ by the British, and tasting notes from 1990 suggest the Ferreira 1815 has ‘an intensely spicy aroma, hints of exotic woods, iodine and wax’.
The wine was also described as ‘lively on the palate with good acidity balanced by residual sugars, dominated by dry fruits, possessing a balanced and lasting aftertaste’.
Its survival is owned to the cellar created by the legendary Dona Antónia Ferreira, one of the great figures in the history of the Douro Valley.
The auction will also include a lot containing five landmark Ferreira vintages: 1947, 1952, 1985, 1994 and 1997.
Meanwhile, the Fonseca Port house chose to mark St George’s Day – a traditional date for Port declarations – to declare the 2013 vintage for Fonseca Guimaraens.
The declaration also celebrates a bicentenary – Fonseca started trading on 8 April 1815.
Fonseca Guimaraens is an earlier-drinking vintage style made in years when a classic vintage is not declared.
The wine will be shipped to the UK later this year, and will be available from a number of fine wine merchants for £30 a bottle.
See also:
- Decanter.com Video: How to decant vintage Port
- Decanter.com Guide: Know your Port
Written by Richard Woodard
