Tasting Notes

1963 Cockburn Porto Vintage is a beautiful port. 

Nose

It is intense with tobacco leaves, dark spices,  light color coming out of the bottle that darkens a bit over time.  

Palate

The palate is rich with tobacco, dark chocolate and some kind of herbal blend, along with moderate alcohol.

History

Jancis Robinson on the unique production of 1963: "Rupert Symington: The vintage that saved the port trade. Paul Symington: we weren’t sent to prep school in England in the late 1950s and early 1960s because there was simply no money. There was real hunger in the Douro. But prices for the 1963s were at last on a par with the first growths. Universally declared. Conditions were beautiful. Useful rain. Classic pattern of the growing season. This was the last vintage that the shippers treated in an entirely négociant way. The likes of John Smithes would go and supervise the vintage in outlying quintas with no electricity. The big danger was overfilling the lagares. Derek Smedley remembered the excitement in the tasting room at Harveys when Michael Broadbent and Harry Waugh enthused over this wine." (09/2012)

Accolades

Jancis Robinson (19.5/20)

"Firm healthy ruby, deeper than 1967. Very concentrated and beautifully balanced. Great sweetness and dryness and freshness. Great lift. Utterly flattering. So mellow and far from dying. Long. Edge of ladies handbags; hint of cheesiness. So lively! So complex. Still quite dry on the end but overall delightfully exotic and lively. 1985 - 2035" (tasted Sept 2012)

Wine Advocate (86 points)

"This house tends to produce quite full-bodied, rich, alcoholic, spirited vintage ports... The 1963 is fully mature, spicy, with a chocolaty, meaty texture and somewhat hot, short finish. " (12/1988)

Wine Spectator (88 points)

"This is a very attractive, mature and subtle wine. Medium ruby with a garnet edge, leafy vanilla and cherry aromas, medium-bodied, with a very good concentration of clean fruit flavors and a medium finish." (Web-1988)

Cellar Tracker

"Perfectly integrated and showing cherry, raspberry, baker's spices and hints of fig on the nose and palate. With air the fruit became more plummy in character and picked up more complex dried fruit notes. It's sweet, but not Graham's or Fonseca sweet and there's actually some nice acidity to the wine that keeps it fresh. Seamless with the alcohol sewn into the fabric of the wine nicely." Cellar Tracker 2012

Please Note

A collector's item! We believe this wine to be wonderful - however, as with all aged wines, it comes with a 'Buyers be aware' clause, and some labels may not be perfect. If you have any queries, please just drop us an email or give us a call!

Specifications