An 111.000€ Port | Um Porto de 111.000€
Port Niepoort of 1863 sold for 111 thousand euros in Hong Kong
The 1863 harvest has always been a reference in the memory of Port wine. To many connoisseurs, it is the last great vintage of the Douro before the devastation by phylloxera.
The history of Port wine is filled with sales at prices that shake up ordinary mortals (like a 1931 Port Noval Vintage bottle, sold at a restaurant in the Bahamas some 20 years ago for more than five thousand euros). But as of Friday, there is a new record Guinness hastened to point out: a Niepoort Port of 1863 in a magnum bottle (1.5 liters) designed and produced by French glassware Lalique, was sold at a Hong auction Kong for 127 thousand dollars (about 111 thousand euros).
The 1863 harvest has always been a reference in the memory of Port wine. To many connoisseurs, it is the last great vintage of the Douro prior to the devastation by phylloxera (an insect from North America). That is, the last great Port of the time when the rootstocks did not come from America. Already in this decade, Taylor's launched in the market 1650 bottles of a memorable Port of this year (the Scion) at about 3000 euros per bottle. The Niepoort of 1863 went far beyond this value.
In Niepoort's records, this 1863 was strictly identified on 18 September 1905. In that year, the ancestors of Dirk Niepoort, the irreverent oenologist who runs the house founded by the Dutch in 1842, transferred some of the wine that had passed over 40 years in hulls for 11 "demijohns", glass bottles with capacity of eight and 11 liters. Over the years, most of this wine has been used in batches to make the great port of the house. The last of these "demijohns" was used in five magnuns. Each magnum was named after a member of different generations of the Niepoort and the house made an agreement for Lalique to create the bottle where it would be marketed. One of these magnus was then auctioned in Hong Kong.
Prior to this event, samples of this wine were tasted by James Suckling, a North American critic who is considered one of the world's leading wine experts in Port, and by Jancis Robinson, a Financial Times critic. Both gave top marks to the Niepoort of 1863 (Suckling 100 points and Jancis 20). Which helped Niepoort to put itself at the forefront of prices in the long history of the great port.
The history of Port wine is filled with sales at prices that shake up ordinary mortals (like a 1931 Port Noval Vintage bottle, sold at a restaurant in the Bahamas some 20 years ago for more than five thousand euros). But as of Friday, there is a new record Guinness hastened to point out: a Niepoort Port of 1863 in a magnum bottle (1.5 liters) designed and produced by French glassware Lalique, was sold at a Hong auction Kong for 127 thousand dollars (about 111 thousand euros).
The 1863 harvest has always been a reference in the memory of Port wine. To many connoisseurs, it is the last great vintage of the Douro prior to the devastation by phylloxera (an insect from North America). That is, the last great Port of the time when the rootstocks did not come from America. Already in this decade, Taylor's launched in the market 1650 bottles of a memorable Port of this year (the Scion) at about 3000 euros per bottle. The Niepoort of 1863 went far beyond this value.
In Niepoort's records, this 1863 was strictly identified on 18 September 1905. In that year, the ancestors of Dirk Niepoort, the irreverent oenologist who runs the house founded by the Dutch in 1842, transferred some of the wine that had passed over 40 years in hulls for 11 "demijohns", glass bottles with capacity of eight and 11 liters. Over the years, most of this wine has been used in batches to make the great port of the house. The last of these "demijohns" was used in five magnuns. Each magnum was named after a member of different generations of the Niepoort and the house made an agreement for Lalique to create the bottle where it would be marketed. One of these magnus was then auctioned in Hong Kong.
Prior to this event, samples of this wine were tasted by James Suckling, a North American critic who is considered one of the world's leading wine experts in Port, and by Jancis Robinson, a Financial Times critic. Both gave top marks to the Niepoort of 1863 (Suckling 100 points and Jancis 20). Which helped Niepoort to put itself at the forefront of prices in the long history of the great port.
Porto Niepoort de 1863 vendido por 111 mil euros em Hong Kong
A colheita de 1863 é, desde sempre, uma referência na memória do vinho do Porto. Para muitos apreciadores, é a última grande vindima do Douro antes da devastação da filoxera.
A história do vinho do Porto está recheada de vendas a preços que fazem tremer o comum dos mortais (como a de uma garrafa de Porto Noval Vintage de 1931, vendida num restaurante das Bahamas há uns 20 anos por mais de cinco mil euros). Mas, a partir desta sexta-feira, há um novo recorde que o Guinness se apressou a assinalar: um Porto da Niepoort de 1863 numa garrafa magnum (1,5 litros) desenhada e produzida pela cristalaria francesa Lalique, foi vendido num leilão em Hong Kong por 127 mil dólares (cerca de 111 mil euros).
A colheita de 1863 é, desde sempre, uma referência na memória do vinho do Porto. Para muitos apreciadores, é a última grande vindima do Douro antes da devastação da filoxera (um insecto originário da América do Norte). Ou seja, o último grande Porto do tempo em que os porta-enxertos não eram provenientes da América. Já nesta década, a Taylor’s lançou no mercado 1650 garrafas de um Porto deste ano memorável (o Scion) a cerca de 3000 euros por garrafa. O Niepoort de 1863 foi muito para lá deste valor.
Nos registos da Niepoort, este 1863 aparece identificado com rigor em 18 de Setembro de 1905. Nesse ano, os antepassados de Dirk Niepoort, o irreverente enólogo que dirige a casa fundada por holandeses em 1842, transferiram uma parte do vinho que tinha passado mais de 40 anos em cascos para 11 “demijohns”, garrafões de vidro com capacidade ente oito e 11 litros. Ao longo dos anos, a maior parte desse vinho foi utilizado em lotes para fazer os grandes Porto da casa. O último desses “demijohns” foi utilizado em cinco magnuns. Cada magnum recebeu o nome de um membro de diferentes gerações dos Niepoort e a casa fez um acordo para que a Lalique criasse a garrafa onde seria comercializado. Uma dessas magnus foi depois levada a leilão em Hong Kong.
Antes desse evento, amostras deste vinho foram provadas por James Suckling, um crítico norte-americano que é considerado um dos grandes especialistas mundiais de vinho do Porto, e por Jancis Robinson, crítica do Financial Times (entre outras funções). Ambos deram nota máxima ao Niepoort de 1863 (Suckling 100 pontos e Jancis 20). O que ajudou a Niepoort a colocar-se na vanguarda dos preços na longa história dos grandes Porto.
