Today’s Story: Warre’s
Warre’s is a large, historical Port company established in 1670 as the first and oldest British Port company in Portugal. Though no members of the Warre family were involved at that time, two Englishmen named William Burgoyne and John Jackson established Burgoyne & Jackson as a trading company involved in wine, olive oil, fruit, cod, and wool trading. As the company grew over time and added new partners, it was known as Clark & Thornton by 1723. In 1729, however, William Warre (1706-1773) arrived in Portugal from India and joined the business which became Messrs. Clark, Thornton & Warre. By the time the Warre family shifted into control and the company was known as Warre & Sons near the end of the 18th century, Warre’s was one of the largest exporters of Port accounting for about 10% of the total with 21 companies in the trade.
Under the Warre family, Warre’s grew and became ever more prestigious, particularly under another William Warre (1784-1853). This William completed an illustrious military career fighting alongside the Anglo-Portuguese army with the Duke of Wellington (whom he supplied with Port wine) in nearly every major battle of the Peninsular War (1807-1814). A half century later, Andrew James Symington joined Warre & Co. in 1905 and took sole ownership in 1908. Andrew James comes from a long, long lineage of the Port making Symington family, which spans 13 generations and 350 years of history, so he was a natural individual to pick up the reigns of this great company. More than a century later, the Symington family still owns and operates Warre’s and six members of the family are actively involved in day-to-day operations today.
Not only is Warre’s the last Port producer of British origin owned by a single family, they are also one of the few great estates who own 100% of their vineyards (named Quinta da Cavadinha, Quinta do Retiro Antigo, and Quinta da Telhada). This point of pride and tradition carries into the cellars as well, where they continue to make some of their Port by the traditional treading method in shallow stone treading tanks (though not all is made this way). Instead, Warre’s introduced the first automatic treading machine in a stainless steel tank with pistons that mimic human treading to produce a large number of their wines. Fermentation lasts a very short period of time (roughly 2 days) because Port is fortified and a natural grape spirit is added to interrupt the process when about half of the natural sugar is converted to alcohol. This is why Warre’s Port is sweet, rich, and high in alcohol while commanding great longevity in the cellar.
Today’s Wine: 1970 Tercentenary Vintage Porto
Port Blend (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barocca, Touriga Francesa, and Tinta Amarela); 20.5% ABV
The 1970 Tercentenary Vintage Porto is translucent pale ruby in color with garnet variation (I’d never guess this is 50 years old). The nose on this is absolutely captivating and only got better after several hours, showcasing aromas of ripe red cherry, pomegranate, strawberry rhubarb, fig, cola, spice cake, tar, clove, and sweet rum spice. The palate is fantastic as well, characterized by notes of cherry, black raspberry, dates, cranberry, rose, anise, rum cake, toffee, caramel, chocolate, and baking spice. This is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, light tannins, and a long finish. A really fun and exciting wine that is beautifully balanced.
Price: $250 (but I’m seeing it up to $900 online). This was a gift to my father, so in our eyes it was the best value we could ever find! Jokes aside, I think if you can find a properly stored bottling with great provenance this could be really fun to try, though I’d hope closer to the $250 price. I can’t see this selling for $900.
JB's Wine Talk 