1937 Carvalhas bottle - information requested

[Victor]

Hi,

Last weekend my grandparents showed me this old bottle of port they have.
They'd like to have some information about it and I was wondering if anyone could help me out.

As you can read on the photo's the port dates from 1937 and comes from the Carvalhas vineyard.
They got it in the 1970's and since then it was kept in their (cool) basement between the other wines.
It has never been opened as you can see and as far as i could see the port didn't contain dregs.

Question is; do you think this port is still ok for consumption ?
Would be much appreciated if you could give extra info on the taste etc of this port

As

IMG_0106.JPG (125.14 KiB) Viewed 1956 times

IMG_0104.JPG (123.75 KiB) Viewed 1956 times

IMG_0107.JPG (114.29 KiB) Viewed 1956 times

[PhilW]

Hi Victor,

From the label, it is clear that your bottle is a colheita (a single-harvest tawny port) from the 1937 harvest, bottled in 1972 so it would have been a 35 year old when bottled. Tawny ports do not generally age or improve in the bottle as they will usually have been filtered, so this essentially remains a 35 year old port however long it is kept for since bottling. While tawny/colheita tends to be at its peak in the first couple of years after bottling, they often do not significantly degrade from being in the bottle for many years, perhaps just losing some of their freshness, provided they have been stored reasonably. Assuming the liquid in the bottle is still basically clear then the wine should be fine for consumption.

Good luck, and let us know how it tastes?

[Andy Velebil]

What Phil said. Plus, often these older bottled Tawny's will develop a very fine sediment. If the bottle is shaken or stirred up it may take weeks or months for it to resettle and as a result you'll see a slight haze to it. Still fine to drink, but it won't visually look the best. Best to not disturb it too much right before opening it.

1937 was a year in which a lot of very good Tawny's came from. As we all know, by 1939 (the earliest this Port could potentially have been bottled) things in the world were taking a rough turn so not much Port was being bottled or shipped. As such a lot was held and released later, why so many producers have a 1937 Colheita. Can't say I've had a bad 1937 Colheita yet. So as long as yours was stored well it should still be a lovely Port.

[Andy Velebil]

See cross posts
http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... 95#p129095

[Victor]

Hi,

Thanks, i indeed posted in the other forum just to get as much info as possible.
Above comments already much appreciated.