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I’m trying to track down the exact location of Quinta da Boavista in the Douro. This was the Quinta which formed the backbone of Offley’s vintages for many decades before being sold to Lima & Smith before being sold last year to Sogevinus.

Does anyone have the GPS coordinates (or the what three words) for the Quinta?

Thanks.

North side of Douro, a little east of Quinta Nova.

Why did they sell it? It's almost like the Symingtons making Graham without Malvedos..

uncle tom wrote: ↑21:35 Fri 17 Sep 2021 Why did they sell it? It's almost like the Symingtons making Graham without Malvedos..

Not the same as a top flight producer dispensing with their core vineyard, but no different to the Symingtons or Taylor discontinuing old brands that no longer fit with the group profile. Offley clearly didn't fit with the future strategy of Sogrape so the quinta was expendable. Perhaps they didn't think it was Offley good?

As an aside, Boa Vista is one of the most intriguingly beautiful quintas I have had the privilege to visit.

DRT wrote: ↑22:14 Fri 17 Sep 2021 Perhaps they didn't think it was Offley good?

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Offley clearly didn't fit with the future strategy of Sogrape so the quinta was expendable.

Their loss, Sogevinus gain.

Offley had a great standing in the UK until the mid eighties, when for some reason, the marketing of all the brands from that group went pear shaped. Offley and Sandeman were household names for port in the UK, Ferreira less well known. Then for about twenty years, distribution effectively stopped.

Aside from a bit of Sandeman Vau from the later vintages, I have never seen any of their VPs from the vintages '91, '94, '97, '00 & '03 ever come to auction, and '85 is rare.

LBV and the other styles of port also dries up over this period.

With the brand name removed from the public gaze for so long, the slightly odd name of Offley became a bit of a curiosity, and auction prices plummeted, despite the wines themselves being somewhat similar to, and in much the same league, as Taylor.

They became - and remain - 'Offley good value..'

uncle tom wrote: ↑03:58 Sat 18 Sep 2021

Offley clearly didn't fit with the future strategy of Sogrape so the quinta was expendable.

Their loss, Sogevinus gain.

Offley had a great standing in the UK until the mid eighties, when for some reason, the marketing of all the brands from that group went pear shaped. Offley and Sandeman were household names for port in the UK, Ferreira less well known. Then for about twenty years, distribution effectively stopped.

I have had Ports from both houses from that period, and they were... not great. Sandeman in particular had a very rough patch through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but has bounced back with a vengeance starting in at least 2007. I have no idea what may have happened to their distribution during that period, but I can understand why they might have chosen not to market the Ports as vigorously during that time.

Wasn't that the period during which they were owned by a large liquor conglomerate? Seagram, maybe? Or Pernod Ricard?

I agree than Sandeman’s recent VPs have been worthy of a great old name. It has returned.

The youngest full Sandeman VP I think I have drunk is the 1997. Is the consensus that 2007 is the turning point? I will keep out an eye for some younger ones in light of this post.

Also, does the change apply to the Quinta do Seixo? I have only had a (disappointing) glass of the 2013 back in 2017. But that could have been a bad bottle.

I have enjoyed the 2000 Sandeman on a number of occasions and it has always seemed to have the structure to live long and reward both early drinking and cellaring for the long term too. There was a Sandeman Vintage Port masterclass at the b.f.t. the first year Alex took it on. The Ports were 63, 68, 77 then 2000, 03, 07, 11, 16. All showed very well although there were some flawed bottles and a bit of variation on some vintages. The modern vintages most certainly showed that Sandeman was back to being a premium VP brand after a wobble in the 80s and 90s. It was telling that Luis Sottomayor and George Sandeman didn’t include any bottles from those decades.

That’s very interesting. Thank you. I will keep an eye out for them.