Sogevinus is a congregation of several Port wine Maisons ! 4 Maisons which are part of the best ones : Barros, Burmester, Calem and Kopke.
The Port wine is born in the Douro valley in Portugal. In 1856, the Duoro territory is classified and protected. Because for 2000 years, vines are growing between mounts and river. Sogevinus is leader on the portugese market but also leader for “Colheita” port wines (the most noble Tawnies) in the world. 12,6 millions of bottles per year are produced. Lets taste an amazing selection of these Port wines ! Bernard Burtschy, famous wine journalist at the Figaro was doing this tasting ! Wonderful !
–Kopke :Founded in 1638, this Maison is the oldest one in the Duoro valley. So we called Kopke the “Antique dealer” of Port wines. Kopke managed to keep the best vintages to create the best Colheitas.
– Burmester :Is more modern and sophisticated. This Maison tries to reach the young people market segment thanks to a unique design and a friendly consumption.
– Calem :This is the leader of the Port wines… Thanks to an international market and also thanks to the fact that this is the cellar the most visited in the Duoro valley (200 000 visitors every year in the Duoro valley). Founded in 1859 by Antonio Alves Calem : as soon as it has been created, these Port wines became famous. “Velhotes” is still today the main famous label which is number 1 sales in the world.
– Barros :Born in 1913, this brand is so talented and has often medals in worldwide competitions.
– Calem – Fine Tawny (19,5% alcohol)
Nice orange color. The first nose is light with wine notes. It’s fresh with red fruits flavors. The second nose is still fresh and light with cocoa, cherry, caramel and curry notes. It’s creamy and smooth. The mouth is sweet with freshness and floral flavors. Fruits are also present like cherry, apple, pear and prune ! The finish is delicate and powerful in the same time.
– Calem – Colheita 2000 (20% alcohol)
There is a lot of Tinta Barocca (1/4) which is a quite easy and gourmand type of vine (whereas the Touriga Nacional is more strong and is perfect for aging). The color is bright orange. The first nose is fruity with dry fruits, liquorice and safran. There is a milky and bitter side. The second nose is woody, peppery with raisin and macerated pear. The mouth is sweet with Corynthe raisins. The middle mouth is wonderful and the finish is more vegetal on chestnut tree flowers, raisin, cocoa and caramel.
– Calem – 20 ans d’âge
Very nice apricot orange color, mahogany. The nose is powerful but delicate with coconut, cocoa, vanilla, dry fruits and stone fruits notes. The mouth is sweet but astringent with cocoa and soy flavors. The finish is nice on dry fruits. The middle mouth is all about grappe. Very nice.
– Barros – Colheita 1996
1996 is a very nice vintage. In Europe it was really sunny but because of cold wind of the North, the temperatures were not high. Then you have sun (= sugar) but cold temperatures (= acidity). Perfect for white wines ! This situation happens every 30 years. The color is very clear and homogeneous orange. The nose is light and nice with elegant flavors like liquor fruits (raspberry and grappe). The second nose is powerful with more dry fruits and honey. The mouth is pleasant on honey, dry fruits, raspberry marmelade and apricot flavors.
– Burmester – Colheita 1989
This is an absolute success. The color is light orange, almost yellow. The nose is aromatic with curry, raisin, walnut, orange peel and liquorice flavors. It’s oxidated. The mouth is fresh and young with lots of fresh fruits like grappe. It’s gourmand. I feel soy and ruhm notes. It’s delicate and a little but salty. At the end, the finish is like dry tomato and is quite long.
– Kopke – 40 ans d’âge white
The white Ports are rare and old white Ports are even more rare. Because there are no tannins, it’s risky to have acetic acid, so it’s difficult to do white Ports. The color is yellow orange like a whisky (the color comes from the aging and not the polyphenols of the barrels). The nose is really amazing. The alcohol is here but not agressiv. There are soy, honey, wood, curry and cocoa notes. But it seems to be dry. It’s really complex and close to Armagnac/Cognac. The second nose has more fig, vanilla, coconut and prune flavors. The mouth is sweet and nice. There is a salty side which is cool. I feel a lots of raisin. The finish is really long with cherry stone and walnut.
– Burmester – 40 ans d’âge
This is a mix of Touriga Nacional (30%), Tinta Roriz (30%), Touriga Franca (30%) and Tinta Barroca (10%). This Port wine will be perfect with some nut tart or blue chesse like stilton. The color is very nice like amber. The first nose is powerful with coconut, vanilla, red fruits, dry topical fruits and woody notes. The second nose is also powerful with honey notes. The mouth is sweet and thick. But the sweetness falls quickly to let the dry fruits, the soy, the cherry flavors explosed. It’s also floral and the finish is long with almond and fig.
– Kopke – Colheita 1966
It’s an exceptional vintage like 1996 : same weather cold and sunny ! The color is orange clear and bright. The nose is like undergrowth flavors (mushroom) with soy and dry fruits notes also. It’s really oxydated but delicious. The mouth is still sweet and aromatic. There are raisin and salty flavors. The middle mouth is warm and smooth with raisin and curry notes. It’s long and delicate.
The tasting finished with a Port wine pairing : cheeses !
