2005 Kopke Vintage Port

ABOUT THE WINE
The history of the Kope Port House began in 1638, when Nicolau Kopke, Consul General of the Hanseatic League of Baltic states, began shipping wine to northern Europe. In 1781 a farm in the Douro was purchased, and the House began producing their own wines. The company remained in the hands of the Kopke family into the 1800s, when the great-great grandson of the founder was elevated to the title of Baron of Vilar. In 1922, the Quinta de São Luiz was purchased, an A-grade 125-hectare estate which would become the home of Kopke.

TASTING NOTES
Deep and dark, full of dark berry and bramble fruit. Cocoa and eucalyptus, pepper and liquorice, and delightful violet floral notes add complexity to this excellent, age-worthy vintage release. 2005 was a very dry vintage, in which old vines with established root-systems performed especially well – most houses declared a Vintage, and houses like Kopke and Quinta do Noval, with old-vine parcels, produced particularly excellent wines in 2005.

FOOD PAIRING
Best decanted, and enjoyed over 2 to 3 days – once opened, a vintage Port will oxidise and fade in much the same way as a full-bodied non-fortified red. Superb with cheese, especially a creamy blue, excellent with savoury snacks like salted nuts or olives in brine, and delightful on its own as a winter-warmer.

FRIARWOOD SAYS
Sourced entirely from the Quinta de São Luiz, this Port includes two sections of ancient vineyards fenced in by olive trees. These vines have remained in the ground since before the estate was purchased, and represent a piece of living viticultural history in the Douro.