WARRE'S VINTAGE PORTS
DOURO, PORTUGAL
Why Buy: If you love great port as much as we do, this extraordinary library release of vintages from Warre's, one of Portugal's most iconic and enduring producers, amounts to Christmas morning. Full-bodied yet gracefully balanced with age, the 11 bottles on offer here are a stunning showcase of marquee vintages and a fitting testament to a house The Wine Advocate said has been "on a qualitative tear." The 350th Anniversary bottle commemorates centuries of excellence, while the vintages from 1994, 2000, 2003 demonstrate the profundity that Warre's vault ports achieve when they reach full maturity.
What They're Saying: "Warre’s Vintage Ports are intensely flavored and fragrant when young, and develop typical Douro breadth, weight and grandeur with long aging," port expert Richard Mayson of JancisRobinson.com wrote, in a report filed in 2020. "The style strikes a nice balance between being approachable in youth yet with underlying power and concentration that become more apparent with time.”
The Story: Warre’s has been producing port in Portugal for more than three-and-a-half centuries, ever since two Englishman, William Burgoyne and John Jackson, set up shop in the northern Douro Valley in 1670. (A half-century later, they sold it to the first of many Warre's, William). The world is an entirely different place, but Warre's is not: its legacy owes everything to the brand's un-rushed production methods, many of which are unchanged since the late 17th century. In fact, some of its vintage ports are foot-trodden in traditional stone lagares before being stashed in the cellar for long, patient maturation. Though Warre's methods are laborious and often painstaking, the payoff is enormous, in the form of some of the most extraordinary age-worthy ports in the world — among these their Vintage and Single Quinta Vintage Ports, widely regarded as benchmarks of the style.
Our Tasting Notes: At the risk of writing reams and reams of copy extolling the incredible depth and charm of these great ports, we'll just say that our recent tasting was a thrilling and thoroughly convincing display of the magic of maturation. The vintage ports are a case in point: the 2020, though still relatively youthful, delivers immense concentration and power, while also showing a welcome lift courtesy of Warre’s characteristic acidity and vibrancy. The 2003 shows beautifully integrated, complex flavors of dried fruit and baking spice. Subtle leather and cedar notes emerge in the mellow 1994, attesting to slow, thoughtful aging.
Fun Fact: Warre's winemaking team developed the world’s first "purpose-built" automated treading machine — a potential evolutionary step in the grand Portuguese tradition of stomping on the grapes at harvest.
Our Guarantee: We always buy and source direct from the producer, so you can be confident that your ports will arrive with perfect provenance. Don't hesitate to secure these gems today!
*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Winter 2023 (Dec. 21st - Mar. 20th, 2024). All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. Offer not valid in KS, MI, NY or TN. This offer is for ONE WEEK, or until sold out, and will expire on Monday, September 25th, 2023.
