A.A. Ferreira Succrs – Garrafeira Port 1847

A.A. Ferreira S.A.is one of Portugal's oldest wine houses. It was founded by José Ferreira who was born in September 1726.

This very distinguished family, with Royal connections, (Francisco de Olazabal, currently President of the company and of the eighth generation, is a direct descendant of King John VI of Portugal.) has long been dominant in the port wine trade. Moreover the Ferreiras have bred a succession of great characters none more legendary than Dona Antonia Adelaide, born in the "comet" year, 1811, and who personally ran the company and its extensive properties over the course of her long life. The family were the biggest vineyard owners in the Douro and it was returning by river from one of their quintas in May 1861 in the company of another larger-than-life-character, Baron James Forrester, that their barco rebelo capsized in the turbulent gorge known as the Cachao de Valeira. They and their companions were swept overboard. Forrester disappeared and his body was never recovered. Dona Antonia is reputed to have been saved by her voluminous crinoline which swept her to the rocky bank. She survived to run the family firm for a further thirty-five years.

Ferreira have the largest share of the Portuguese market, followed closely and coincidentally by Offley Forrester, both firms now under the corporate "umbrella" of the distinguished Guedes family. The firm produces a full range of "wood" ports, white, tawny and the standard 10 and excellent 20 year old, the latter branded with the title of the Portugese Royal Family, Duque de Braganca (if I can be partial, it has long been my favourite old tawny) and of course traditional vintage ports. Unusually, indeed uniquely, for stocks of old vintages are virtually non-existent in Oporto, Ferreira have always maintained an extensive "library" in its Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia housing a priceless range of vintages dating back to the early 19th century.

Vintage 1847 – unquestionably the greatest (five star) vintage of the period. Roughly 30.000 pipes shipped to England (a shipping pipe contained an average of 110 gallons/500 litres).

Records show that this was Ferreira’s sweetest wine of the century. Still very sweet, and perfectly balanced in 1990. Two more recent notes. Startlingly straw yellow; spicy, grapey, vanilla-like bouquet, slightly varnishy; medium-sweet, ethereal, touch of old straw. Remarkable for its age. Last tasted at Ferreira’s pre-sale tasting, New York, Sept 1997 ***. ( Michael Broadbent, Vintage Wine ed. 2002)

Garrafeira is an unusual and rare intermediate vintage dated style of port made from the grapes of a single harvest that combines the oxidative maturation of years in wood with further reductive maturation in large glass demijohns. It is required by the IVDP that wines spend some time in wood, usually between three and six years, followed by at least a further eight years in glass, before bottling. In practice the times spent in glass are much longer. The style is most closely associated with the company Niepoort, although others do exist. Their dark green demijohns, affectionately known as bon-bons, hold approximately 11 litres each. Some connoisseurs describe Garrafeira as having a slight taste of bacon, although many people will neither notice nor understand such a description; the reason being that, during the second phase of maturation, certain oils may precipitate, causing a film to form across the surface of the glass that can be tasted by those who are accustomed to the difference between Garrafeira and other forms of port. Confusingly, the word Garrafeira may also be found on some very old tawny labels, where the contents of the bottle are of exceptional age.