Authentic Port comes only from the Douro (durr-oh) River Valley, located in
the northeast portion of Portugal, an area with rugged, inhospitable climate
and terrain perfectly suited for the making of this fortified sweet red
wine. Winters can bring severe frost while summers are long, dry and hot.
Vines grow from a rock called schist, which sometimes must be shattered with
dynamite before planting can begin. Because of the land's steepness,
vineyards must be dramatically terraced to accommodate the steepness.
Vintage Ports are bottled unfiltered and should be decanted to separate the
sediment. The following is a half century overview of the more rare, but
still obtainable, selections.

Cockburns Port, Douro 1955
Price at auctiot/$350
Rating 92
The color is dark amber with red elements still present. There are aromas of
rich nougat and fudge, chocolate covered nuts and inviting vanilla/spice,
then flavors of smoky fruit, mocha, chocolate covered raisins and spiced
orange. A very big, perhaps clumsy wine, compared to other older vintages
that were tasted. 1955 was an important vintage for Port. It was also the
year that Bill Halley and the Comets launched their hit, Rock Around the
Clock.

Cockburns Port, Douro 1963
Price $170
Rating 96
The color is red with slight amber/brick on the edge. The nose offers spicy
plum, black pepper, cool menthol/mint, then flavors of chewy nougat packed
with roasted nuts and jammy fruit pieces, praline, cocoa and chocolate
covered cherry in the still rather dry finish. "Tea, citrus, richness and
gorgeous fruit are found in this still young tasting wine," comments fellow
taster Evan Goldstein. "The 1963 demonstrates the transition into more
modern Port styling." The 1963 Ports were highly rated upon release. This
terrific bottle from Cockburn's proves why.

Cockburns Port, Douro 1970
Price $100
Rating 95
A rich red color with rose edging sparkles within the glass. The nose
exhibits jammy, spicy red fruits with subtle mint/menthol, black pepper, and
spiced candied orange, then flavors of fudgy, jammy fruit such as
blackberry, with a complex floral component, orange/citrus, vanilla and
delicate, roasted nuts in the long finish. "An under-rated vintage by many,
one finds black plum, British pudding and uncharacteristic sweetness than
the usual Cockburn's style," offers fellow taster Evan Goldstein.

Cockburns Port, Douro 1977
Price $120
Rating 93
Beautifully red colored with a rose edging. Aromas of complex plum,
blackberry and tea are countered by flavors of rich fruit, black pepper and
delicate nuttiness in the good length. "It was a scandal that Cockburn's did
not declare in the most declared vintage of its time," admits present day
winemaker Miguel Corte-Real. "The Port Congress tasted the 1977's 25 years
after the vintage. Luckily Cockburn's bottled around a thousand bottles for
personal use. My conclusion, though I was not there at the time to make the
decision, was that it was an average vintage. Some were too tannic and some
were too soft. There was rain at harvest. There was lots of 1975 vintage
still on the market. Cockburn's needed Port for blending. ultimately, I
think we made a big mistake."

Cockburns Port, Douro 1983
Price $75
Rating 94
Rich red color with a little brick in the edge. The nose shows jammy plum,
prune, menthol, pine resin, and spicy vanilla, then flavors of chocolate
covered nuts, blackberry jam, steeped tea, black cherry, cinnamon/vanilla
and powerful mocha in the long finish.

Cockburns Port, Douro 1994
Price $85
Rating 98
Dark red/purple color, with aromas of rich prune and jammy, resinous
blackberry, then flavors of plum, red cherry, big fleshy and juiciness
bounded and in balance with tannin, spiced tea, mocha and Asian spice. One
of the very few years when all Port houses declared their vintages. there is
no doubt that this will be looked back upon as one of the finest Port
vintages.

Cockburns Port "Quinta dos Canais" Douro 1995
Price $65
Rating 96
Dark purple in color, the nose is packed with plum and prune, green tobacco
and subtle caramel, then flavors of spiced candied orange, chocolate covered
nuts and raisins, spiced blackberry/plum and black pepper in the big
finish."This Port is big and Luscious, with an abundance of ripe red and
black fruit," suggests Cockburn’s winemaker Miguel Corte-Real. "This is
among the best Single Quinta Vintages that we have ever produced." Single
Quinta Ports are created from a single vineyard, such as Cockburn's Quinta
dos Canais, and are meant to provide a vintage styled wine in years when no
official declaration of vintage took place.