J.W. Burmester Colheita 1944 – Extra Selected

A wartime-harvest Colheita from one of Porto's historic British-founded houses. Burmester was founded in the 18th century by London merchants Henry Burmester and John Nash, and was already shipping Port across Europe by 1750. The family ran the house until the late 1990s, when it became part of the Sogevinus group. A Colheita is a tawny Port from a single harvest, aged in oak casks before bottling. This "Extra Selected" bottling is labelled Aloirado and Adamado, a golden-tawny colour in a sweet style. It is an older Portuguese-market bottling, with its Burmester-embossed capsule, Selo de Garantia (FR 353354), I.V.P. seal and registered-trademark back label all present. A rare 1944 birth-year bottle, more than 80 years after the harvest. Condition: front label heavily stained with a tear and loss at the top edge; torn neck seals; scuffed capsule; bottling date not stated. Fill at approximately the base of the neck. Stand upright for 24 hours and decant carefully.