Esporão Reserva 1999 – Original Pedro Proença “Pre-9/11” Recalled Label – Rare 1st Version – 75cl

A fascinating and increasingly collectible piece of modern Portuguese wine history. This bottle of Esporão Reserva 1999, Alentejo DOC carries the original first-version label created by Portuguese artist Pedro Proença. The artwork depicts a reclining, bearded man wearing a turban and holding a glass of wine, an image conceived before the events of September 11, 2001. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the image acquired an entirely unintended association with Osama bin Laden. According to a contemporary Decanter report published in February 2002, Herdade do Esporão became concerned that the image could cause offence or, in the company’s words, “hurt sensibilities.” Esporão consequently recalled approximately 300,000 bottles carrying the original artwork and replaced the label with another design. The circumstances were made particularly extraordinary by the timing: approximately 12,000 bottles intended for New York reportedly arrived on September 12, 2001, just one day after the attacks. The replacement label depicted a medieval king and queen drinking wine. The bottle offered here retains the original Pedro Proença artwork, making it the sought-after first-label version rather than the subsequently relabelled release. Beyond its unusual history, Esporão Reserva is one of the landmark wines of the Alentejo. Produced at the historic Herdade do Esporão in Reguengos de Monsaraz, the 1999 is now a mature Portuguese red with more than a quarter-century of bottle age.