1963 Maynard's Porto Colheita

Maynard's is the flagship brand of Fernando and Alvaro Van Zeller's Vinihold company, named in honor of Walter Maynard, born in 1652, an ancestor of the Van Zeller family through his marriage to Dorothea Augusta Kopke. Maynard is remembered as one of the very first English merchants to export Port wine to Britain, and the brand carries his name as a nod to that pioneering role in the trade. Today the house positions Maynard's as a premium label, with particular attention paid to rare, single harvest Colheita Ports drawn from its long held cask reserves.

Colheita is a Port made from a single year's harvest rather than a blend of vintages, and by law it must spend at least seven years maturing in oak before release. This 1963 bottling, made from a traditional Douro blend including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Cão, spent more than five decades resting in seasoned oak casks, slowly concentrating and taking on the mellow, oxidative character that defines an old Colheita, before being bottled to order.

The wine offers a richly complex nose of exotic wood, orange zest, lavender, and light nougat, with a thread of bright volatile acidity running throughout. On the palate it is medium weight and elegant, with fine walnut skin tannins and citrus lifting a long, intense finish. Pour it alongside aged Gouda, roasted chestnuts, or a plain almond biscuit.