1970 Maynard's Porto Colheita

Maynard's is a Port label owned by Barão de Vilar Vinhos, one of the more recently established firms in the trade, founded in January 1996 from a stock of wines acquired by Fernando Luiz van Zeller and passed down to his two sons, Fernando and Álvaro. Despite its youth as a company, the house built its reputation on older reserves purchased along with those original stocks, including rare colheitas like this one that predate the firm itself by decades. The label has become known among collectors for offering access to well-aged single-harvest tawnies at a range of price points.

This colheita comes from the 1970 harvest, a vintage regarded for its firm, tannic backbone, and is made from a traditional field blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Cão. As with all colheitas, the wine spent its entire life aging slowly in seasoned oak casks rather than in bottle, drawing out oxidative character over more than fifty years before being bottled to order.

The color has faded to a ruby-rimmed gold, with a nose of dried fruit, toasted walnut, and exotic wood giving way to caramelized citrus, tobacco, and burnt caramel on the palate. Great length and a fine, smoothed tannic grip carry through the finish. Pair with Roquefort, dark chocolate, or a simple crème brûlée.