Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port 2018 – Sandeman

To produce the Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port Sandeman, the grapes were destemmed and gently crushed. Fermentation took place in granite lagares with vigorous foot treading to extract the ideal levels of colour, flavour and tannin from the grape skins. The ferment was closely monitored to determine the ideal moment to halt the fermentation by fortifying with grape spirit, leaving some of the grapes’ natural sugars. The wines remained in the Douro until the spring following the harvest when they were transported downstream to the historic Sandeman cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia for ageing in oak casks for around four years. The wines were regularly tasted and analysed during this time and the final blend was assembled from a selection of the best casks. The LBV is bottled unfiltered, in order to preserve its great intensity of flavour.

The Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz,Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão grapes that make up the LBV blend are sourced from prime sites in the Cima Corgo sub-region of the Douro including Quinta do Seixo and Quinta do Vau. The soil in the Douro Valley is schist – a slate-like metamorphic rock, that fractures vertically, allowing the vine roots to dig deep to access water and nutrients to sustain them through the hot Douro summers. The vines are planted on terraces supported by dry stone walls on the steep hillsides sloping down to the Douro river. Given the steep gradients and the inaccessibility for machinery, vineyard operations and harvesting are carried out by hand.

The logo created for the Sandeman family in 1928 by George Massiot Brown, the “Don”, is one of the most iconic images in the world of wine. The cape was modeled on the attire worn by university students in Porto, while the wide-brimmed hat was a nod to the family’s presence in Jerez. Today, the wines are good enough to be every bit as famous as the image of the Don. Since Sogrape bought Sandeman in 2002, the major improvements and investment that have taken place in the vineyards and the winemaking has seen the wines rise to the top of the tree in Port.