Miguel Roquette : "To celebrate such a special day I have picked from my humble cellar a bottle of Crasto Vintage Port 1987."

"My grand father Fernando de Almeida (son of Constantino de Almeida) passed away in 1989. This was the very last Vintage Port declared while he was still alive. You will see from the picture that this wine had no label, only a silkscreen printing. This happened because at the time we were selling most of our Port production to the big shippers in Gaia. Only the best wines would be bottled as Vintage Port to be kept for the family. As a curiosity I also tell you that our first L.B.V. was declared in 1988. This 1987 is one of the Vintages that most surprised me in my life: by 2000/2001 we were convinced that it would no longer develop and was reaching the end of its life. We couldn't be more wrong. After a memorable dinner at Crasto with our good friend David Guimaraes and our winemakers Dominic Morris and Manuel Lobo back in 2009, I and my brother Tomas opened a couple of bottles of 1987 Vintage. It was simply not the same wine tasted a few years before. It was alive and "talking to us" showing such great fruit and freshness and perfectly capable of standing a strong stilton and roquefort that was served after midnight. Very few houses declared 1987 and there are not many wines to be compared from this vintage, but the good news is that we still have approximately 200 bottles left in our cellar to be enjoyed in the next few decades."

"Happy #PortDay, let's all share our enthusiasm for such noble wine !"