The grapes for the Cockburn’s 2011 Vintage Port were sourced primarily from Quinta dos Canais and Quinta do Vale Coelho, both of which have been supplying Cockburn’s for well over a century. A third property, Quinta do Cachão de Arnozelo, which lies a short distance upriver from Canais and is privately owned by a member of the Symington family, also made a small contribution. Quinta do Vale Coelho produced tiny yields of just 300g per vine from its Vinha Velha (very old mixed vines) (10% of the final blend), and 350g from the Sousão vineyards (5%). The resulting powerful, concentrated and tannic wines act as the ‘seasoning’ to the Cockburn 2011 Vintage, contributing length and grip. The remaining 30% of the blend is Touriga Franca.
Touriga Nacional (55% of the final blend) produced intensely aromatic wines with typical esteva (rockrose) freshness and elegance: the recognizable signature of the Cockburn’s 2011. The mature plantings of Nacional from Quinta dos Canais (average age 25 years) also contributed firm, well-integrated tannins and a fine natural acidity providing great structure and balance to the final wine.
Reviews
Amazingly fresh and juicy, with concentrated raspberry and dark cherry flavours that are well sculpted and pure. Very minerally mid-palate, this offers a fruity finish that features luscious chocolate notes. A sleek and vibrant style.
A complete wine, ripely fruity, firmly tannic and dense. It has weight and the right balance of fruit and structure. It’s an impressive wine, powerful and concentrated while showing great fruitiness. The finish reveals its freshness.
It has a lifted bouquet with raisin, fresh dates and some lovely tobacco and sandalwood aromas that lend the aromatic profile complexity, although it feels rather compact at the moment. The palate is very well-balanced with a spicy, black pepper-tinged opening and very good structure. There is wonderful focus here, with a refined, clove-tinged finish and a long, spicy aftertaste.
While it would be hard to immediately relate this 2011 to the style of Cockburn’s from 1955, its graceful beauty and refinement is much closer to the intent of that wine than most any of the releases since 1977. The bright ping of exotic fruit finds a near perfect integration with the tannins, as if to bring the schist soil directly into the fruit flavor. Focused and substantive, this is destined to be a classic.