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Cockburn's

Cockburn's is one of the most recognised names in Port; the Special Reserve ruby is probably one of the most widely distributed Port brands available. In 1815, the year that Wellington defeated Bonaparte at Waterloo, the business was established by Robert Cockburn, who had visited Portugal when serving in Wellington's army. Like many of the old Port firms, however, although the company still bears his name there is no longer a Cockburn at the helm. In 1848 Henry and John Smithes joined as partners, and the firm became Cockburn Smithes. The business flourished for over a century, and in 1961 it swallowed up Martinez Gassiot, although immediately both businesses were taken over by Harvey's of Bristol, which ran them as two separate concerns. The current owners are Pernod Ricard, who completed a successful takeover of previous owners the Allied Domecq Group in 2005.

Cockburn's has an extensive collection of holdings, many of which are located in the upper reaches of the Douro Valley, although some are on relatively flat land at Vilariça, in one of the side valleys. They own more vineyards in the upper Douro than any other Port house in fact, as well as four quintas and three lodges in Régua, Tua and Gaia. The four quintas are as follows:

Quinta dos Canais
Quinta do Tua
Quinta do Atayde
Quinta do Val Coelho

Of these the Quinta do Val Coelho has been with Cockburn's the longest, having been purchased in the late 19th Century. There are ancient terraces here, as well as newer terraces, distinguishable by their width; newer constructions are sufficiently wide for tractors. In addition there are some rows of vines planted running up the slopes rather than on terraces, a relatively new concept in the Douro. Quinta do Tua is also ancient, complete with 19th Century farmhouse. Quinta do Atayde, purchased in 1978, is an extensive holding in the Alto Douro, 300 ha in all, of which over 100 ha of fairly flat land - atypical for most of the Douro vineyards - are planted. The vineyards are laid out in a block system, each variety planted in its own section, facilitating harvesting when the grapes are at optimum ripeness. The traditional approach was to plant field blends, the consequence being at best an 'average' ripeness when harvest time arrived. The grapes from Quinta do Atayde are largely destined for Cockburn's Special Reserve Port.

Quinta dos Canais is Cockburns's most recent purchase, and is their top quinta as far as quality is concerned. Terraced and block planted, Quinta dos Canais is the prime source of fruit for the Vintage Port, and it may be bottled as a single quinta wine in non-declared years.

Fermentation of Cockburn's Ports involves treading in traditional lagares, but with appropriate use of temperature control. The wines are fermented in the quintas and lodges of the upper Douro, before most are transferred to Gaia for further maturation. Those destined for the very basic non-vintage Fine Ruby and Fine Tawny Ports are stored in the warmer climate of the Douro. The Special Reserve is probably the most widely distributed and recognisable brand; this is essentially an aged ruby Port, which is often referred to as 'vintage character'. There is a Late Bottled Vintage designated Anno, which is blended from Cockburn's vineyards as well as from purchased fruit. As with all LBV Ports it spends between four and six years in cask, before a light filtration and bottling. The 10 Year and 20 Year Old Tawny Ports are both valuable components of the Cockburn's portfolio. As previously mentioned, the Quinta dos Canais may be released in non-vintage years, but the supreme wine, when declared, is the Vintage Port. Top declared years include 2000 and 1997.

The Cockburn's style, in my opinion, is one of softness, without the real focus, concentration or delineation that marks really top Ports. They frequently turn out good wines, but are rarely competing with those that regularly turn out wines of excellence such as Taylor's and Graham's. Having said that, the wines are often reliable and easy to drink if not the greatest examples of Port. They are not so much your racy, playboy cousin...more perhaps your friendly, pipe-smoking, slipper-wearing uncle. Not so exciting to spend time with, but you always know where you are with him. (20/4/05, updated 23/11/05)

Contact details:
Address: Rua D Leonor de Freitas, 4401-099 Vilanova de Gaia
Telephone: +351 22 377 6545
Fax: +351 22 377 6599
Internet: www.cockburns-usa.com

Cockburn's - Tasting Notes

The following wines were tasted with Jim Reader, Cockburns' General Manager, in November 2004. Click to locate stockists.

Cockburn’s Light White Port NV: Lovely aromatic nose. Notes of honey. Good, structured, rounded, honey-influenced palate. Firm body, with lovely integration. This is delightful. 16.5/20

Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port NV: Light nose, with a little fruit. Sweet, rounded, mildly fruity. Bigger than you expect on the palate. An accessible, functional, commercial blend. Good. 14.5/20

Cockburn’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 1998: Good presence of fruit on the nose. Plump palate, soft and seductive, but with decent structure. Tannins appear through the midpalate. Sweet, creamy roundness. No huge complexity, but a decent LBV. Should improve over two or three years – no longer. 15+/20

Cockburn’s 10 Year Old Tawny NV: Pink-amber hue. Decent character on the nose. Big texture, full, still with good sweetness. Rounded, baked flavour. A touch of tannin still. Good acidity. Decent example of the style. 15/20

Cockburn’s 20 Year Old Tawny NV: Orange-amber hue. Baked earth. Nutty, woody nose. Full, sweet, big and quite impressive. Complex, baked, nutty flavours. Firm, but with creamy mouthfeel. Good. 16/20

Cockburn’s Vintage Port 1970: Firm, mature appearance. Mature, meaty, earthy hue. Lovely texture. Still has firm acidity. Good mature flavours. Lots of structure still. Good length. Not the finest 1970 but pleasantly mature. 16.5/20

Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais Vintage Port 2002: Tasted just 15 days after bottling. Dense, creamy colour. Exotic, floral, still showing wafty alcohol. Big, sweet, with obvious alcohol and acidity still showing. Full, creamy, very good potential. Needs 10 years. 16+/20

Cockburn’s Vintage Port 2000: Floral, aromatic, dark fruits. Big and sweet on entry. Very balanced and seemingly integrated despite its youth. Ripe tannins, with a wealth of firm fruit above. Strong finish. The best wine here; needs 10-15 years I think. 17+/20

Tasted February 2004:

Cockburn's Vintage Port 1983: A very dark, rich looking wine. Sod's law of course - after enjoying the non-corked Warre's, I come across this. Disappointingly, it is obviously corked on the nose. I dare to taste a little - on the palate, this is rich and textured, but dominated by cork taint, underneath which I think there was once a great wine. What a shame. From a 1983 Port tasting. Not rated.

Tasted February 2003:

Cockburn's Vintage Port 1997: A deep colour, more earthy in appearance than the subsequent wine. Somewhat hot and alcoholic on the nose, with some stalky elements. Fat, rounded texture on the palate, with sweet molasses, and earthy, vegetal complexity which calls to mind the lighter 1991 vintage. There's still a pile of unintegrated tannins and alcohol. I don't know if this has the substance to go the distance. From a tasting of two 1997 Ports. 16/20

Tasted July 2001:

Cockburn's Vintage Port 1991: Only a moderately intense colour. Toasty fruits and molasses on the nose, with vegetal undertones. The palate is fairly light, softly textured, with flavours reminiscent of sugar-encrusted chocolate liqueurs and macerated fruit, but with interesting vegetal, beetroot and spice complexities that provide some interest on the midpalate. Firm alcohol and moderate tannins give good structure. Although there is a good finish, the overall impression is of a light vintage style that is already drinking now. Fair.