Martinez 1955 Vintage Port
- Region
- Douro, Portugal
- Vintage:
- 1955
- Producer:
- Martinez
- Grapes:
- Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca
Wine Description:
Shipped by Palmers in barrel and bottles here at the brewery, Martinez 1955 had not seen the light of day for over 60 years until we decided to release some from our bond. Martinez 1955 is a classic and is drinking perfectly. Please note that the Martinez 1955 vintage port has no label.
Reviews:
Hi - I thought I’d let you know how we got on with the bottle of 1955 Martinez Port you sold me. The short version is that it was a great success!
I bought it from you in the Summer of 2023, and it was shared between eight at Christmas 2024.
The bottle was unlabelled, but buying from you we could be confident regarding the provenance. The wine level was below the shoulder, not unreasonably. The wax on the top of the bottle was crumbly and a little sticky, so we set our expectations; however the surface of the cork was clean, which got our hopes back up. The cork itself was as fragile as expected, but we got (most of) it out, with only moderate difficulty.
On pouring, the wine was a light Burgundy in colour with no noticeable change around the edge. A pleasant muted fruit nose; a deep sweet mixed berry taste with acidity to balance and a good rich finish; little or no tannin. A very definite step up in richness and complexity from LBV or crusted Port. Surprisingly heady: perhaps the evaporation concentrated the alcohol, or perhaps they just made it stronger 70 yeas ago. During the 15 minutes we lingered over it, it changed quite noticeably, taking on a brown or tawny colour, and turning sweeter and richer (suggestive of Madeira).
A thick residue of sediment remained adhering to the inside of the bottle, which will be kept for prosperity!
Verdict: definitely worth it, as a one-off!
Cheers
Tony
Producer Description
Martinez was founded in 1790 by the Spaniard Sebastian Gonzalez Martinez, who, from his base in the City of London sold sherry, cigars and Port which was sourced from a number of producers and sold on to British merchants for bottling under their own names. In 1822, he went into partnership with an Englishman, John Peter Gassiot, a Member of The Royal Society and amateur scientist. By the time Sebastian Martinez retired in 1849, the company had become the largest shipper of Port to the UK, with its own lodges in Oporto acquired in 1834.
In the early 20th century, at a time when many Port shippers were struggling, Martinez sold shares on the London Stock Exchange and became a public company. In the early 1960’s Martinez was purchased by British wine merchant John Harvey, who also rather ironically acquired Cockburn’s, at the time Martinez’s foremost rival. In 2006, the firm was acquired by the Symington Family who set out to revitalize the Martinez name and reinforce its reputation for fine Vintage Ports.