Wine Expert Opens and Tastes a 159 Year Old Bottle of Port Bottled in 1863

Wine guru Konstantin Baum opened and tasted a 159 year old Burmester port wine that was bottled in 1863. Before doing so, however, Baum marveled over the incredible age of the wine and what was happening the year it was made.

Think about what the wine must have seen over the years. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to free slaves in US confederate states, it was also the year the Football Association formed in England and the year the International Committee of the Red Cross was established and the year Rockefeller started the oil business that would make him the richest man in the world.

The bottle had an unusual shape, so Baum had a bit of trouble opening it without the cork crumbling. Luckily that didn’t happen. Once it was open, he poured a glass for himself and noted the distinct aroma that wafted off the glass. He then tasted the wine and found it to be good.

Burmester Port was a revelation. 159 years later the wine still showed beautifully. The color: Tawny with some red hues. On the nose complex, with notes of figs, raisins, walnuts, soy sauce. To complex to explain.

In fact, he gave it a full 100 points.

This is one of those wines that make me wonder what we actually did over the course of the last 159 years because you can’t make wine better than this. They really had it figured out back then already. If there was ever one that deserved 100 points then it’s this one.