Winemaker Notes
Remarkably deep colour, showing evolution to brick red, with concentrated aromas of mature fruit and a hint of violets. Full and rich in the mouth, SANDEMAN VINTAGE PORTO 2000 perfectly balances a combination of power and maturity, while showing elegant potential. Drink 2030-2040 (June2002).
SANDEMAN VINTAGE PORTO 2000 can be thoroughly enjoyed on its own, but is also a good match with creamy cheeses or Stilton.
Serving Suggestions:
Due to ageing in the bottle, SANDEMAN VINTAGE PORTO 2000 requires careful decanting. Stand for 24 hours and carefully remove the cork. Pour the clean wine into a fresh decanter, being sure to leave the sediment behind.
Shelf Life: Will age well for 30-40 years from harvest date.
Open Bottle Shelf Life: Once open SANDEMAN VINTAGE PORTO 2000 is best consumed in 24 hours.
Technical Details: Alcohol: 20%
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was quite surprised to receive a bottle of the 2000 Vintage Porto from Sandeman, a wine that was bottled in 2002 and was sold not much later than that, but it's good that they are selling some stock now that the wine has been in bottle for almost 25 years; it gives us the opportunity to purchase a mature bottle ready for drinking. It has a more evolved color and nose, keeping some aromas of red fruit in liqueur but also hints of forest floor, tea leaves and some brick dust; it's faintly rustic with some iron notes and light earthiness.
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James Suckling
This shows some early development and tertiary complexity. Expect toasted, balsamic, blackberry notes with dates, figs, licorice and subtle earthiness. Sweet and fine-grained, though the tannins are not yet fully dissolved.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.