Master of Wine Konstantin Baum tastes an extremely rare bottle of 1863 Burmester port wine, which he received as a gift and verified with a port expert. The wine was aged in oak vessels for 69 years and bottled in 1942. Baum compares it to a current release from Burmester, rating the newer wine 89 points. Using port tongs, he carefully opens the 1863 bottle, which has a dark brown color and a complex aroma with notes of raisins, figs, and roasted nuts. The wine's flavor is less sweet than the newer one, with great power, concentration, and length. Baum is amazed by the wine's quality, considering its age, and awards it 100 points, calling it a "perfect wine."
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Konstantin Baum is a Master of Wine.
2. The wine being tasted is a 1863 Burmester Port wine.
3. The wine is 159 years old.
4. The wine was aged in oak vessels until 1932.
5. The wine was bottled into large glass balloons called demijons in 1932.
6. The wine was bottled into its current bottle in 1942.
7. The year 1863 was the year Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
8. The year 1863 was also the year the English Football Association was established.
9. The year 1863 was the year Rockefeller started his oil business.
10. The vintage of 1863 was one of the finest of the 19th century for port wine.
11. The vintage of 1863 was the last great port vintage before phylloxera spread throughout the Douro Valley.
12. Phylloxera was first discovered in 1863 in the south of France.
13. Phylloxera destroyed most vineyards in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
14. Winemakers combatted phylloxera by grafting their vines onto American rootstocks.
15. The Burmester winery was established in 1750.
16. Johan Wilhelm Burmester took over the winery in 1834 and named it JW Burmester.
17. The current release from Burmester is the 2011 Korveta.
18. The 2011 Korveta is a fortified sweet wine with 20% alcohol.
19. The wine was rated 89 points by Konstantin Baum.