Burmester

J W Burmester & C:a

Founded	1750
Owner	Sogevinus
Vineyards	None
Vintage Port Brands	Burmester, Quinta do Arnozelo, Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo

In 1730, Henry Burmester and John Nash established in London the company Burmester & Nash, dedicated to the corn trade. In 1750 having acquired warehouses in Vila Nova de Gaia they started exporting Port Wine to the British Isles as well as to other European countries. The original shareholders were English even if the name Burmester comes from ‘Burgmeester’, an important function performed by some members of the family in Mölln, a little town in Northern Germany situated between Lubeck and Lauenburg.

The name H. Burmester & Son was established 1806. This year Hermann van Zeller become a partner and the firm’s name became H. Burmester & H. van Zeller, but van Zeller leave the company after 3 years it was renamed H. Burmester & Co. Henry Burmester died in 1822 and the firm was taken over by Soltau. In 1834 Johann Wilhelm Burmester arrived to Oporto 24 years old and when the firm should be sold to the highest bidder in 1856 Johann Wilhelm Burmester make an agreement with the different heirs, so good, that in in 1861 he took over the firm and the final name J.W. Burmester was established. J. W. drowns in Douro 1885 and his son Gustav Adolph took over as he already was a partner. During the First Wold War due to their German heritage they had to leave Portugal within 24 hours and German properties should be confiscated. Gustav Adolph manages to transfer the family’s wine to a good Portuguese friend at least on paper before he had to flee. The friendship lasted and when he returned in 1920 he had his wine re-transferred to his company.

The company was always ruled by the Burmester family, having been taken over by the Amorim family by the end of 1999. The Amorim family started its activity in 1870, with the manufacture and sale of Port Wine corks but sold Burmester already in 2005 to Sogevinus.

Burmester Vintages:	1788, 1820, 1840, 1851, 1854, 1873, 1878, 1887, 1890, 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1949*, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987 (Special selection for Philpson Wine, Denmark), 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017
Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora Vintages:	1992 (Burmester), 1994 (Burmester), 1995 (Burmester), 1996 (Burmester), 1997 (Burmester), 2000 (Burmester), 2002 (Burmester), 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015
Quinta do Arnozelo Vintages:	2009, 2010, 2012, 2015

House	Burmester Vintage	Vintage	1929
Colour	Mature tawny in colour with a mature yellow edge.	Number of tastings	1
Bouquet	Burned sugar, butterscotch and chocolate.	Score range
Taste	Medium body. Elegant, quite a lot of acidity but still balanced and medium long finish.	Average score
Last tasted	5th October 2019	Point this date	16.25
Comment	At the Burmester Colheita tasting by Henrik Lilja, Hørsholm, Denmark. Imported to Germany on cask and bottled by National Bodega, Hamburg. Says Vintage on the label but is likely a Colheita.	Tasters	SAI, JB, SS

House	Burmester Novidade	Colheita	1890
Colour	Tawny in colour with an olive green edge.	Number of tastings	1
Bouquet	Rich bouquet with burned sugar, smoky chestnuts and some pharmacy.	Bottled
Taste	Medium body. Mature of course. Balanced and complex port with a long and lovely finish. What a port!	Score range	17.00 - 17.00
Last tasted	15th November 2007	Point this date	17.00
Comment	At the Wine Society 18% tasting in Malmö.	Tasters	SAI, JB, SS

House	Burmester	Vintage	1970
Colour	Yellow, beautifully mature in colour.	Number of tastings	8
Bouquet	Complex bouquet of coffee, cacao, crème caramel and old grocery shop in the nose.	Score range	16.25 - 16.90
Taste	Quite full-bodied. Lovely and complex taste. Much burned sugar in flavour. Mature and at its peak with generous, long and delicious finish. A very attractive port.	Average score	16.41
Last tasted	29th October 2011	Point this date	16.90
Comment	At home with the family. *This bottle was defect and the notes are from May 2011. In 2008 this vintage took part in a Great Tasting in the Wine Society 18%. For points and ranking see Great Tastings.	Tasters	SAI, JB, SS

House	Burmester	Vintage	2003
Colour	Black in colour but maybe with just a hint of a yellow edge.	Number of tastings	3
Bouquet	Dark berry, mulberry and black cherry in the nose.	Score range	14.50 - 14.50
Taste	Medium bodied. Still tannin of course and will improve. Easy to swallow and rather tasty with mulberry and dark berry in taste with a nice finish. Probably not a long keeper but will be nice to follow.	Average score
Last tasted	3rd March 2016	Point this date	14.50
Comment	At the Danish Port Wine Club est. 1981 tasting in Copenhagen, Denmark.	Tasters	SAI, JB, SS

House	Burmester	Vintage	2016
Colour	Dark ruby in colour.	Number of tastings	3
Bouquet	Dark berry, dark fruit with mulberry and blackberry in the nose.
Taste	Medium body. Of course tannic and will be better. Dark berry and especially black berry, blueberry and mulberry in taste. Balanced and quite easy to drink and enjoy with a nice finish.
Last tasted	2nd March 2019	Rating this date	Very Good/ Impressive
Comment	Tasted in the Port Wine Fair in Roskilde, Denmark. Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive	Tasters	SAI, JB, SS

House	Burmester	Vintage	2017
Colour	Dark ruby in colour.	Number of tastings	3
Bouquet	Dark berries such as blue berries, black berries and dark cherries in the nose.
Taste	Medium body. Round and quite elegant tannins. Balanced and loaded with mature fruit and dark berries. Easy to appreciate already to day with a quite seductive and soft finish.
Last tasted	29th February 2020	Rating this date	Very Good/ Impressive
Comment	Tasted at the Port Wine Fair in Roskilde, Denmark. Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive	Tasters	SAI, JB, SS