Cockburn’s has unveiled a new experimental Port range, Tails of the Unexpected. Inspired by the brand’s wine-making heritage, the collection is designed to appeal to a new generation of Port drinkers.
Cockburn’s Tails of the Unexpected is made up of three expressions: White Heights, medium-dry white Port hailing from the top 10% of high-altitude grapes in the Favaios region of the Douro; Ruby Soho, a fruity punch and spicy ruby Port made for mixing; and Tawny Eyes, a barrel-aged tawny sourced from the finest casks.
The range uses bottles made from 100 percent recycled glass and features illustrations showing each blend’s influences and origins.
“We are thrilled to share this new project with the world,” says Rob Symington, fifth-generation port maker at Symington Family Spirits. “We believe the wines, the serves, and the packaging represent an exciting innovation for the port trade. In addition, this is our first ever direct-to-consumer launch and through the summer and autumn we want to engage a community of adventurous port drinkers in Portugal and the UK with this new concept.”
Cockburn’s will market the launch of Tails of the Unexpected with activities in Portugal and the United Kingdom. It will host a street art competition and organize live music events in Porto, while in Brighton and Falmouth it will put on seaside pop-ups serving cocktails.
All three bottlings are priced at £20 ($28) and can be pre-ordered via the brand’s official website.
In June, Cockburn’s unveiled its own Portonic, becoming the latest brand to join the world of Port and tonic in a can. Taylor’s, Croft and Offley have all previously released their own versions of the two ingredient RTD variety.
In April, Symington Family Estates (which owns Cockburn’s) bottled six Quinta Vintage Ports from 2019, and will release two en primeur – Quinta do Vesúvio and Dow’s Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira. The release will be accompanied by two limited edition cases from both estates, each containing the 2019, 2009 & 1999 Vintage Ports.
The other Quinta Vintage Ports produced in 2019 – Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos, Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim, Warre’s Quinta da Cavadinha and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais – will age in the Symington cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia for future release.