It tastes as though juice lurks under a layer of appetising dust. Quinta do Vale da Raposa 1992 Douro Pounds 4.49 (LD).
Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro S.A. It's also known as Real Cia.
Every now and then they are distinguished by a baroque chapel or a few stone dressings around the windows. There live the lords of the Douro.
Lord Douro said the board had decided not to appoint a new chief executive, as each of the individual companies in the group was run as a separate entity, with its own managing director. Earnings per share fell to 26.4p (28.4p).
Nor was it explained to us whether Major was attracted by the remoteness of the Douro Valley or by its surviving feudalism. What was, however, clear, was that he had chosen the wrong year: 1993 was a wash-out, one of the worst in living memory.
In the majority of cases, however, the owners remain independent of the port business, preferring to sell their grapes for the best price. Either way the structure remains the same. Life in the Douro Valley can never have been easy.
Lord Douro, 43 years old, has been appointed a director and deputy chairman of this investment bank.