The winter preceding the 2003 harvest was very rainy. Flowering took place at the end of May, with warm and bright weather, with conditions considered to be the best in many years. The first two weeks of August provided the intense summer heat that usually heralds great years of Port Wine. The harvest season in September was hot and dry, and yields were generous for all varieties. The grapes were harvested at their ideal point of ripeness, hand-picked into 20kg boxes, and cooled down overnight in cold chambers. After destemming and gentle crushing, the grapes were placed in stainless steel vats during the skin contact and fermentation processes. At the end of fermentation, the wine was transferred to 600L casks where it aged until the perfect moment for bottling was decided.

It retains a young color, with a crimson center surrounded by an orange-brown rim typical of the extensive ageing in wooden casks. On the nose it reveals soft aromas of caramel with tinges of vanilla and connotations of salty caramel. Full, creamy, and sensual on the palate with aromas of red fruit and orange jam.

Maynard’s is the flagship brand of Fernando and Alvaro Van Zeller’s Vinihold’s company. Named after the first established English Port wine shipper in Oporto, the Maynard’s brand honors the story of the late Walter Maynard, born in 1652, an illustrious ancestor of the van Zeller family through his marriage to Dorothea Augusta Kopke, recorded as one of the first traders to ever export Port wine to England. The brand has a premium positioning evident in every detail, from the selection of wines to the final presentation of the product itself, particularities that make all the difference, the paradigm of a unique product with centuries of tradition.

Walter Maynard is the name of one of the oldest wine merchants to have shipped Port back in 1652. He was appointed Consul in Oporto by his brother Thomas, who was English Council in Lisbon, by order of King Charles II in 1659. The 1st family link with the van Zellers come through marriage of Dorothea Ignacia Wittingham with Johan Moring, which her mother-in-law was Marianna van Zeller, married with Jacome Moring. Later, her great-granddaughter Dorothea Augusta Kopke who was Walter Maynard's 5th generation of descendants, married with Roberto van Zeller. 3 centuries later, representing the 15th generation is our manager for the US market, Mariana van Zeller. Nowadays, Maynard's stands for a complete line of premium ports, honoring the late memory of their illustrious ancestor.