Once the vintage is concluded the cold comes and takes the place of the warm and pleasant Autumn.
It is then that young Porto starts its rest gaining in structure and complexity. In the following Spring, it is the time to open the cellars and to start the journey down to the City of Vila Nova de Gaia which faces Porto on the opposite bank of the Douro River.

This journey used to be made in the historical "Barcos Rabelos". It was a long and tumultuous voyage down a river which never let itself be tamed. But it was absolutely necessary that Porto Wine breathe the air of Gaia. The cold ambient temperature and humidity near the coast is determinant in the maturation process of Porto.

The ageing is marked by the evolution of the colour and the acquisition of a velvety taste. It consists of a natural oxidation process which causes the precipitation of the colouring material, a kind of mysterious form of breathing through the porous wood.

With the passing of the first years, the dark young Porto wines, with a deep purple colour of violet nuances gives way to a Ruby Porto with a vivid red colour recalling the precious stone of the same name.

Later, with the advance of time, the vivid red loses its intensity and tones down, giving way to a brownish Porto with topaz nuances, proper of a Tawny.
As regards the White Port, the colour evolution is precisely the opposite of that of the Red ones. With ageing, White Port becomes darker, ranging from a light straw-like colour when it is young to a sombre old gold when it is aged.

At the cellars of Real Companhia Velha, in the silence of its vaults, the wine is kept in barrels of noble wood, the work made by coopers who have served the Company for many generations.
There, asleep in a unique peacefulness, barrels and vats are lost in time... 10, 20... 30 years... What does it matter!... The time it takes for each wine to reach its exact point of maturity.