2014 Port Harvest Tour

[David Spriggs]

I have to agree with all of the comments. My take-aways from this trip are:

• How good is the 2012 vintage for the dry wines? Pretty FANTASTIC. I was thriled with most, if not all of the 2012 wines that I tasted. Almost as powerful as the 2011's, but more density than the 2010... and no roasted or overripe character at all. This may make for a great balanced vintage for mid-term aging.
• The 2012 Ports (and there were only a few) have been quite good. In general I would say that they aren't as structured as a classic year, but they appear to be packed with fruit. I suspect that they will make wonderful early drinking wines in 5-10 years. Think 1998 Vesuvio in style. Those who have had it know exactly what I mean. LUSH. There are going to be some pretty great LBVs from 2012.
• Colheitas and very old Tawnies. These appear to be the hottest wine right now - and for good reason. They can blow your socks off! Prices have been moving up quite a bit and I don't see much of a slowdown, so I am buying now for future pleasure. And those Mr. Tawny 100 point scores? Yes, they were that good.
• This years grape treading was probably the most fun ever (in contrast with the very military and strict treading at Vesuvio... *that* I will never forget).
• Thanks Roy for finally getting me to Vale Meao. Second time's a charm! Those guys rock... oh and their wines do too!

Andy - I thought that LBV79 did a very good job that was better then some previous years. The food was very good.

[Roy Hersh]

Friday, was the day I was really looking forward to on our tour. Not that any of our visits before or after were not great, but this one in particular was going to be fantastic. David Spriggs who has been on 10 trips with us, albeit two have been to Madeira, had never been to Quint do Vale Meao and I wanted to make it a truly special visit for him.

We took the train all the way up river to Pocinho, which is the last train stop in the Douro Superior just before the Spanish border. There was no electricity up there just a few decades ago, it is THAT remote. We took a tour of the armazem and adega and saw all the new developments including a new lab and tasting room that have popped up in recent years. It was great to be back in the company of father and son Vito and Xito Olazabal and Vito's wife Zinha too. I love this family and they make us feel like we're visiting relatives and they always spoil us too. Vito promised not to break out his shotgun and would not shoot at any falcons this year!

We then had a very comprehensive vertical of vintage Ports going back to the very first commercially released VP and ended with a 2012 tank sample. This was a very generous and detailed tasting and our group not only appreciated the experience and generosity, but loved the Ports!

It was time for lunch and nobody that attended this year's fiesta will ever forget the wines or lunch that we had. The tomatoes and produce were picked just a few hours earlier and if you like tomatoes, these heirloom versions were about as red as any tomato you've ever seen. I could have made that and the olive oil my entire lunch. As good as the Ports were earlier, the DOC wines were absolutely mind-blowing great. We had some oldies and newer vintages too and large formats as well as a new wine called, MONTE MEAO and we were the first ones outside of the family to try this 2011 beauty which was vinified from 100% Touriga Nacional. A rock star in the making and at only 25 Euro/bottle, it was one heck of a bargain too. Only 5,000 bottles were produced from this first version and I can only see future efforts getting even better.

Afterwards we had some unique Ports that are not typically poured for guests and the first vintage ever made on the property 1999 was poured too, which is a really elegant wine. As it was never released as a VP, it likely will be going into a 10 year tawny project or possibly Colheita, as it has been registered years ago with the IVDP. Anyway, it was quite special, but it was the charm of the family members that made our visit so special. Certainly one that will remain in the memory banks for years to come.

Vito is the consummate pro and his story telling and experience in the Port and wine business over many decades make him one of the truly rare gentlemen farmers in the Douro with nearly a half century in the trade. A day spent with he and his family on the famed property once owned by his antecedent, Dona Antonia Ferreira, is an unforgetable experience.

[Roy Hersh]

David, great comments and coincidental that I was paying homage to your with my post on Vale Meao while you were doing your thing. Too funny. One more visit to go re: Friday night and then heading to bed as I am catching a plane in six hours and have to be up in 3.5 to get to the airport here in Copenhagen.

I will eventually get to finish the Saturday visit and then this entire 2014 tour will be completed.

I spent the past day+ with Rune and Emmy in Odense, Denmark, tasting 39 distinct bottles of 1994 Vintage Ports. They told me that this was one of their favorite tours they've taken with us and that is very high praise, considering no other couple has joined us for more tours then them. They are troopers and can keep up with the best of 'em and I love having them along with us.

[Roy Hersh]

It has been a few years since we've had a meal at The Vintage House in Pinhao and we decided it was as good a time as any and after taking the train back to Pinhao and a quick refreshing dip in the pool back at the hotel, we headed back into town for dinner.

Typically we only do about two guests during meals throughout the course of the week, but this year, we piled on and had a guest virtually every night of the week starting on Monday. This was something new and while many of our guests loved the surprise visitors each night and trying some great wines and Ports, there were a couple that thought that this was a bit over-the-top. It goes to show you can never please everyone and as much as we do try to do so, sometimes (like on our 10th Anniversary of PHT) we just have to go with our own gut.

The guest tonight was Jose Maria Soares Franco who now runs Duorum at Quint do Castel Melhor which is very close to the Spanish border and not far from where we just return while visiting Meao. They have 160 hectares on their property and just 45 planted, but expansion plans over the next few years will double the vineyards there. They possess two ranges of wines and their entry level, Tons de Duorum Branco costs about 9 Euros. Ridiculously inexpensive when you taste the quality in the bottle.

The meal was very good but the service at The Vintage House dining room was a bit archaic but not terrible and I am not so sure that others even noticed. Maybe a couple of guests that pay attention to such details. Anyway, the meal was good and the wines were really well paired. The 2012 Duorum Tinto with about 50,000 bottles produced was a nice QPR wine and under 10 Euros, so more of a food wine than a sipper and a blend of 40% each Touriga Nacional and Franca and 20% Roriz. A tart medium weight offering with a gorgeous nose and true Douro character, but nothing profound. The RESERVA on the other hand, was absolutely a beauty although considerably more expensive at 25 Euros. Great symmetry here, with white pepper, rose petals, and dried plum aromas. Great focus, structure and excellent length.

Along with our dessert we had a 2010 LBV which was good and elegant but so young that it needs several years to be ready for prime time. That being said, it has all of the requisite stuffing to carry this for years to come.

Then came the beauty of 2011 Duorum Vintage Port. Most in our group had only read about this Port and they had the chance to see what all the fuss is about. It showed really well and is deserving of the praise it received pretty much across the board from all journos last year.

I will get to finish off the tour which ended on Saturday night ... but since I'm heading back to the USA in a few hours, am not sure if I will have some time in the airports to get this done tomorrow or it may have to wait until my return.

[Eric Ifune]

Vito promised not to break out his shotgun and would not shoot at any falcons this year!

Too bad. When I was there, I thought it one of the highlights of the trip!

[Andy Velebil]

Sounds like a wonderful trip!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Al B.]

I love reading about these trips, so thanks to everyone - but especially Roy - for posting.

And I have a question for Glenn (love the FB pictures, by the way). When stencilling bottles, do the stencils get reused or thrown away every time a bottle is painted?

[Glenn E.]

I love reading about these trips, so thanks to everyone - but especially Roy - for posting.

And I have a question for Glenn (love the FB pictures, by the way). When stencilling bottles, do the stencils get reused or thrown away every time a bottle is painted?

They're re-used. I don't know how many times each one is re-used, but it looked like at least a day's worth of work because I didn't see any "extra" stencils lying around in the work area. At one point we saw one of the women cleaning her stencil so that she could continue using it.

The paint is pretty thick, so I suspect that when a professional is using the stencil that very little paint leaks.

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Alex. Glad someone is enjoying the read.

[Roy Hersh]

We wanted to finish the trip in style and had several unique features planned; all of which were completely different.

Our first adventure was a drive to Quinta dos Malvedos for our appointment to visit the historic property which is the home base vineyard that goes into Graham's Ports as well as the new Stone Terraces bottling. Dominic Symington and his lovely wife greeted us upon arrival. We toured parts of the property from vineyards to the vinification center and left enough time for an epic tasting that I had arranged long in advance. Dominic had the foresight to double decant the bottles the previous evening and had left them all in decanter between 5-6 hours which was perfect. Here was the lineup in order:

1. 1963 Gould Campbell - I'd only had this once before, at Alex's big 50th celebration the previous year. This bottle was in perfect condition although it was the only one that was not originally from the Symington's cellars. SFE bought GC in 1970. At the time this VP was produced, Gould Campbell was still owned by the UK merchant Clode & Baker. A perfectly stored bottle and a fantastic showing. A great way to begin the tasting.

2. 1966 Dow's - About as good as this wine gets, I can only think of one better bottle, but this was phenomenal and at the top of its game. Dominic felt that it could easily have been opened 40 years hence and still shown well. Full, dark and seductive with nice structural components still lively. There's a reason why I chose this for the 1966, as it never disappoints!

3. 1970 Graham's - was voted on by the group as their favorite. I had it neck and neck with the 1966 Dow's. Still rather young considering it is closing in on the half century mark.

4. 1977 Smith Woodhouse - Impeccable bottle w/ fruit mostly from the ultra-hot section of the Rio Torto. Dark as any 1977, and while my personal preference has always been the GC, I wanted another ex-cellars impression of this producer. While I love everything about it, my own view is the GC delivers slightly more complexity. Otherwise, this SW rivals anything that the vintage can throw at it, including the Taylor and Fonseca which are amazing when in perfect condition.

5. 1983 Graham's - Spot on, brambly, in perfect harmony and with a long life ahead of it.

6. 1985 Dow's - some in our group mentioned they'd never had a really good bottle of this VP. That surprised me as I've long been a fan. What's not to love when bottles show this well? Glad I still own a bunch.

7. 1994 Warre's - guests wondered why I waited until 1994 vintage before including Warre's. This was a really primary and impressive bottle and showed that it can hang with the big boys.

8. 2000 Warre's - just to show that 1994 was no fluke and how elegant the style is of even such a youngster such as this. Loved it!

9. 2003 Graham's - an exemplary and concentrated vibrant brambly beauty, on steroids.

10. 2011 Dow's Vintage Port - we had a good number of 2011's on this tour and I wanted to show why I had rated this as my top VP of the crop last year. Those that had never tried it before, the majority of our 13 guests, really loved this youngster. No longer the big beast it was 16 months ago, I think my score was only one point below my blind rating of last year. An amazing Dow and 2011 for that matter.

That was the end of the official tasting and we had one cask sample added on that was very generous of Dominic. I'll let others talk about that one if they wish. Although there was "enough" time for the tasting, I wish we had another hour or two to re-examine these incredible Ports. As this would be our final visit in the Douro, it was a great way to end our official tasting of Ports, with such a stellar showing of bottles, all of which delivered to their fullest. Along the way, we had a few great tastings of Tawny and Colheitas, and less Vintage Ports than usual. After Meao's vertical the prior day, this VP matrix tasting helped to level the playing field.

My sincere thanks to Dominic and his wife for a very special time at this historic SFE property.

[Roy Hersh]

Although left as a surprise, we wound up walking to a local restaurant which guests thought would be our lunch venue. Well in a way, it was. We had arranged instead a walk to their dock where a fine floating afternoon ensued as we slowly meandered our way down river. It was warm but not hot and a perfectly sunny afternoon to take in the vineyards from a vantage point on the river, gaining an entirely new perspective of the topography.

It was a very nice change from taking a barco Rabello upriver to Pinhao from Folgosa after our annual DOC Restaurante luncheon with guest winemaker, which everyone has grown to love, but also to expect. On this particular day, we decided on a lighter meal of tapas/petiscoes along with white and red Douro wine. A great and relaxing way to further tie the bonds of friendship that had developed during our week together. The boat was the perfect size and the catering was outstanding. All seemed right in the Douro that day.

We disembarked and met up with our transport back to Porto. After a short break in the action and time to get dressed up for our last supper.

[Glenn E.]

That was the end of the official tasting and we had one cask sample added on that was very generous of Dominic. I'll let others talk about that one if they wish.

Have I completely forgotten something, or are you talking about these two that we tasted down in the winery?

cask samples.jpg (16.79 KiB) Viewed 824 times

This was a great visit; one of my highlights of the tour along with Vale Meao, Mourao, and Sogevinus. (And an 1885!) An epic 10th tour!

[Roy Hersh]

Our last dinner together was a dress up affair at The Yeatman Hotel on an absolutely clear and perfect evening. The festivities began as Adrian Bridge joined our party on the patio and we enjoyed 2000 Murganheira Espumante to kick things off.

One of our guests wasted no time and engaged Adrian in a lively discussion about his plans for the future of the Krohn brand. For long time fans of Krohn, have no fear. Adrian emphasized that The Fladgate Partnership "did not purchase the Krohn brand in order to kill it" and assured our guest that there would be Krohn Colheita Ports continued in the marketplace. The night was young and the hors d'oeuvres were equal to the excellence of the spectacular views of Porto.

Dinner was a multi-course affair that was chosen to be paired with large format bottles the rest of the way. Ricardo Costa the Executive Chef of the hotel did a splendid job in creating delicious and beautifully presented food for us to feast on. My thanks also go to Beatriz Machado, the Wine Director at The Yeatman for working closely with me to provide such awesome bottles for the last night of our 10th Anniversary tour; a true celebration for our group.

The first course of Marones Veal was neatly paired with a Jeroboam of 2010 Soalheiro Alvarinho Reserva from the Minho. Most of us agreed it was extraordinary and vied for the top white of the entire week.

Our entree was a choice of either pan roasted Grouper stuffed with squid, or thinly sliced sauteed duck breast with sweet potato gnocchi. Time for some red wine and a fantastic 2005 Quinta do Vallado Reserve (field blend) was a show stopper from an absolutely stellar Jeroboam as well.

The last impression is important and The Yeatman delivered a remarkably dense chocolate parfait with chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake. It is hard to top that trio, but a very rarely seen Magnum of 1980 Fonseca Vintage Port was the perfect ending to a delicious night and one of my all-time favorite tours in No. Portugal. Thanks to all of our guests who survived a week's worth of food and wine debauchery in Porto, Gaia, Vinho Verde and of course, the Douro.

It has been a lot of fun putting my impressions of the tour here and as you can see on FB, many of our guests have been including their photographs and memories.



Epilogue:
Beyond the wine regions that we currently visit (Douro, Vinho Verde & Madeira) next year we plan to expand not only the number of tours we offer, but also begin to provide much broader coverage of Portugal's other wine regions and on at least one particular itinerary, offer a significantly greater diversity of cultural experiences. We look forward to sharing these types of hedonistic experiences with you at some point.



My personal to my long time friend and travel biz partner, Mario Ferreira, who has been exceptionally fun to work with over the course of the past decade. I look forward to the next decade and many new adventures bringing guests from around the globe to explore the treasures of Portugal!

[Eric Ifune]

Nice to hear about the Krohn brand.

[Christian Gollnick]

Nice to hear about the Krohn brand.

+1


Roy, two years ago we had a great Harvest tour... But I think the tour this year is from all the tours the one that I would have liked the most... You guys visited some outstanding places, had some of the greatest ports, meet a lot of interesting people... Just reading your little "trip diary" gave me already "saudades"... Lucky the people that were on this tour! I'm interested to hear that you want to broaden your offering of tours in the future... Looking forward to hearing more details...

[David Spriggs]

The guest tonight was Jose Maria Soares Franco.

It was a pleasure and very special to meet Jose again. I first met him on the very first Port Harvest Tour in 2005 and he was showing us (what I considered to be) the nascent Douro dry wines. At that time he gave me a bottle of the 2001 Casa Ferreirinha Quinta da Leda to take home, which was just about to be released. I didn't think much of the wine at the time (it was nothing like wine fromBordeaux or California). I put it in my cellar for 8 years. One day I figured that I should open it up and see if it was still good. It was FAR beyond good, it was GREAT! That was a real learning experience for me with respect to dry Douro wines and I will never forget it. Jose is a master winemaker. I am convinced of that. What a treat to spend so much time with him. Thank you Roy for making it possible!

[Rune EG]

This was the fourth FTLOP Harvest Tour for Emmy and me (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014), and it must be difficult to plan an tour that is better than the others, but the 2014-edition was! Mario and Roy have a great ability to both organize and participate in the tour, and that we appreciate. Overall a very nice balance between vintage ports and tawnies/colheitas, and some really memorable Douro reds.

We are great fans of the Meao vintage ports and the top level Douro red, and that visit (our second to this quinta) lived up to the expectations. Crasto is always a winner (fourth visit), and this time a nice combination of the Douro reds and white and some ports at the end. After we returned Emmy cannot forget the 2007 Crasto Vinha da Ponte, and she was very pleased when I could inform her that we have six bottles in the cellar! The visit and tasting at Graham's Malvedos (second visit) with Dominic Symington having decanted the bottles the previous evening, showed extremely well. Educational and enjoyable. Of the ten vintage ports, I only had one bottle in the 80's, the rest in the 90's, which is high in my book! Best was 1970 Grahams, followed two points lower by 1966 Dows and 2011 Dows at same score, then one point below there was 1963 Gould Campbell, 1977 Smith Woodhouse and 2003 Grahams.

Of the visits that we had as a first time, we had great expectations to Quinta do Mourao, and expectations were exceeded. We were overwhelmed. Both by his new 10yr white, 2004 Grande Reserve Douro (brought two bottles back to Norway), and not to forget the tawnies from 30 yrs up to 100 yrs. The quality was incredibly consistent. Mourao took up a big portion of bottles being carried back to Norway!

The winemaker visit at restaurant LBV79 was also very nice. The DR people presented some Douro reds and ports that were a huge surprise.

And there were so many other nice visits. Really need time to let it all "sink down".

[Phil W]

Always good to read the write-ups for the tour from everyone, and the different highlights. One minor question from one of Roy's posts regarding decanting times:

Dominic had the foresight to double decant the bottles the previous evening and had left them all in decanter between 5-6 hours which was perfect.

From a decanting point of view, I often find I favour slightly longer decant times than others, so found this interesting - that the wines had been "double decanted the previous evening", but then that they had only been "in the decanter for 5-6 hours"; which meant that either you were there for the breakfast '63-'11 tasting or that they were a much longer decant (perhaps held in bottle, stoppered overnight, then transferred to decanters later) - just curious?
p.s. am not trying to start a debate on how long certain vintages/wines *should* be decanted, only to understand what was done here since the wines all presented well.

[Glenn E.]

Always good to read the write-ups for the tour from everyone, and the different highlights. One minor question from one of Roy's posts regarding decanting times:

Dominic had the foresight to double decant the bottles the previous evening and had left them all in decanter between 5-6 hours which was perfect.

From a decanting point of view, I often find I favour slightly longer decant times than others, so found this interesting - that the wines had been "double decanted the previous evening", but then that they had only been "in the decanter for 5-6 hours"; which meant that either you were there for the breakfast '63-'11 tasting or that they were a much longer decant (perhaps held in bottle, stoppered overnight, then transferred to decanters later) - just curious?
p.s. am not trying to start a debate on how long certain vintages/wines *should* be decanted, only to understand what was done here since the wines all presented well.

As I recall, Dominic "splash decanted" the bottles the previous evening - into a decanter and then back into the bottle - and then back into decanters that morning. But Roy will have to chime in with the definitive answer, as I only overheard this and so might have missed part of the explanation (or just mis-remembered it).

[Miguel Simoes]

Good you bring this up. I always wandered what people mean by double-decanting. What is it exactly??