JORGE ROSAS

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Bonjour Luc,
Taste is a very personal question.
I like the RP10 old tawny chilled with a foie gras, the RP20 at 5pm by its own or at dinner with a dessert (ex: orange pudding) and the RP30 with a good (smooth) cigar after dinner. So choosing an old tawny depends on the food paring, the moment and specially the mood!
I don’t consider the 20 year old the ultimate tawny port, but specifically in the Ramos Pinto range of old tawnies, I would say that the RP20 is my favourite.
In the RP20 and RP30 blends, we use wines from 3 different centuries. So I am not surprised that the Québéquois enjoy so much Ramos Pinto aged tawnies.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Olá Roy,
Experience tells me that one has to be very prudent in the judgement of immature vintage ports, i.e. when the wines have less than 15 - 18 months.
I know that many winemakers are enthusiastic about the 2016, but for me, saying now that a wine is going to be vintage port is the same as a doctor saying that a baby who still is in its mother’s womb will be a lawyer or an architect.
So, you will have to give me more time to answer your question.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Bonjour Jorge
TX for taking the time in your schedule.
A couple of simple questions
Do you consider 20 yr old tawnys as being the ultimate in wood aged ports
An observation , in Québec the 30 yr old Ramos Pinto tawny sells out faster than any other 30 yr old .
Any thaughts
Merçi

Bonjour Luc,
Taste is a very personal question.
I like the RP10 old tawny chilled with a foie gras, the RP20 at 5pm by its own or at dinner with a dessert (ex: orange pudding) and the RP30 with a good (smooth) cigar after dinner. So choosing an old tawny depends on the food paring, the moment and specially the mood!
I don’t consider the 20 year old the ultimate tawny port, but specifically in the Ramos Pinto range of old tawnies, I would say that the RP20 is my favourite.
In the RP20 and RP30 blends, we use wines from 3 different centuries. So I am not surprised that the Québéquois enjoy so much Ramos Pinto aged tawnies.

[Thomas V]

Hello Jorge from Denmark.

Thank you for taking your time to answer our questions inhere. I hope to met you some day and share one of my beloved 1983 Ramos Pinto vintage ports.

My first question is regarding block planting versus field blends. In the last decades many port producers have implemented growing of their vines by single variety. This makes it easier to control ripeness, maturation, treating diseases, picking of the grapes, fermentation etc. So on paper there are a lot of advantages, but looking to vineyards such as Nacional, Maria Theresa, Ponte, Vargellas Vinha Velha and more that produce exceptional quality by means of field blends. Do you think that things have become to clinical, to organized and we will see a change that houses will go back to field blends? Perhaps some of the magic from vintage port of old days came from the amazing grape variety that exist in Portugal and the Douro valley. I heard that Tomaz Roquette said that they know there are more than 48 different varieties in the Maria Theresa fields. The 5 major grapes that are commonly used for ports are nice and all, but are we missing out from all the other great grapes that are indigenous to Portugal? Each variety has different qualities that mixed together make up for excellent Vintage port that can mature for ages and develop into something truly special.

White port is taking off and rapidly. In Denmark it is extremely popular both blends and colheitas. Many enjoy simple 10 year old whites while others indulge in 40+. Where do you see this going over the next decade or so? Do you think more producers will start to grow green grapes to get a piece of the pie? Currently there are few that make whites with age such as Dalva, Andresen, Kopke, Eufemia, Lamelas and Leonardo. Is this something that Ramos Pinto will be expanding into?

Finally a stupid but also fun question I always ask when I meet someone from one of the port houses of the Douro valley. If you could chose one Quinta owned by another company to include under Ramos Pinto (to make port) which one would it be?

Thanks once again.

Thomas

[Andy Velebil]

Jorge

Over the course of your career in the Port industry what has been one of the biggest changes you've seen in both production of ports and wines and also in how Port is marketed?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Hi Jorge

I'm interested to know what you do in the vineyards - after all, great wines start with great grapes.

For port, what grape varieties do you tend to find make the best Vintage or colheita Ports? Or do you find field blends work best?

What influence on today's production and blending of vintage and LBV ports has come from the single varietal vinification experiments that Ramos Pinto did in the 1980s?

Many thanks,

Alex

Hi Alex,
Thank you for your interesting questions.
Let me start by saying that Ramos Pinto has the highest percentage of grapes from its own Quintas, than all the others main Port Shippers. The House of Ramos Pinto owns approximately 250 hectares, distributed by four quintas. So viticulture is a very important matter for us.
Nowadays we do not use any herbicides, we have 25 hectares of organic vineyards and we are on our way to biodynamics.

As you may know, in the 1960s my father (José António R.P. Rosas) started studying the Douro grape varieties. He realised that it was important to know the quality (and productivity) of the grapes, so he decided (for the very first time in the Douro) to plant one grape variety in each big blocks in order to study (in an empirical way) the characteristics of each one.
When my father hired João Nicolau de Almeida in the 1970s, he challenged him to study (in a scientific way) the grapes that he had pre-selected and 5 grape varieties were chosen (Touriga Nacional - TN, Touriga Francesa - TF, Tinto Cão - TC, Tinta Barroca TB and Tinta Roriz - TR). As a result, these became the 5 recommended grape varieties in the Douro.
For us, these 5 grape varieties are the primary colours we need to paint a masterpiece, but other varieties are very important so we still have them in our vineyards. Therefore, in our Vintage Ports we tend to use mainly TN, TF, TB but many others as well, since we also use in the blend grapes coming from old vines / blend fields.
As you may know, these old wines produce very small yields but usually they have an exceptional quality.
So, we can’t be fundamentalists if our goal is to make the best of the best with our blends.

Our study of grape varieties had definitely an enormous impact on today’s production and blending of Port and Douro wines. I have no doubts that this study highly contributed for the quality of the wines (both Port and Douro) that you will find in the market today.
The great advantage of having blocks of a single grape variety is the fact that this allow us to pick all the grapes with the same level of ripeness. This doesn’t always happen in a field blend, where we can have more than 30 grape varieties with different levels of maturity.
Finally, having parcels of a single grape variety, does not necessarily mean that they will ferment separately.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Jorge:

I am big Ramos VP and dry wine fan...

Has the 10 and 20 year tawny blends changed over the last decade? There are a few on this forum that are convinced they have; including me. Ramos was my favorite tawny, but has fallen out of favor for me. Another friend never really like Ramos tawny, but now all he buys is the 20 like it's best thing he ever tasted...

Hi Moses,
It's a pleasure to hear that you are big Ramos Pinto fan.
The Ramos Pinto 10 year old tawny is been made with grapes from Ervamoira for several decades. We started planting this quinta in the 1970s and so, the vineyards are older now and produce better quality grapes. For this reason it’s possible that you can find a difference in the last decade.
As for the 20 year old tawny, the difference in style is certainly smaller, as the Quinta do Bom Retiro vines are much older (the first vineyard planted in this property was in 1786).
The Ramos Pinto style has been perpetuated since its foundation. This does not mean that we are doing the same wines that my great-grand-father did. We are making wines for today’s consumers so it’s possible that you may find very small changes in both wines in the last decades.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Hello and thank you for participating here.
There has been several very, very old wood aged Ports put on the market in the past few years. Most of these are categorized as tawny reserves. Madeira has approved the category of Over 50 year Old recently. Is there any thought for doing the same for Port?

Hello Eric,
Some people (both producers & from the trade) have already mentioned the possibility of creating a new tawny port category older than 40 years, but to my knowledge, the IVDP is not considering this possibility at present moment.
My point of view is that Port has too many categories and I wonder if we need one more… Having said that, I think that if we had to create a new tawny category, we should do an 80+ or 100+ year old, since I don’t see many differences in style between a 40 y.o. and a 50 y.o..

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Hello Jorge from Denmark.

Thank you for taking your time to answer our questions inhere. I hope to met you some day and share one of my beloved 1983 Ramos Pinto vintage ports.

My first question is regarding block planting versus field blends. In the last decades many port producers have implemented growing of their vines by single variety. This makes it easier to control ripeness, maturation, treating diseases, picking of the grapes, fermentation etc. So on paper there are a lot of advantages, but looking to vineyards such as Nacional, Maria Theresa, Ponte, Vargellas Vinha Velha and more that produce exceptional quality by means of field blends. Do you think that things have become to clinical, to organized and we will see a change that houses will go back to field blends? Perhaps some of the magic from vintage port of old days came from the amazing grape variety that exist in Portugal and the Douro valley. I heard that Tomaz Roquette said that they know there are more than 48 different varieties in the Maria Theresa fields. The 5 major grapes that are commonly used for ports are nice and all, but are we missing out from all the other great grapes that are indigenous to Portugal? Each variety has different qualities that mixed together make up for excellent Vintage port that can mature for ages and develop into something truly special.

White port is taking off and rapidly. In Denmark it is extremely popular both blends and colheitas. Many enjoy simple 10 year old whites while others indulge in 40+. Where do you see this going over the next decade or so? Do you think more producers will start to grow green grapes to get a piece of the pie? Currently there are few that make whites with age such as Dalva, Andresen, Kopke, Eufemia, Lamelas and Leonardo. Is this something that Ramos Pinto will be expanding into?

Finally a stupid but also fun question I always ask when I meet someone from one of the port houses of the Douro valley. If you could chose one Quinta owned by another company to include under Ramos Pinto (to make port) which one would it be?

Thanks once again.

Thomas

Hello Thomas,
In my point of view, the vineyards you have mentioned produce high quality wines because they are old and they have high density, and these are the main reasons rather than having several dozens of different grape varieties.
Ideally, I would rather have 30 blocks with 1 hectare, each with one grape variety planted in the right place and with 100 year old vines, than 30 hectares, in the same parcel, of centenary vines in a field blend. This would allow me to pick the grapes in the right moment and do the blend as I wanted.
The (more than 100) Douro grape varieties are certainly an extraordinary genetic heritage and we all have (not only Ramos Pinto but also other vineyard owners) the obligation to preserve and continue to study them. I also tend to agree that more grape varieties in the blend give more levels of complexity to our wines.
Finally, I am also convinced that we produce much better wines if we blend grapes and ferment them together (either in the lagar or in the fermentation tank) rather than blending wines (not grapes) after fermentation.

White port is an exceptional wine, with a tremendous aging capacity. This is why we have extraordinary century old white ports that we still keep in our lodges.
The world is now starting to discover these great wines and I am convinced that in the future we will see more and better quality white ports in the market. For the moment we are having a lot of success with our White Reserva Port. Maybe in the future we will launch another white port…

Regarding your final question, I could give you a list of several quintas that we could “include under Ramos Pinto”, so it’s very difficult to choose only one …

I look forward to share a 1983 Ramos Pinto with you one of these days.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Jorge

Over the course of your career in the Port industry what has been one of the biggest changes you've seen in both production of ports and wines and also in how Port is marketed?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wish I could tell you that my biggest challenge was phylloxera but I am not that old .
Having said that, a good challenge is teaching consumers to drink Port in the right glasses with the right temperature.

[Moses Botbol]

Jorge:

Ramos Pinto was a leader in alcohol poster marketing a long time ago. Reproductions of Ramos Pinto artwork is quite popular. Luxury brands like Louis Vuitton & Bally have a successful and popular limited release poster following for some time. Is there any consideration for Ramos Pinto to release modern posters to promote the brand that could be collectable in the future?

[Roy Hersh]

When choosing a Vintage Port ... what are some of the vintages (specific years, not producers) that you prefer to drink with friends, nowadays?

[Glenn E.]

Jorge,

In 2014 during Roy's Port Harvest Tour we discussed why Ramos Pinto only makes 10, 20, and 30 Year Old Tawny Ports, but not a 40. It sounds like your reasoning has not changed, which was that you do not see enough of a difference between a 30 year old Port and a 40 year old Port to warrant the additional category. I know, though, that Ramos Pinto and others have stocks of wine from the 1800s that are used in the making of the oldest tawny blends, so it seems like it should be possible to make an older wine that displays a significant enough difference from the standard 10, 20, and 30.

So my question for you is this: with demand for older tawnies seemingly growing, what categories would make for an "ideal" selection so that each could display distinct characteristics? Would that be 10, 20, 40, and 80+? Or do you think some other combination would work better? Maybe 10, 25, 50, and 100?

[John M.]

Dear Jorge;

Thank you for your time and great replies. Love your Ports!

My first question is this, with improvements in wine production, do you think there will come a time when Vintage Port is declared 4, 5 or even 6 times in a decade? Is it even good business to do so?

With all your experiments and cataloguing on grape varieties, is there an obscure one or two that you think should be more widely used? If so, why?

Thank you!

[Eric Ifune]

My point of view is that Port has too many categories and I wonder if we need one more… Having said that, I think that if we had to create a new tawny category, we should do an 80+ or 100+ year old, since I don’t see many differences in style between a 40 y.o. and a 50 y.o..

So my question for you is this: with demand for older tawnies seemingly growing, what categories would make for an "ideal" selection so that each could display distinct characteristics? Would that be 10, 20, 40, and 80+? Or do you think some other combination would work better? Maybe 10, 25, 50, and 100?

I'd love to see an over 80 or over 100 category!

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

When choosing a Vintage Port ... what are some of the vintages (specific years, not producers) that you prefer to drink with friends, nowadays?

I have been opening the 97 Ramos Pinto. 20 years, still young but ready to drink. Great fruit and it is starting to show some signs of maturity.
I also drink decent quantities of 1983 – a real treasure!

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Jorge,

In 2014 during Roy's Port Harvest Tour we discussed why Ramos Pinto only makes 10, 20, and 30 Year Old Tawny Ports, but not a 40. It sounds like your reasoning has not changed, which was that you do not see enough of a difference between a 30 year old Port and a 40 year old Port to warrant the additional category. I know, though, that Ramos Pinto and others have stocks of wine from the 1800s that are used in the making of the oldest tawny blends, so it seems like it should be possible to make an older wine that displays a significant enough difference from the standard 10, 20, and 30.

So my question for you is this: with demand for older tawnies seemingly growing, what categories would make for an "ideal" selection so that each could display distinct characteristics? Would that be 10, 20, 40, and 80+? Or do you think some other combination would work better? Maybe 10, 25, 50, and 100?

Glenn,
Generally speaking and as you know, the Port industry is very conservative and resistant to change. So I think your 2nd suggestion (10, 25, 50 and 100) would be difficult to implement - many wouldn’t agree with the idea of stop making the 20, 30 and 40 y.o., wines that they have been producing for decades. So, the combination 10, 20, 30, 40 and add an 80+ and/or 100+ would probably be the easiest.
The fact that legislation allows the 30 & 40, doesn’t bother me at all. It’s up to each shipper to decide if he is going to make both or not.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Dear Jorge;

Thank you for your time and great replies. Love your Ports!

My first question is this, with improvements in wine production, do you think there will come a time when Vintage Port is declared 4, 5 or even 6 times in a decade? Is it even good business to do so?

With all your experiments and cataloguing on grape varieties, is there an obscure one or two that you think should be more widely used? If so, why?

Thank you!

Caro John,
Thank you for your questions.
I think it is fair for a Port shipper to declare “full vintage” 6 times (or more) in a decade. According to the Port legislation, Vintage should have exceptional organoleptic characteristics. If theses vintages are exceptional, why not? First grow in Bordeaux is produced every year, isn’t?
I don’t know if you consider Sousão obscure, but it’s certainly a grape that should be more used.

[Adriano Ramos Pinto Vinhos SA]

Jorge:

Ramos Pinto was a leader in alcohol poster marketing a long time ago. Reproductions of Ramos Pinto artwork is quite popular. Luxury brands like Louis Vuitton & Bally have a successful and popular limited release poster following for some time. Is there any consideration for Ramos Pinto to release modern posters to promote the brand that could be collectable in the future?

Hi Moses,
This idea exists for many years. A few years ago we have created a partnership with the Faculty of Fine Arts of Porto, and students have worked the Ramos Pinto brand.
Currently we are focusing all our efforts in improving (yes, even more!) viticulture and wine-making. So, Ramos Pinto artwork will be our goal for the near future.

[Moses Botbol]

Jorge:

Ramos Pinto was a leader in alcohol poster marketing a long time ago. Reproductions of Ramos Pinto artwork is quite popular. Luxury brands like Louis Vuitton & Bally have a successful and popular limited release poster following for some time. Is there any consideration for Ramos Pinto to release modern posters to promote the brand that could be collectable in the future?

Hi Moses,
This idea exists for many years. A few years ago we have created a partnership with the Faculty of Fine Arts of Porto, and students have worked the Ramos Pinto brand.
Currently we are focusing all our efforts in improving (yes, even more!) viticulture and wine-making. So, Ramos Pinto artwork will be our goal for the near future.

Where can we buy these works?