Portuguese wine fair in Paris

[Bert VD]

i just noticed this is happening this weekend. and it's at Bois de Vincennes.
and i just happen to be in the same place.
going today wouldn't be wise as i have to run the lights for a dance show tonight. but tomorrow...
good times!

is there anyone from the forum who might be there?

[Phil W]

Hope the floods don't affect you too much.

[Bert VD]

in the center of Paris there are no floods really. just a basement maybe here and there. the Seine is at a very high level but nowhere near the main roads. it's in the suburbs where streets are flooded.

[Roy Hersh]

The Seine may have already crested as the level this past week reached 21 feet above average and was the most flooding since 1982. Heading there too and glad the water will not be an issue.

[Bert VD]

there's waves of people making pictures of the river


anyway, the more important things in life:

Le Salon du Vin Portugais was in the beautiful Parc Floral at Bois de Vincennes. I didn't really make any pictures for several reasons. Because it's hard doing that while holding a glass, because the fair itself looked quite boring with all different brands having identical booths apart from the bottles in them, because i didn't feel like it... so you'll have to use your imagination. all the ports tasted have not been decanted as far as i know. being unexperienced, most of my notes are quite... brief. and i might say some things some of you strongly disagree with, if so, that's the way things go

First i went for a walk to get an overview of the fair and where to start my tasting. Since there was quite a lot of port i decided to focus on that and i kind of ignored the other wines. As i'm not a big fan of tawnies and whites, i focused on LBV and Vintage. this is the reason i skipped Noval (among others) as they only had colheita's, tawnies and their 2009 LBV that i already knew and love. (a sip of Graham's 20Y confirmed i still don't really like tawnies)

Having no clue what to start with i went to the middle of the hall, joined a conversation at the Quinta do Passadouro booth and soon received some of their delicious 2010 LBV. After some time talking with the lovely lady at the counter we realized my accent wasn't French and hers wasn't Portuguese. This is when i found out that the owners of the quinta are in fact Belgian, and our conversation went on in Flemish
the 2010 LBV was elegant, light and full of fruit.
the 2008 vintage was in that same style but really got my attention. the taste kept on going and evolving long after the last sip of my glass.
both wines are on my buying list now. (and not just because they are fellow Belgians but because these 2 wines might have been the best i had on this fair )

after talking way too long i decided to move on to other ports and we agreed i would come back to report before i left.
first a 2013 vintage by Vasques de Carvalho. This was very heavy on the nose, very bold and powerfull but also short with not much aftertaste and a sticky mouth. It was one of the ports that was dark deep red in color and really stuck to the glass as well. Maybe the contrast in style was too big right after the Passadouro but this was not a port for me.

i've read a lot about Quevedo here so it was time to finally taste some of their port.
the first thought i had when smelling the 2011 LBV was strawberry jam. a sweet full nose full of it. but the taste was more pleasant than that and revealed a balanced LBV. it just lacked a bit of an edge for me. pleasant but not memorable.

In the same booth i found some wines by Vesuvio, Graham's, DOW and others. These are the ones i selected to taste:
Quinta do Vesuvio vintage 1995. this was a powerful balanced wine. made me a happy man and i just couldn't spit
their 1989 vintage didn't please me as much. it had a surprisingly different style and an almost smokey taste.
i went on with a 2013 Senhora da Ribeira by DOW. this is the intense, hot and dry DOW that i like and the reason i buy their wines.
i stayed in 2013 with Quinta do Vale Meao. this is one of the more elegant wines i had. it starts almost too light and just when i thought "oh is that it?" it got me. it takes your taste buds for a gentle ride visiting lots of beautiful flavors. it makes me want to have a bottle over a whole night without sharing. and then getting sad because i wouldn't experience the taste as well anymore as i get drunk.
The Warre's Cavadinha 2001 after that was very pleasant as well, with nuts, berries and spices. like a good dessert.

I went to have a chat at Quinta do Crasto and checked i still really like their 2011 LBV. i do.

at Graham's i tried the Malvedos 1999 vintage. the exact words i wrote down are "easy but nice". i guess this means i would drink it with pleasure when it's offered but i want more excitement in ports i buy.

Barao de Vilar was another new one for me.
The 2012 LBV was a bit sticky on the lips and had a distinct style. dry herbs and spices. a hint of clove and citrus, almost bitter.
in the 2007 vintage in noticed the same style but it didn't have the stickyness which made it more pleasant. it also had a much longer aftertaste.
i'm not a big fan of these wines.

at the Niepoort booth there was a nice conversation going on and i joined in for a while having some wines to keep our mouths from going dry
the Bioma Velha 2009 vintage as a starter was young, bold but balanced and well behaved at the same time.
The 2001 LBV was good. not great.
the 2012 LBV after that was a step up for me. fresher, more defined, more character.
while we were discussing the LBV's an unsuspected treat showed up. someone returned from a masterclass with a glass that still had a sip of an unknown 1934 port.
A yellowish brown color that i haven't seen before in a glass of port. (the oldest port i've had so far was 1982 so i have no reference at all)
i tasted citrus, honey and oak. as you probably understand by this time i was a bit saturated so sadly it's hard for me to say much more about his one. but it was a completely new experience in port wine for me.

my hopes came through: good times.

[Eric Ifune]

Could it be the 1934 was a Colheita?

[Bert VD]

probably, but there was no brand indicated.

[Andy Velebil]

wonderful recap! As for the 1989 Vesuvio...one of the last VP's most of us will ever see that has Douro Bake. As it was stored up in the Douro without temp control.

[Bert VD]

thanks Andy!

can you tell me a bit more about douro bake?

[Andy Velebil]

thanks Andy!

can you tell me a bit more about douro bake?

The Douro gets really hot in the summer. Really hot. The far eastern parts didn't get electricity until the 1970's. Vargellas was 1978 IIRC. So if any Port was stored up there it was without active cooling. Thus, why everyone shipped barrels down to Gaia during the winter after harvest. If you left them up in the Douro they would "bake", just like leaving it in a hot house or car. It gives the Port a slightly baked fruit taste. It really stands out when you compare two bottles side by side, one being baked one not.

It's really isn't seen anymore in VP's as modern times have arrived and so has actively cooled cellars up in the Douro.