2009 Port Harvest Tour "Blog"

[Eric Menchen]

I love that place and at 76 Euros for a 1980 Niepoort Colheita, what's not to love?

Roy,
When was that 1980 Niepoort Colheita bottled? I picked up two of the 1980, bottled in 2000, stateside for around $70. I've had one and it was good, but not outstanding. However, in my case I think the storage of the bottle may very well have been a factor (too much warm time before I bought it).

[Frederick Blais]

I love that place and at 76 Euros for a 1980 Niepoort Colheita, what's not to love?

Roy,
When was that 1980 Niepoort Colheita bottled? I picked up two of the 1980, bottled in 2000, stateside for around $70. I've had one and it was good, but not outstanding. However, in my case I think the storage of the bottle may very well have been a factor (too much warm time before I bought it).

I did have the same experiencde with a 1980 bottled in 2000, a friend of mine brought it from Denver, Colorado. It was just not as silky as Niepoort Colheita are normally, with noticeable heat.

[Andy Velebil]

IIRC theat Niepoort was bottled in 2006.

Today we started out with nice partly cloudy sky's and a cab driver that got lost going to Gaia...not sure how he did that We had the most remarkable visit to the Dow's and Warre's lodge which never takes tourists, so it was a real treat for sure. Paul Symington was our host and a fantastic story teller about the history of Oporto. I wish we had more to talk to him about it. But alas, we had to head to Grahamºs lodge with him for a great tasting. Rupert Symington and his two kids, and their friend, stopped by to say hi also. The tasting was specatcular and I can't thank them enough

For those that follow the Malvedos blog like I do you'll be glad to hear it will continu...another major to the Symington's for that.

Don't get me started on the Vasconcellos visit we made after...I would have rather gone to the hotel to bed.

gotta run..dinnner time

[Eric Ifune]

Eric,

Didn't you buy in the 40 year old Noval Tawny at under $90 per bottle on the subscriber's buying opportunity ... given it is normally $150-btl?


A steal of a deal no matter where you live or buy Port!

Yes! Normally I don't buy 40yo since it's quite expensive but not at that price. Waiting for my shipment of Portal now.

You guys notes are making me drool! Bringing back lots of memories. I'm hoping to make a trip in 2010!

[Andy Velebil]

It rained quite hard and long last night so we took cabs to the restuarant in Gaia. After a lovely dinner most people took a cab back to the hotel. Since it had stopped raining a few of us brave souls decided to walk back to the hotel for a little exercise. Of course we got "side tracked" and ended up stopping for a glass of Quinta do Noval 40 year tawny along the way

All was good until we got about 1/2 way back to the hotel and the rains came again. Luckily I had my rain coat with me, but a couple others got wee bit wet.

Today in a few minutes we're heading to Offley, a house I've never visited here before so I am excited.

Oh, in my last post I failed to mention.... 1977 Gould Campbell and Smith Woodhouse are both big winners everyone should have in their cellars

[Gustavo Devesas]

It was once again, an absolute pleasure to meet all of you either for the Francesinha tour (together with OscarQuevedo and my brother Gonçalo) and later at the Graham's Port Lodge... where Andy finally tasted Graham's The Tawny

I'm glad to see that you are all following my suggestion and keeping always the good mood!

Andy mentioned the rest, although we spent a lot of time at Vinologia at night and had a fun time with a couple from Ireland who were just learning about Port. We opened the Niepoort blind for Goncalo and Jean-Phillipe and had fun watching them try to guess what it was. We shared it around with others in the bar too. Lots of fun.

I wonder why my father Jean-Phillipe and my brother Gonçalo didn't told me about this Niepoort blind tasting... did they guess?

Well, I wish you all some more interesting tastings and visits in the Douro, now it's time to prepare my trip to Scotland but before enjoy one more visit to the precious Quinta do Vesuvio.

By the way:

Oh, in my last post I failed to mention.... 1977 Gould Campbell and Smith Woodhouse are both big winners everyone should have in their cellars

I know that I'm suspicious to say this but Andy you are sooo right, I think it was also a good tasting to understand why this "niche brands" are so interesting, reliable and most of all outstandingly consistent.


Kind regards,

Gustavo

[Roy Hersh]

Eric,

The Niepoort bottling took place in 2007. I talked one of our guests into buying a bottle of it today and also a 1966 Krohn Colheita for 117 Euros. What a steal of a deal for two fabulous Colheita bottles. He doesn't realize how great these are yet, but someday he is going to be very happy. He also purchased six bottles of 1952 Dalva.

[Roy Hersh]

I arranged the Symington tasting a while back but it was absolutely stellar. Paul provided insight and the Ports, well, how does it get much better:

1977 Gould Campbell
1977 Smith Woodhouse
1980 Gould Campbell
1980 Smith Woodhouse
1994 Gould Campbell
1994 Smith Woodhouse
A slew of 2007 Vintage Ports from the Symington stable.

My 4th time tasting the 2007s, but always a pleasure.

Andy is right, the Vasconcellos visit and tasting was absolutely pathetic. But beyond that, I'll invoke the golden rule.


Today we started out with a fantastic tasting with the 10 of us at Offley Forrester's lodge. The tour and tasting were both exemplary. But I had something planned for our guest which we've never tried before. I had asked the folks at Offley if we could do a competition with blending. So we all sat down with 7 samples wines to replicate their 10 year old tawny. It was a real challenge and the person with the closest component percentages, won a signed bottle of 30 year old Tawny by the Sogrape winemaker (Sandeman, Ferreira and Offley) often seen in A QUESTION FOR THE PORT TRADE ... Luis Sottomayor. It was a great time and really not easy at all. I came in a respectable 3rd place. Oh well.

We then took a ride up to the Minho District and went to the most prolific producer of Vinho Verde, Aveleda and had a truly wonderful afternoon. What a property! It is part game-park, part historic site and part wine tourism spot. One of the best visits we've had in quite awhile. The tasting was fun and everyone really liked it.

We then headed back for dinner at one of the coolest restaurants in all of Oporto. 24 Euros for 2006 Quinta Vale Dona Maria, the 2001 was just 27 Euros per bottle and I ordered all that were left in the restaurant. Also the 2007 Post Scriptum. A great food and wine night.

Now it is time to pack for the Douro as we have quite an adventure waiting for us.

More to come

[Ronald Wortel]

Andy is right, the Vasconcellos visit and tasting was absolutely pathetic.

I've been there once, and I couldn't agree more! It was so bad that I couldn't stop laughing.

We then headed back for dinner at one of the coolest restaurants in all of Oporto. 24 Euros for 2006 Quinta Vale Dona Maria, the 2001 was just 27 Euros per bottle and I ordered all that were left in the restaurant. Also the 2007 Post Scriptum. A great food and wine night.

Care to share a name? I'll be in Porto in November and am always looking for new restaurants to visit.

Looks like a stellar trip again. Keep it up!

[Symington Family]

Linda, Marilyn, Charlie, Randy, Andy, David, Mario and Roy,

I just arrived to Porto and thought I would write a quick note to say that it was a pleasure showing you Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha and Dow's Quinta do Bomfim and tasting the wines together. From Miles, João Pedro Ramalho and me, a warm thank you for your visit. I hope the rest of the trip goes well (and with less hazardous vineyard driving conditions!).

It was nice to see you all one last time at dinner. I hope you enjoyed the wines.

Cheers,
Dan Carbon

[Roy Hersh]

Dan,

Thanks for your generosity last night! We did consume the 1985 Warre and it was singing a great tune. We've saved the Chryseia for our last night and will bring it to dinner on Saturday at Terra. Again thank you for this.

We had an amazing time at both quintas and the viticultural information shared and the oenological side of the tour was quite impressive too. Thanks to you, Miles and João for making our tour, lunch and tasting so special!

[Roy Hersh]

After our visitation at a couple of the Symington properties in the Douro, we had a relaxing walk around the Pinhao area. We then went to dinner at a brand new restaurant in Pinhao and were joined by Cristiano van Zeller as our guest. He brought a very cool magnum with him and we ordered some great whites to accompany our appetizers too.

Afterwards, we went back to our hotel and a few of us hung out and drank the balance of a few bottles of Port.

Today we had an amazing day and a first for any Port Harvest Tour. We spent an entire day and night at just one property ... in this case, Quinta do Crasto.

We took a great walk around the property and then had a DOC wine tasting with a superb lineup of 2006, 2007 and a few 2008 wines. Wow, is all I can say for now.

We then had lunch outdoors on the veranda with a slew of top notch Crasto Douro wines and Ports too and from there headed on for a boat ride on the Douro from around the Ferrao train station way up past Malvedos and then back again. While some took the bus up, Andy/David/Miguel Roquette and I climbed from the bottom of the property up the very steep slope and through the entire Maria Teresa vineyard. Talk about getting some exercise ... I just can't believe that over a hundred years ago, men used to carry 150 pounds of grapes on their back in a wicker basket and climbed the same hike we took, except they walked the schist (barefoot in many cases) many times a day and then went on to tread on grapes at night. I am not worthy!

It was then time for some serious Port drinking and we started with a bunch of LBVs and then headed into VPs. Both Miguel and Tomas Roquette were present for this and we learned a great deal about these Ports.

Next came dinner and truly the greatest single lineup of top drawer and older vintage DOC wines I have ever tasted at Crasto ... OR ... anywhere else for that matter. The list is an embarrassment of riches and I added a bottle of Penfold 1990 Bin 707 that I had brought from my cellar to share. In addition, Andy had brought two bottles of old Constantino Colheitas from 1924. One was a gift for the family and he very generously opened one for all of us to taste. This was the highlight in a lineup of stellar Ports at the end of the evening and our guests and the Roquettes were blown away by this act of kindness and magnanimous behavior.

We then headed back to our hotel and now it is time to get some well deserved sleep.

Thanks to Miguel, Jorge and Tomas Roquette as well as to Andy for sharing an amazing quantity of Port and Douro wines. What a day, as there must have been 30+ in the lineup during the 4 tastings today.

[Andy Velebil]

Linda, Marilyn, Charlie, Randy, Andy, David, Mario and Roy,

I just arrived to Porto and thought I would write a quick note to say that it was a pleasure showing you Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha and Dow's Quinta do Bomfim and tasting the wines together. From Miles, João Pedro Ramalho and me, a warm thank you for your visit. I hope the rest of the trip goes well (and with less hazardous vineyard driving conditions!).

It was nice to see you all one last time at dinner. I hope you enjoyed the wines.

Cheers,
Dan Carbon

Dan,
I had a great time and I can´t thank you, Miles, and Joao enough for taking the whole day to show us around Bomfim and Cavadinha. Both Quinta's Iºve always wanted to visit yet had never set foot on before day. It was quite the honor to be able to visit both

As Roy mentioned, Dan surprised us by showing up while we were having dinner and dropped off the 1985 Warre's VP and the 2001 Chrysea. The Warre's rocked and I can't wait for Satruday to try the Chrysea.

Oh, and if you've never read the Malvedos blog and Miles' posts there, I can assure you that as funny as he is on the blog he is even funnier in person.

[Andy Velebil]

Roy already posted about ´Quinta do Crasto today so Ill be brief. Words can not convey what a remarkable time it was. Miguel took us out on his family´s boat all the way past Malvedos and back as the sun was setting. It was the best boat ride on the Douro I´ve ever done!

The tastings, and drinking, of both Ports and dry wines was bar none the best I´ve ever had so far in the Douro. I think we tried to set a record for how many 94+ point Douro wines one could drink in one day. It was sheer hedonistic

I can´t thank Miguel, Tomas, and Jorge for showing us the time of our lives

Oh, and for those interested, the other day it rained 60mm! roads washed out, some vineyards have damage, etc. Luckily most have already finished harvest so it will have minimal impact this vintage.

[Derek T.]

Roy/Andy,

It sounds like you guys are having a blast!!

Looking forward to seeing you both on Sunday afternoon

Derek

[Roy Hersh]

Same here Derek.


Today we started at Quinta da Romaneira and had a great visit, amazing lunch in their top restaurant and of course a very fine tasting. Besides all the others, the one Port that really blew me away above all others was the 10 year old Tawny Port. I was so surprised by how well it showed that if someone had told me it was a 20 year old Port, I'd easily have believed them.

Onto Niepoort and a fun visit and lots of barrel tasting along the way. Then off to DOC for dinner and a slew of Niepoort DOC wines, the list too long at this late hour to provide the details but in time we will do so. We had the good fortune to try the 1990 Robustus which Luis Seabra brought to DOC late at night. This may be the best Niepoort dry wine I have ever tasted. Andy mentioned 99/100 points, but don't know exactly where he did end up. I was at 96 points and literally blown out of my chair.

We then had a 2007 (stellar) Niepoort, a 30 year old Tawny which was scrumptious and then a 1983 VP which exceeded all of our expectations and then finished off with a 1959 Colheita which was one of those insanely delicious Ports and a truly memorable experience. I am sure Andy will add more perspective as it is very late and we had dozens of Ports and DOC wines today.

Tomorrow looks like a ton of fun too.

Looking forward to seeing Derek on Sunday and Monday!


Gnite folks.

[Andy Velebil]

I have only a few minutes but yesterday rocked. The resturant at Romaneria is the best i've eaten at in the Douro. I suggest anyone in the area stop in for lunch or dinner. The 10 year old also rcoked and probably the best 10 year old tawny i've had.

Luis S. and Gabriella at Niepoort were great hosts and I can't thank Luis enough for letting us try that 1990 Robustus. Luis served this blind to us and I was at 98-99 points before Luis told us what we were drinking, yes it was that good. The '59 also rocked Many thanks to both of them

Almost time for the last supper tonight. it will be a shame to see everyone leave...gotta run.

[Roy Hersh]

What a great visit this morning into late this afternoon. We went to Quinta do Mourao, which is the home of the likes of San Leonardo. Yes, THAT San Leonardo, of 30 year old Tawny fame.

We had a wonderful time and tasted a plethora of cask samples and barrel samples going back to 1948 Colheita. Fabulous juice and then an amazing lunch with table wines and more Ports. It was the first time for all of us and everyone enjoyed the hospitality we were shown.

Tonight is our "last supper" and I am sad that the official tour is almost over.

We are still shy of 200 wines/Ports but not by much. All guests have seemingly survived the onslaught and enjoyed the entire tour. A fine group dynamic has grown over the week and it will be sad to see everyone depart.

The good news is that Andy will remain on for another day and we'll hang out with Derek and possibly Mario will join us. I am very much looking forward to having Derek meet up with us. Afterall, it has been nearly a full year since we've seen one another.

[goncalo devesas]

Today Roy and Derek drop by to say goodbye, i met Derek for the first time, the three of us made the farewell from Porto-Portugal with a nice tasting, of course a nice mug of Golden White 1952 bottled this month and we tasted the 30y and Over 40y old cask samples from Lamelas and the result of the tasting was unanimous:
30y old : seems a Over fourty with a nice nose, complexity and delayed aftertaste...
Over 40y Old : needs more caramel and toffee flavours, a too much acidity, worst than the 30y old.

Unfortunately my brother Gustavo is in England and of course he was not able to join us

Untill May for more cask samples tasting...

[goncalo devesas]

I´m sorry, I´ve to say that Andy and David and myself, we made the same tasting and for them it was the same apreciation, although it was a (flash) tasting, they were quite rush to have dinner...