Salon des vins du Douro et de Porto 2011 (Montreal)

[Paul_B]

Hi all,

I attended this IVDP driven event aimed at the restaurant and beverage folks yesterday.
Oct 18th it was Toronto, 19th in Montreal and 20th in Calgary... I was at the Montreal event and I must say, every year it gets smaller in size. My general impression this time was more reds and less Ports. Did not see any bottles of exception... in the past there was always 1 or 2 really rare and precious ones.
The tables are staffed by the local wine agency representing the brands towards our government monopoly and few actual folks from Portugal, clear indication that this market is falling in their interest and perhaps also the economic times in Portugal.
Maybe also the fact there is larger scale wine event at the end of this month in the city and folks may travel for that. For instance I know the Duorum guys are coming for that one.

Of all the wines tasted yesterday for the first time, my standouts were:
Quinta do Crasto LBV 2005
Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva 2008

Great bites to eat by were provided by Portus Calle restaurant.

cheers
Paul