TN's from Douro and Porto trip (Niepoort, Vallado, Taylor's, Graham's, and more)

[Derek T.]

Brian deserves an award for the longest first post in history, and if ever there was a shining example of the fact that port producers read this stuff this is it!

Thanks, Brian, and thanks to Paul and Oscar for chipping in

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

"our visit at Graham’s was the highlight of our afternoon in Porto; the wines were excellent, and the customer service was easily the best we encountered in Porto."

I gave a copy of this comment to our team at the Graham's Lodge with thanks for such a great endorsement of the way you were received.

Thank you for what you wrote, Paul

Thank you for passing it along to your team, Paul.

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

LOL ... thanks, Derek! Don't get used to such novels from me. Most of my posts from here on out will be TN's and newbie questions!

[Ronald Wortel]

Great post Brian, thanks for taking the time to write it all down. You surely made the best of your visit to the Douro and Porto, well done!

[Andy Velebil]

Sunday, May 13

Well, we just couldn’t resist stopping at one last place before catching our train back to the airport. In retrospect, we should have just gone straight to the airport after Graham’s. The three wines tasted at our last stop felt like throw-aways; I suppose the 20 yr. was good, but it was not memorable for me.

Ferreira

NV Ferreira Porto Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/13/2012)
-- tasted a single pour non-blind at the tasting room --

NOSE: lightly fruity; raisin; a bit leafy.

BODY: very dark red-brown color; medium-full to full bodied.

TASTE: alcohol is very noticeable on the palate; light golden raisin flavor; light finish of short length.
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NV Ferreira Porto Tawny 10 Year Quinta do Porto - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/13/2012)
-- tasted a single pour non-blind at the tasting room --

NOSE: light and not very expressive; hint of anise, oddly enough.

BODY: dark auburn color; full bodied.

TASTE: rich, but somewhat lightly flavored at the same time; oaky; moderate tawniness on the back end; sweet --- a little too sweet --- I think this is where the richness comes from.
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NV Ferreira Porto Duque de Bragança 20 Year Old Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (5/13/2012)
-- tasted a single pour non-blind at the tasting room --

NOSE: old oak barrels; tight to moderately expressive; not much going on.

BODY: medium-dark auburn color; full bodied.

TASTE: smooth; rich; dry; sweet pecan flavor; oaky spice; quite rich compared to other producers’ 20 yr. Tawny ports.
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Brian,
No doubt this visit was a tough act to follow after your visit to Graham's and suffered as a result. Ferreira makes some of the best 10 and 20 year old Tawny's on the market IMO. But as you noted they are "richer" than some others. What you unknowingly got to experience was the profile differences between a Portuguese Tawny with an indication of age and a non-Portuguese style. The Portuguese style is richer or "fatter" with more fruit showing while the later is more oxidative, lighter in color, more driven by dried nuts, toffee, and lighter in body. A great example of this is by placing a 20 year Sandeman next to the 20 year Ferreira. Both are the top of the heap in this class but the obvious differences in them are readily apparent.

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

Very interesting about the Portuguese vs. non-Portuguese styles of tawny, Andy.

So, if the drier type is non-Portuguese, what kind of style *is* it? English?

Would you say any other producer we tasted at tends more towards the Portuguese than non-Portuguese style with their tawnies? Off the top of my head, Niepoort's 10 yr. was pretty rich, but rich in an intensely-flavored kind of way, rather than just a sugary kind of way. The Ferreira's came across as too sugary for my palate preferences. I preferred all of the following to the Ferreira 20, which was by far my favorite of the three we tasted at Ferreira:
Niepoort 10
Kopke '83 Colheita
Graham's 10, 20, &30
Taylor's 10 & 40
Portal 40

[Andy Velebil]

Brian,

A couple years ago George Sandeman was a guest here answering questions. Here was his answer to a similar question HERE . It's a great read when you get some time as Mr. Sandeman is known for being very upfront even with sensitive topics. Though it will probably spark even more questions from you...and yes, please bring 'em on

The Sandeman Tawny is an “English” style Gaia aged Tawny, differentiated from the Douro style Tawnies (which are more caramelized and toasted, referred to as “Douro burn”), and the Portuguese Tawnies which have less oxidised fruit.
So the Sandeman Tawny is light coloured, amber with gold highlights, aromas of almonds and honey, and flavours of dried fruits, nuts and honey, with a long clean finish.

That said, a couple of the producers you mention are not English. Niepoort is Dutch and Kopke is German (originally anyways). So it really isn't solely an English style but more of anything other than Portuguese. I say that with the caveat that nothing in the Douro is ever set in stone.**

The one thing about his answer you don't see much of these days is the "Douro Bake" (or "Burn") he refers to. Electricity in some parts of the Douro is a relatively modern thing, Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas didn't get it until the late 1970's, for example. So there wasn't actively cooled cellars, just passive. Considering the Upper Douro can reach over 40 Celsius at times, you can see how a tawny being aged in barrel would suffer Douro Bake. Now days with active cooling you just don't see Douro Bake much anymore.


**I will warn you now the Douro is one of the most complex wine growing regions there is. Between the massive amount of laws, some of which seem to be loosely enforced at any given time, the complexity of ownership changes over the years, all the Quinta's, growers, producers, regulating agencies, and the vast amount of micro climates make it a bit confusing even for those of us who live and breath Port. So if something doesn't seem to make sense, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

Mr. Quevedo,

Please see your PM inbox. Thank you.

[Kay Bouchard]

Dear Brian and all at FTLOP,
Thanks for the lovely comments/notes during your tasting at Quinta do Tedo, we are honored and really appreciate what you wrote about your visit. Sorry for the problems to get to our quinta, and fortunately seems that the tour and tasting made up for the challenges to arrive. We await your next visit and sincerely,
Kay Bouchard

[David Spriggs]

Wow! Thanks for posting here Kay. Great to hear from you. I am a big fan of Quinta do Tedo. I have great memories of visiting there and the wonderful meal with the garden grown tomatoes on my first visit to the Douro. I hope to visit again soon!

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

Dear Brian and all at FTLOP,
Thanks for the lovely comments/notes during your tasting at Quinta do Tedo, we are honored and really appreciate what you wrote about your visit. Sorry for the problems to get to our quinta, and fortunately seems that the tour and tasting made up for the challenges to arrive. We await your next visit and sincerely,
Kay Bouchard

Thank you for your post, Kay. No worries about the problems getting to your quinta --- the problems were my fault, really. And you are right - the tour and tasting *more* than made said navigational difficulties worth the effort! Can't wait to visit again.

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

This evening I popped open the 2007 Quevedo VP that Oscar kindly sent me about a month ago. I will post my real TN in short order, but, quickly: what I'm drinking tonight is a significantly different and better than the bottle I tasted from in the tasting room. Thank you, again, Oscar, for providing me an easy opportunity to try your family's wines again. (I still haven't cracked the Tawny or '92 Colheita)

[oscarquevedo]

That's a good starting Brian!

[Brian G r a f s t r o m]

Oscar,
My tasting note for your 2007 Vintage Port is in the following thread: http://fortheloveofport.com/ftlopforum/ ... ead#unread

Best,
Brian