2012 Port Harvest Tour

[Roy Hersh]

Heading to London and in the security line ten minutes ago ... Mr. Rupert Symington is on his way to the USA where he will visit Phoenix before spending time in LA where he will undoubtedly run into your humble moderator, Mr. Andy Velebil.

Also the former head of the IVP-IVDP, Jorge Monteiro who was my friend Mario Ferreira´s boss ... now he heads up ViniPortugal.

I will finally have time to start catching up on the final few daze of the tour.

[Roy Hersh]

On Friday, a national holiday here in Portugal and what better time for union workers to hold a strike on the rail lines. Instead of a rather direct train up to Quinta Vale Meao, we meandered our way by minivan instead.

Warmly welcomed by Vito Olazabal, we had a fine tour by jeep of the upper reaches of the property. Amazing views and the upper Douro Superior in close proximity to Spain, just at the crook of the river itself, presents a memorable panorama.

Afterwards, we headed back to the quinta where we enjoyed some refreshments and watched as a Falcon chased several white doves around the vineyards. Mr. Olazabal went running in to the house and came back out seconds later, sporting a fairly large gauge shotgun. Some of the women in our group had a puzzled look, others terrified, others in hysterics. Unfortunately, nary a shot was fired and we only have the photos to show. No need for a taxidermist.

A Vintage Port vertical tasting ensued in the brand new tasting room ~~ and enormous new production facility which was all built in the past year ~~ and then we enjoyed a solid selection of Ports. This was followed by a very long lunch and both Meandro and Meao DOC wines. Sitting in front of the vineyards on a rather warm afternoon, this was a perfect place to sip wine, learn from the maestro and Mrs. Olazabal who is likely Portugal´s leading expert on everything related to Dona Antonio Ferreira. It was really educational and topics ranged as far abroad as the relationship between Mrs. Ferreira and Baron JJ Forrester.

My flight is now boarding ... to be continued.

[Andy Velebil]

Sounds fun. Enjoy London/Scotland

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Andy, I will be meeting with a select few friends in London tonight for some Port and LOTS of catching up to do after a couple of years not having been here since 2010.

Then off to Edinburgh to meet up with some FTLOP'ers there and a night of Port debauchery and sharing. The Highlands come next, along with my friend Nicos and single malt visits, hiking and other escapades. Fun to add a new country to the list of European venues visited. Need to do more of this in the upcoming years!

[Roy Hersh]

I left off with our visit to Quinta do Vale Meão before hopping on a Ryan Air flight. Not a fan of that airline after the experience as it really is nothing more than a flying cattle car. But I digress.

The Olazabals are one of the greatest couple of reconteurs one will ever encounter in the Douro. On this visit, neither Xito (son, winemaker) nor Luisa was available which was a shame. However, their parents are full of great stories, romantic recounts of yesteryear in the Douro and Vito's amazing depth of knowledge of the inner workings of the entire Port and Douro wine trade.

We sat and sipped several Colheita Ports for hours upon hours as we were in no rush, considering the trains were not running, we only had to be back to Regua for dinner. As the sunlight began to wane westward, we bid a warm goodbye to this amazing couple and their quinta home. For me, this visit was the highlight of what was likely my all-time favorite Port Harvest Tour.

That evening we met up with Luisa Borges @ the Douro In restaurant in Peso de Regua. Charming and a brilliant young talent ... it must have been intimidating for her to meet up with such a voraciously savvy group of Port and DOC wine enthusiasts. She brought her parents (who own three key Douro quintas ... including Fojo and Agua Alta to name two of them) for us to meet, as well as her boyfriend Jorge who I've had dinner with on prior visit. He works for the IVDP in a very interesting role. Back to Luisa though.

She brought along a very tasty Dry White Port with an average age of about 14 years under her Vieira de Sousa brand. It was a great way to kick off a long and fascinating night of wine & Port. I featured Luisa in one of my newsletters, earlier in the year. We then had a very well crafted and reasonably priced (4 Euro) white DOC wine which the vast majority of our group LOVED. Then came some cask sample red wines she was in the midst of finishing off in cask. An entry level 6 Euro version was really impressive as a sipper and even better along with food, as we found out. We then tried her next two levels of DOC 2011 reds at both 18-20 Euros (still from cask) and her top level which she has not set a price for but said that it would not exceed 20 Euros retail. If anyone is curious I will elaborate on my impressions of these wines.

Time for dessert and Luisa is equally adept at making fine Ports. We began with a 10 year old White Port which everyone really enjoyed and then had her "flagship" 10 year old Tawny Port which is a rock star that just needs to get the recognition it deserves as one of the best 10 year olds produced!

Not even close to being done, yet ... Luisa then blew us away with the very first STAINLESS STEEL ONLY ... 2008 LBV Port, something unique ... as I thought the IVDP required 4-6 years of wood aging to fit into the niche of the LBV category. This is where it pays to have a member of the IVDP present as he was able to explain why/how a SS version of LBV wound up being approved. Forget the vessel in which it was aged, this was a gorgeous young cask sample LBV which will be bottled unfiltered next month.

On to the Vieira de Sousa 2009 Vintage Port. Everyone loved this, some exclaimed it was the greatest of all the 2009's ... or even ANY other young VP we had on the entire tour. High praise from the critics on tour. So smooth and elegant in its approachability and yet still so well-structured, I think my score was in the middle of the pack @ 93 points.

Last but not least, a family treasure was shared with us ... bottled directly from cask earlier that day ... a Colheita from the 1880's. I will say no more, except that we were all blown away by its freshness, intensity, length and overall concentrated complex flavors. If this was the last Port to ever pass my lips, I'd have died a happy man at that moment. Thanks to Luisa, and her parents: Antonio and Lurdes for sharing this sublime Port with our group. It is one that none of us will ever forget!

There was one more day of the tour and we hoped to end on a high note. More to come when time permits.

[Eric Ifune]

I too was very impressed with Luisa. I was fortunate to be seated next to her and discussed much about her wines with her.

Roy, Port and then Scotch?! You're a better man than I.

[Roy Hersh]

We saved a great visit for last, on Saturday. We took all of our belongings/suitcases and packed up in the minivan and headed from Regua past the Pinhão River and headed toweards Roncão where we paid homage to our extra long day @ Quinta do Noval. Rute was looking perky and ready for us, given all the visitors she had endured during the busy harvest period. It was so nice to see her again, as our groups always enjoy her company and learn a ton from this sharp gal.

We took a nice long tour of the property and spent some time in the Nacional vineyard, tasting grapes on the vines and exploring the difference in varieties. Rute gave a very comprehensive "class" on the Nacional vineyard, from its history and current makeup to the bottlings that come from it and so much more. Our guests were obviously listening very carefully and asked many a question.

We then went into the lagar room and saw some Nacional grapes in one of the smaller lagares which was less filled than any other. People were treading in the other lagares and it was fun to watch, as we had been in the same position a couple of nights earlier. We also saw where Noval's Balseiros and Toneis are kept and finally, we made our way to the tasting area.

At first we had a number of the fine Noval table wines and then it was time for the Ports. Then there were more Ports and finally, came a bunch more. It was like the crescendo at the end of a stellar fireworks display. But even then, we were not through. Rute led us outdoors for some refreshments, and then we headed back inside for a superb lunch. Really delicious Douro cuisine and it quelled our hunger after all of the wines and Ports. But each course had some very special pairings and it was fun to taste these delectable DOC wines along with several food courses.

Then it was time for Port again and Rute outdid herself and after a few more glasses, we had a remarkable pairing to end the day, including one of the Quinta's greatest bottles of Nacional, side-by-side with the same vintage of the regular bottling of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port. Rute was not playing a trick on us, yet she absolutely proved a brilliant point. Our guests had learned a great deal during this elongated visit at Noval and we thanked our gracious host for her time, fantastic teachings and pouring memorable wines and Ports. This was our very last visit in the Douro and everyone felt a bit sad that the tour was coming to an end, but also, most felt pretty jazzed that we had such an amazing visit at Noval, before heading back to Porto.

We had a short break before dinner at the hotel and then headed out for our last supper together, along with a bunch of Douro wines and Ports. Later that night, sated with wine and a very good meal we headed back to the hotel and bid one another a fond farewell. Lots of nice friendships had developed amongst the members of the group.

I am pretty sure that this group will keep in touch with one another. The dynamic was the best of any tour we've run since we began in 2005 and for those that had been on 3 or 4 of them ... in addition to me and Mario ... we felt that this was the best overall tour in terms of visits, group dynamics, number of wines/Ports and even the quality of the meals. I will long remember this tour and it really was such a great and diverse group of guests that we felt very gratified to have been part of this.

The only issue now is how do we top this one, next year?

Our sincere thanks to all who participated in this year's Port Harvest Tour and also to those of you whom have followed the tour by reading here on FTLOP's Forum.

[Al B.]

It sounds like you had a fabulous tour. Thanks for posting about it here. For those of us who weren't able to join you on the tour, it has been a real pleasure to at least be with you in spirit.

[Paul Fountain]

I'll second Al's comments there. I've enjoyed reading where the tour went this year and I'll happily admit to feeling more than a little envy as well!

[Luc Gauthier]

I have to echo Roy's view .
This being my 1st Harvest tour, I had to explore the streets of Porto .
Everything was old , well , older than Montreal .
Hell even Roy is older than me , however I can't vouch for Mario (although his laugh is very contagious )
One anecdote : During our lunch at Noval , after I tasted the '94 which was expressive , I tasted the Nacional which to me wasn't showing as well .
After spitting the Nacional , Roy looked at me with a look of disbelief and said : Luc !! you don'T spit out a Nacional . . .

I guess the 1st tour jitters can play tricks on you .

[Andy Velebil]

One anecdote : During our lunch at Noval , after I tasted the '94 which was expressive , I tasted the Nacional which to me wasn't showing as well .
.

Interesting comment, as last time I had it (served double blind) I and others thought the same thing. I suspect it's gone into a phase at the moment and should be left alone for a while.

[Luc Gauthier]

Well Andy , I trained hard , I mean really hard but I still managed to get sick after 5 days
But this low point is easily overshadowed by the people on the tour , the scenery of Porto and the Douro valley and , oh yeah the port wasn't to bad

[Christian Gollnick]

This was my first tour with Roy and Mario, and I can't thank you enough for organizing such a great trip. From the first to the last moment I enjoyed every second of it! It was not only the great wine or the beautiful landscape - it was the group of fantastic people that made this tour such a marvelous event! We were coming from so many different countries (7, if I'm not mistaken), but it seems to be true: Wine creates the best friendships! Especially Port Wine! When people ask me what was the best moment of the tour, then I'm just not able to answer that... There were so many magic moments! So many interesting conversations, so many great wines, so much fantastic food! Just thinking about these moments makes me want to go back to Portugal immediately! The final tasting at Quinta do Noval with Rute (what a nice person!); the visit at Wiese & Krohn (José F. Falcão Carneiro - what a gentleman!); the great time at Quinta do Crasto (treading in the lagar!); the friendly people at Quinta do Sao Luiz (thanks, Carla!); having lunch with the Symingtons (priceless!); meeting Rui Paula at DOC (and Jose Maria Calem - another great gentleman!); cooking with Pedro Lemos on the roof-top-terrace of his restaurant; meeting Sandra Tavares at Pintas; having dinner with Miles Edlmann; being personally driven by Vito Olazabal up his steep vineyard and having a many-hour-long lunch with him and his wife at Quinta do Vale Meao; the moment when the mother of Luisa Borges suddenly took a bottle of 19th-century port out of her purse... These are all great memories... And I know that this list is far from complete... There was so much going on in these few days... the boat trips on the Douro... walking through the sleeping Regua in the middle of the night over the fantastic bridge with an illuminated photo-exhibition... Again, Roy and Mario: Thanks for organizing all of this! And hopefully I see you (and all the other Port Wine enthusiasts from other group) soon again!

[Luc Gauthier]

Oh ! And Christian , you can't forget about the cab driver who got lost !!
Picture this : Rune is in the front seat with his cell saying : why don't we phone Mario . . .
Christian and I are in the back .
Eventually the cab driver talks to Mario and proceeds to get lost again !!
So he stops and asks directions ( another cab driver )
Christian , Rune and I are now sure that our cab driver has found the light
We make it to the restaurant , all is well

[Daniel R.]

This was my first tour with Roy and Mario, and I can't thank you enough for organizing such a great trip. From the first to the last moment I enjoyed every second of it! It was not only the great wine or the beautiful landscape - it was the group of fantastic people that made this tour such a marvelous event! We were coming from so many different countries (7, if I'm not mistaken), but it seems to be true: Wine creates the best friendships! Especially Port Wine! When people ask me what was the best moment of the tour, then I'm just not able to answer that... There were so many magic moments! So many interesting conversations, so many great wines, so much fantastic food! Just thinking about these moments makes me want to go back to Portugal immediately! The final tasting at Quinta do Noval with Rute (what a nice person!); the visit at Wiese & Krohn (José F. Falcão Carneiro - what a gentleman!); the great time at Quinta do Crasto (treading in the lagar!); the friendly people at Quinta do Sao Luiz (thanks, Carla!); having lunch with the Symingtons (priceless!); meeting Rui Paula at DOC (and Jose Maria Calem - another great gentleman!); cooking with Pedro Lemos on the roof-top-terrace of his restaurant; meeting Sandra Tavares at Pintas; having dinner with Miles Edlmann; being personally driven by Vito Olazabal up his steep vineyard and having a many-hour-long lunch with him and his wife at Quinta do Vale Meao; the moment when the mother of Luisa Borges suddenly took a bottle of 19th-century port out of her purse... These are all great memories... And I know that this list is far from complete... There was so much going on in these few days... the boat trips on the Douro... walking through the sleeping Regua in the middle of the night over the fantastic bridge with an illuminated photo-exhibition... Again, Roy and Mario: Thanks for organizing all of this! And hopefully I see you (and all the other Port Wine enthusiasts from other group) soon again!

All this in 1 week!
Also my first Harvest Tour; living in Lisbon I hesitated quite a bit before deciding to do this and it was very much worth it, I loved it! I want to do it again, as well, and will drag my wife for sure next time!

[Rob C.]

One anecdote : During our lunch at Noval , after I tasted the '94 which was expressive , I tasted the Nacional which to me wasn't showing as well .
.

Interesting comment, as last time I had it (served double blind) I and others thought the same thing. I suspect it's gone into a phase at the moment and should be left alone for a while.

This must just be a phase. The last/only time i drank both were some ex-cellars bottles in October 2010 - both seemed very closed and rather sullen. For the Nacional - with only 90 cases made - it really seems to be a shame to open them now!

[Roy Hersh]

In this case Rob, the 1994 Noval was absolutely brilliant and could have been a ringer for the Nacional in this case. The Nacional on the other hand was still quite good, but nowhere near its true potential. An austere showing by comparison to other ex-cellar bottles and on this day, blown away by the regular Quinta do Noval of the same vintage.

[Roy Hersh]

Eric, Christian, Luc and Daniel ... glad you guys had a great time. It was fun spending a week with all of you and the rest of the gang!

[Miguel Simoes]

This must just be a phase. The last/only time i drank both were some ex-cellars bottles in October 2010 - both seemed very closed and rather sullen. For the Nacional - with only 90 cases made - it really seems to be a shame to open them now!

Only 90 cases... Anyone has a sense how much they are able to sell them wholesale for?

Such little volume, even if they get, say $350 a bottle, still gets them v little revenue.

And the making of Nacional certainly doesnt come cheap at all, w all the extra labor and focus they have to devote to it...

[Rob C.]

90 cases in 1994 was the figure quoted by C. Seely - i recall there was some incosistency when he was introducing the wines between describing number of cases "produced" and number of cases "released" over the course of the tasting so don't know whether that figure represents the sum total (though in the context of the 94, he said "produced". Elsewhere i have seen references to 240 cases, so who knows!).

I think the value of having NN is probably wider than simply the revenue it brings in, and i don't know the percentage they release in the early years vs the number of bottles held back for sale from the cellar door (at the BBR tasting, there were a limited number of ex-cellars bottles of the 63 for sale @£5k each and 64, 67, 94, 96, 97, 00 and 03 for sale at £1.5k each if memory serves....i was sitting next to a chap who applied for at least a bottle of each....)