For The Love Of Port

We're visiting friends, and haven't made a lot of arrangements, but we will meet with Gustavo tomorrow for a nice tour and tasting at Graham and will visit Oscar in the Douro. Other than that... we'll see.

Ronald Wortel wrote:We're visiting friends, and haven't made a lot of arrangements, but we will meet with Gustavo tomorrow for a nice tour and tasting at Graham and will visit Oscar in the Douro. Other than that... we'll see.

Tell them both I said hi. And watch out for Oscar and his blind tastings

A neat place to stop by for a short touristy visit in the Douro is Sandemans Sexio. South side of river just west of Pinhao. Great view of the river from the tasting room.

BTW, what is esteva? This has come up twice thus far in my reading of the 2007 VP Forecast, and I don't know what it is. Stevia?

Thanks to Derek, Ronnie and others for their kind words.

Not everybody will be agreeing with my ratings or conclusions, (I've had my share of emails with those that thought my TN scores were off and a couple on the opposite side of the field as well) and that is what makes this such a fun time in rating the 63 VPs of 2007 that I tried. Good to hear that we had some in the Top 10 list that we both liked and I am sure there are some in YOUR Top 10 list that are not in mine.

Anyway, glad it made for an interesting read, either way.

Eric Menchen wrote:BTW, what is esteva? This has come up twice thus far in my reading of the 2007 VP Forecast, and I don't know what it is. Stevia?

It is a flower of Portugal. If I'm not mistaken, you can brew the leaves for an infusion that helps digest and sleep.

I'm pasting here also my impression on the 2007 VP forecast by Roy.

Great read! You did put every little details to inform us on the growing season and the condition of the tasting plus insight on the market, I like that! Not many tasters take those details into account to your level to insist on a real tasting impression, not simply a 30 seconds view of the product.

I found really interesting the producers who did provide the details of the blend, it is great info!

I'm not sure yet if I'll buy more than I did order already, maybe a couple of Noval. I'm surprised with Rocha results and happy to see Sandeman performing again.

Thanks Frederick! My googling before didn't come up with an answer, but now was able to find this here:

Hi All of you,

Esteva is Gum Cistus in English. It is also known as rock rose.

It is known by many as the flower of the Douro. The plant gives off a wonderful aroma that in warm weather can be noted all around the scrub surrounding the vineyards. The leaves are sticky and the flowers very attractive, as in the above photo.

The Douro has many good smells; wet earth after the first rain and esteva.

Best,

Paul Symington.

Thanks Paul.

Eric, sorry I missed your question and did not see it until after your photo appeared.

I found that 2007 did have esteva aromatics, somewhat common in a number of the Ports. It is unmistakeable when you smell it in the Douro and in a Port. It is hard to put in words, but it smells like a fresh green undertone, slightly minty/herbal/eucalyptus and at the same time underbrush ... if that helps at all.

Roy Hersh wrote:It is hard to put in words, but it smells like a fresh green undertone, slightly minty/herbal/eucalyptus and at the same time underbrush ... if that helps at all.

I have identified in several Ports a leaf flavor that seems to fall somewhere between bay leaf and eucalyptus. I wonder if that is it. I will have to find some esteva and give it a whiff the next time I am in the Douro.

Eric Menchen wrote:

Roy Hersh wrote:It is hard to put in words, but it smells like a fresh green undertone, slightly minty/herbal/eucalyptus and at the same time underbrush ... if that helps at all.

I have identified in several Ports a leaf flavor that seems to fall somewhere between bay leaf and eucalyptus. I wonder if that is it. I will have to find some esteva and give it a whiff the next time I am in the Douro.

I have too, and have even noticed it while drinking with Roy. He mentioned esteva at the time, but like you I've never smelled it in person (at least not knowingly) so for now I still describe that smell as simply minty/herbal/green. One of these days I'll get to smell esteva up close, and from then on I'll be more comfortable using it as a descriptor in a tasting note. :)

You have all had a chance to see and use the TNDB. Opinions would be appreciated, but more so ... if you think of any new applications that were not already mentioned in the recent newsletter, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Roy Hersh wrote:You have all had a chance to see and use the TNDB. Opinions would be appreciated, but more so ... if you think of any new applications that were not already mentioned in the recent newsletter, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

I'm an IT guy, I did not want to say anything about it yet, but since you ask.... I'm sure you guys are probably aware that the TNDB can be improve. Grouping would be nice. Example : if you type Noval... you get a few pages of results, if grouping could be done then you click on a point of interest to let it expend. Grouping could be done by Vintage, Name of taster, year of tasting... etc. The user can always refine is search, by using the search option of its browser, but it is much simpler to provide a left side panel to refine its search by one click.

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