2014 Port Harvest Tour

[Roy Hersh]

Dear FTLOP'ers. I will utilize this thread to highlight areas of our tour that begins tomorrow. But first I want to apologize for my disappearing act during the month of September.

The annual project I do in August and September started two months earlier this year. Exacerbated due to a fire which took out 8 of my operations from the couple of dozen food and beverage operations I manage; this created the most difficult challenge I've faced in the past 12 years of doing the Fair. I've never had to be involved in any construction and this year found me with just two days off in nearly 3 months and up on 12' ladders helping the construction team and I am not Mr. Handy when it comes to such chores. My time away from here, email and social media (with rare exceptions) was difficult but a necessary requisite to be able to handle the onslaught of this year's workload. I won't let that happen again!

Now back to Portugal. I left home on Thursday and arrived in Porto yesterday late afternoon. As usual, my first night in Porto was spent visiting with a friend and having dinner and drinks together. It was my first Port tasted in the month of September, yes, the 26th day of the month. Crazy, I know. Glad to be here and no sign (yet) of the miserable weather I had been told had been enveloping Porto and Douro in recent weeks and up until yesterday. This a.m. is a bright and blue sky out there and I am looking forward to taking my camera out for a spin, before hooking up with another friend of mine for lunch and dinner and dancing tonight.

Tomorrow begins the tour. With a pair of drop outs a couple of weeks before getting started, (including Stewart, sadly) we have six couples and one single (David S.) and I am very excited to meet them all and begin the festivities. More to come as time permits.

Thank you for understanding.

Roy

[Eric Menchen]

Sounds like a good start. When do your bags arrive?

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

[Roy Hersh]

Fortunately, no issues with luggage for a change. Although in typical fashion, both of my Lufthansa flights here were delayed by a couple of hours.

[Glenn E.]

Now that I'm officially part of FTLOP as a moderator, all of my flights have been delayed.

Hasn't caused any real problems yet, but was almost late for dinner Thurs night because of it.

[Roy Hersh]

The tour began today and we met in the lobby of our hotel to introduce all 13 guests to one another. We then discussed the scope and nature of the tour and the first day's visitations. I can foresee a great group dynamic as the couples all seemed to mesh well together.

We headed up to Vinho Verde as I really wanted to introduce our group to the outstanding wines of Quinta do Ameal. None of our guests was familiar with this fine producer of ageworthy white wines, which made it even more fun. Quinta do Ameal has been around since circa 1710 and comprises 12 hectares planted to the Loureiro grape. Pedro Araujo is the current owner/winemaker and he not only has great vision, but mad skills as a winemaker and extraordinary understanding of the grape in which he specializes. I've only been familiar with his great wines since 2011, but he's been at this family-owned property for about 15 years now.

Ameal's largest production white is fermented in stainless steel but the Escolha is barrel fermented and will likely improve in bottle for 15+ years. Both are not only food-friendly be excel in their aromatics and balance. Pedro is also producing a sparkling wine and a dessert wine from Loureiro. The latter of which is produced in very small quantites of a few hundred half bottles and our group really loved this wine as well as the still wines. I was quite surprised how many bottles were purchased on day one's visit as that is rather unusual, even when visiting excellent Port producers as prior groups typically like to save spots in their wine shippers for later in the tour when we visit some of the better known Port producers. So to see the white table wines and some bottles of the "dessert harvest wine" purchased, is a great testament to the quality of the Ameal wines that Pedro is making.

Dinner was at O'Paparico Restaurant and we had a vast array of appetizers paired with Vertice espumante. Other courses were complimented by a decent white wine and a 2011 Carm Reserve (Douro red). I made a last minute change when we arrived and moved from having a 1999 Niepoort Colheita to a 1985 Dalva Colheita which was a real crowd pleaser.

Tomorrow we will stay in Gaia for two fantastic visits and our guests are ready for a great one-two punch of Colheitas followed by Vintage Ports.

[Roy Hersh]

Today started out perfectly with a bright sunny day and clear blue skies; we've been very fortunate in that way since our arrival. We've heard how it was extremely wet all of last week with thundershowers and storms in Porto as well as up in the Douro.

We took off for our 1st appt. which landed us at the Barros lodge in Gaia. Our hosts were generous in providing a great marketing person, one of their key winemakers and a man from their administration of Sogevinus. We visited the Barros Port cellar and a brand new bottling line. Not only was it incredible to see these 3 new lines working simultaneously, but there were robotics for handling the palletization and other functions too. All of Sogevinus' Port houses now do their bottling at this one facility and it is really impressive. Kopke and Calem were in the midst of being bottled which was fun to watch. We also saw some magnums being hand filled which was something most had never seen done before.

Additionally, we all had the opPORTunity to see something for the very first time, well at least in Gaia (I've watched this being done in Madeira before) and the age old hand painting of Kopke bottles using stencil patterns was extremely cool. Quite a few of us had the chance to try our hand doing this which was really great and our guests loved participating and/or photographing this unique experience. Afterwards, we headed to Burmester for our tasting. It was not only extremely educational but we had an absolutely wonderful lineup of Colheitas beginning in the 1980's and going back each decade and with some of the top Ports in their entire stable going back to the 1937 Kopke Colheita and a very rare 1935 White Colheita which none of us had ever seen nor tried before.

It was time for lunch and we walked from the Burmester lodge along the cais to eat on the waterfront and had a stunning afternoon to kick back and enjoy our time until our next appointment. Our 2nd visit of the day was at Ramos Pinto. We were taken from their HQ/Museum where we met up with Joao Nicolau Almeida and Jorge Rosas and went to their lodge deeper in Gaia. We toured the entire facility including the laboratory, their Tawny storage area and their old Vintage Port cellar with bottles dating back nearly two centuries. Half of our guests had never seen anything like this before and the dusty and cob-web encrusted bottles were a sight to see for all of us. We then went back down to their building on the waterfront and toured the museum before our tasting in their famed tasting room. We enjoyed trying many fine VP's and a few other categories too. The 2011 was showing beautifully and the older vintages were rocking too. I must say the 2009 LBV was fantastic and most commented that it could easily have passed for a VP. We then moved over to their shop where we had a chance to buy some goodies. Then back for another tasting to try their wood-aged Ports. A wow for all of us.

The group then had a brief respite before dinner at the hotel before departing for a restaurant that none of the others had ever been to. In my opinion this is the best sushi restaurant in all of Porto and I've been there a half dozen times in the past two years, as several of my local friends love it there. What the guests did not know was that I had arranged to have a winemaker friend join us at dinner. Afterall, pairing Douro wines with sushi is something I've talked about here in the past, but I wanted to see if others agree that this is a pairing that works. The guest was Miguel Corte-Real and his co-winemaker Manuel. They brought two nice white wines and the 2013 was considerably better than the 2012 due to chaning out the Malvasia in the blend and adding in Arinto which really made a huge difference. We also tried 3 of their red wines which were Reserve level from 2010 and 2011. The 2010 was a crowd pleaser and the 2011 showed its greatness but was still a bit too young for now. They also presented a 2010 Touriga Nacional. It was my favorite fo the reds, but the group was split between the 2010 Reserva and TN. We had a crazy amount of sushi and sashimi and everyone agreed the DOC wines did justice to the food and vice versa. Loved this meal and after the great food, am sure we'll bring other groups here in the future too.

Then came the dessert and Miguel broke out two bottles each of two Port wines. He generously opened the last two bottles (from his private cellar) of the infamous "ghost of a VP" the 1977 Cockburn's and both bottles showed beautifully. Last but not least was the 20 year old Cockburn's Tawny Port. I'll admit it was a bit disappointing, so I went back to enjoying the bright ruby red 1977 VP which was showing secondary characteristics and all agreed, it was absolutely delicious.

Tomorrow we head up river and spend the rest of the week up in the Douro.

[Paul Fountain]

Sounds like a fun day. Those Kopke colheitas sounded pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to what is coming for the rest of the trip.

[Glenn E.]

Three 100-pt Ports in 2 days for me. I'll let Roy catch you up on what they were.

[Roy Hersh]

On Tuesday morning we took the train to Regua and were transported to Quinta do Mourao where we were met by the winemaker/owner, Miguel. He had already had 1/3 of his total crop picked prior to the rain. He has waited several days now to return to grape harvesting, yet it has not been ideal because although it became sunny and warm, it did not get windy enough to dry out the grapes. He is not very bullish on the remaining grapes in his vineyards, mentioning the poor quality that he's seen on the vine at this point, with skins splitting and plenty of grape rot. He did mention that in his particular case, the Tinta Roriz excelled this year. WIth 85 hectares out of his total of 130 on five properties, he has quite a handful of work ahead of him.

We barrel sampled a bunch of Tawny Ports and especially notable, the 1972, the mother wine for some of his TWIAOA. We then had some more wines with petiscoes and were the first to try his new and yet to be released 10 year old White Tawny Port derived from old field blends and then his regular bottling of 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old Tawnies along with a slew of Douro wines. Along with lunch there were more fine Douro wines including the 2004 "Mario Braga" which is an homage to Miguel's father.

Then came three unofficial old woodroperty-aged Ports that all I can say is ... blew away our guests and Mr. Tawny wound up giving out several 100 point scores, where he had only given one in the past 10 years. Most of the others were all in the 98-100 point range, even some of the stingy scorers amongst our group. Our lunch and wine tasting finished, we thanked Miguel for his amazing hospitality and generosity and then headed to our hotel.

We are staying at Quinta de la Rosa. Some of their rooms have been completely transformed, while others remain quite spartan (at best). We had a break before meeting with Sophia Bergqvist the current head of the quinta. She presented a range of Ports for us to sample from 7 different categories. Afterwards, we had a candle lit dinner down in the wine cellar but the wines were lackluster. An opportunity missed, for sure.

We then went back to our rooms and changed for foot treading in lagares of which there were 3 to be foot trodden. It was quite a lot of fun and our group was not alone. It turned into quite the party on grapes and all had a really fun time.

[Roy Hersh]

The next day we visited Quinta do Crasto first. They had fortunately picked 80% of the grapes before the torrential rains came and therefore, they are expecting an outstanding vintage. Vinha da Ponte faces South and had excellent fruit and freshness this year. Winemaker Manuel Lobo de Vasconcellos mentioned, "Our property in the Douro Superior is where half of our fruit comes from and the quality was fantastic. Cabrera grapes were picked early on and we are done harvesting there already, two weeks earlier than in 2013."

We began our Douro wine tasting and tried the 2013 Superior White which will be released soon, and is from Verdelho and Viosinho grapes and showed beautifully with a creamy texture and tropical silhouette. We moved on to the Crasto Tinto from 2013 and it was a very solid offering with loads of minerality and vibrancy. Next up was the 2013 Superior red which offered spicy, game meat impressions and the Touriga Franca variety in the blend really helped this wine to stand out in terms of the depth of the extraction (color) as well as the lively overall flavor profile. Even with 12 months in French oak, 30% of which was new wood, it was really well integrated.

Then we tried the 2011 Touriga Nacional, which is a wine I already have in my cellar. It is remarkable, ageworthy and one of the truly great vintages of this particular bottling. The fact that it remains pure from TN that precedes the more recent clones developed, probably has a lot to do with its exemplary quality. A cellar worthy must have for Crasto enthusiasts, I really liked this beauty.

The 2011 Tinta Roriz is a red wine that is not made as frequently as the TN or either Vinha Maria Teresa or Vinha da Ponte. However, I rated this a point above the Touriga Nacional with its cool minerality, herbal essence and sublime textural pleasure, not to mention the crazy long finish that is loaded with chocolate and complexity. A very nice surprise!

We then moved from the tasting room to the pool where we enjoyed several petiscoes along with the 2013 Crasto White wine. Although good, I've enjoyed previous versions better, this being a definite food wine but likely not a wonderful branco to just sit around and sip on its own. A bit austere for my taste.

Here are some wines we enjoyed with lunch:

The 2009 Roquette & Cazes was very tasty, but young and oak laden at this moment in time. It needs several more years to really come into focus and have better integration, in my opinion. Nice but just a bit too "international" stylistically.

We next tried a magnum of 2009 Old Vines Reserva and this was a thrilling wine from a vintage that was never fully appreciated by most critics but seemingly those from FTLOP are big fans. I am also very enthused by many of the 2009's that I get to taste and this wine is no exception. Meaty, spicy and balanced to the core, it will drink well for another 12-16 years.

Then came a mag of 2003 Touriga Nacional. I felt the hot vintage had an affect on this particular wine and it was not showing as mightily as some nearby vintages such as 2004 and 2005, yet it was still sexy texturally and although soft and smooth, for me it was a bit too ripe and tannic.

Next up was an incredible bottle of 2007 Vinha da Ponte. Certainly my wine of the entire visit to Crasto. Hedonistic, youthful and peppery with grippy tannins and an OMG finish. This will drink well for several decades!

Time for dessert and Ports.

A 1994 LBV was delicious but due to coming from a 1/2 bottle it was overtly mature and a bit too advanced for what it should've been like. A recent note on a full bottle was much better. Nonetheless, it was a very smooth, raisiny operator and loaded on the back end with gobs of milk chocolate. Bottled in 1998, I bet it would have been much better if served from 750.

We then tried a 1996 Vintage Port and I can't remember ever tasting that one before. Tomas Roquette tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat by presenting a Port he felt I had never tasted and he was right, at least from memory. It was originally bottled as a BOB for Sainsbury and was light and simple and could just as easily have been a middling LBV.

Last but not least, David and I were invited to taste three different lagar samples of the 2014 Vintage Port. We had quite a few of these on this trip and the Crasto trio was really quite good. Obviously insanely youthful, the best of the trio had been finished fermenting the day before. Pretty darn tasty, that is for sure.

[Roy Hersh]

Our next visit was to Bulas, our first time visiting their property in the Douro. We had some Port Tonic made with a 10 year Tawny, a first for all of us, as it was MUCH better than the usual white Port tonic. After some history and visiting the winemaking facility and barrel areas with a few samples, we made our way through a bunch of their white, red and tawny Ports. A quality visit although not as organized as it could've been. Their property is being renovated and it is a fairly aggressive plan and the outcome which should take a full two years from here, will have a lot to offer visitors. As per usual the 20 year old Tawny was one for the highlight reels and lots were purchased.

That night we met DR Port and it was a good time for all. Most people in our group, no less most Port followers, have no idea about this group. I met with them last year and again in May of this year. They are doing some stellar work up in Vinho Verde at Quinta da Linhares. They also have a great Douro operation with both excellent DOC wines and some pretty impressive Ports. They joined us for dinner at LBV79 Restaurant in Pinhao. We began with a pair of gorgeous Loureiro based wines whch were crowd pleasers. Then on to reds, both of them Reserva and Grand Reserva level from 2005 and 2009 respectively and they were truly outstanding and worthy wines that our group was smitten with. Then came the Ports and without giving away all of the details here, we tasted a 30 year old Tawny and then a very old unreleased Port that had been in wood for many years. I think Mr. Tawny gave this one 100 points and others were mostly in the 99-99+ range.

It was getting late and some of us walked back to the hotel (David/Roy/Mario) while the rest took taxis. It felt great to walk off a few calories.

I am now in Copenhagen and will find time to finish off the rest of the trip during my spare time!

[Andy Velebil]

How was LBV79? I've heard of some conflicting reviews since the one family member who ran it passed away.

[Roy Hersh]

His passing was well over a year ago and we had zero issues with food quality or service. Both were up to par with prior visits Andy. I can't speak to "consistency" because we were only there for one meal and it was quite good. It's never been DOC level or close, but above the Porto Romana level from the good old days.

[Roy Hersh]

ZNext up was a visit to Quinta do Vale d. Maria and we were met by both Joana Pinhao the winemaker and Cristiano van Zeller. It was a sunny and warm day and the 28 hectares were doing well. Cristiano mentioned that they were in the early stages of planning their future development of a center for tourism on the property which would require a 2-3 year duration.

He also mentioned that 85% of the red grapes, (41 are known to exist ...) in his vineyards had already been picked prior to the rainfall that was devastating and also said that the Touriga Franca was a real standout in 2014, not to mention it is his favorite Douro grape.

For those of you that have never visited his properties, Cristiano makes 4 wines and 3 Ports under the Quinta Vale d. Maria label; also makes his upper tier CV brand which is also a Single Quinta in itself; and he owns Van Zeller & Co. which has been around for many decades (off and on) in conjunction with Fernando van Zeller, which is where lots of the storage, vinification and bottling takes place.

I had arranged a tasting with mostly table wines as we had six couples and the wives were far more interested in drinking DOC wines, so we had to occasionally ensure that they were having their needs met too.

a. 2013 Rufo do Vale d. Maria was entry level white and was quite nice
b. 2013 VZ Douro Branco - was a higher class wine, saw more oak and was very tasty.
c. 2011 Rufo Tinto was on a par with the white of the same name and was worthy of the $12 this sells for in the USA.
d. 2012 Quinta do Vale d. Maria Tinto showed why this is one of the highest scoring wines in the country. WOW!!!
e. 2012 " " " " Vinha da Francisca - named after his daughter, I loved this upon release and it continues to be a beauty. Must buy some!
f. 2012 """"" Vinha do Rio - Its first vintage was 2009 and this is not easy to find. It sells for $150 and tasting it, I'd have to say it is really a gorgeous red, but is any newly released wine worth that price? That being said, it is really stunning.
g. 2012 CV - at only $100 this seems like quite a bargain. Seriously, this is a beauty and I am starting to believe from various tastings that 2012 must be taken very seriously as another great year for DOC Douro wines.
h. 2010 Quinta Vale d. Maria LBV Port - We all agreed ... to this point in the tour, it was the best LBV we've tried!
i. 2012 - Lot #`2 QdVdM - a new project and at $23 it was delicious but needs lots more time in bottle.

Next up ... lunch at DOC

[Eric Ifune]

Sounds like a lot of estates on the Douro are gearing up for tourism. Is this your take as well?

[Andy Velebil]

Sounds like a lot of estates on the Douro are gearing up for tourism. Is this your take as well?

That was my take. Seems quite a few are gearing up to receive visitors in the Douro. Especially those around Regua and Pinhao areas. The ones east of Pinhao, not so much.

I would assume the majority of visitors to the Douro Valley will be around the summer time and other non-summer holidays, so I'm curious to see if the visitor centers will be open year round or just certain times of the year.

[Glenn E.]

Sounds like a lot of estates on the Douro are gearing up for tourism. Is this your take as well?

That was my take. Seems quite a few are gearing up to receive visitors in the Douro. Especially those around Regua and Pinhao areas. The ones east of Pinhao, not so much.

Mine as well. The closer you get to Regua, the more likely that the Quinta has some sort of tourism plans underway. But even as far out as Quinta do Vale Meao they're acknowledging the need for upgrades to support tourism.

I would assume the majority of visitors to the Douro Valley will be around the summer time and other non-summer holidays, so I'm curious to see if the visitor centers will be open year round or just certain times of the year.

That's a good point, especially out east. Who really wants to visit the Douro Superior during the 40+ degree summer, or conversely the Baixo Corgo during the dreary winter/spring rainy seasons? Staffing a B&B doesn't take that many people, but it's still an expense. No point in keeping the B&B open during seasons when there's little chance of visitors.

[Roy Hersh]

Lunch was held at DOC that day and all that I told our group was that a legendary winemaker would be joining us. Those who frequent PHT's know that we do this on a regular basis, but we have never duplicated a single guest there in 10 years of visits. This year was no exception to that rule as the one time this individual was invited, he was not able to attend.

Anyway, upon our arrival, Cristina (the co-owner and GM of the restaurante) offered us a unique wine offering. We normally start off with Port Tonics or White Port, but this time our guest's jaws dropped simultaneously when they FINALLY realized that what was being poured was a 1917 Niepoort White Colheita. A remarkable wine that I'd only had once before and it was a superb showing this time too. Loved it and it bested the 1935 Kopke White Port we had a couple of days earlier in the trip ... by a LOT. Believed to be a 1930's bottling and I am sure you've seen all of the photos on FB by Glenn, David and other attendees.

Dirk showed up a few minutes later and brought his assistant winemaker, Carlos Raposo and also Gabriela Santos who has worked with him for many years now. Our guests that had not put 2+2 together, now were introduced to the gang and were thrilled to meet Dirk in person. He mentioned that they had finished picking the Port grapes the day before and that the table wines had been picked two weeks prior.

Some of the other wines we tasted were:

a. 2011 Moscatel "Docil" a wonderfully fresh little sipper @ just 8% alc. sweet up front and w/ a long dry finish. I'd have sworn it was between a Kabinet and Spatlese German Riesling had I been tasting it blind. Wonderful QPR wine, IMO, it could've used a touch more acidity.

b. and c. 2013 Redoma Branco and the Reserva as well from the same vintage. I liked the Branco, a lot but the Reserva was da bomb, an elegant and creamier version of the former wine, with gorgeous minerality and layers of flavor. Classy!

d. 2010 Bioma Tinto - not to be confused with the Port of the same name. This was a "Biological Redoma" ergo the Bioma name here. Dark cherry and evocative red fruits with a hint of dark undertones and a bit understated overall. Great balance though.

e. 2010 Batuta - I remember this from cask in the past. It has really come together with nice and gentle spiciness,from this high yielding vintage that was far better for table wines than Port. Tons of LT potential here and really delicious.

f. 2012 Charme - this one reminds me of 2002 when it was a youngster. Herbs, minerals and distinctive smokiness. Long length, meaty flavors and sexy texture. Love it!

g. 2012 Bioma ... this one will likely be used as a "crusted Port" in the future. After being in stored in pipas for 3 years, Dirk decided NOT to make a VP with it. Plummy good and will be bottled in Dec. of this year. Great length and firm tannins.

h. 1987 Colheita btld. 2006. Wow! Complex and a youthful presence but the finish is extraordinary.

A great visit with maestro Dirk who was relaxed now that he was done with the harvest, although plenty of work still to be done.

[Paul Fountain]

That would have been a fun lunch!

[Roy Hersh]

After D.O.C. Restaurante our guests expected to go on a boat ride upriver, but as that has gotten fairly routine in years past, Mario and I did not plan to do that this year. Instead we took our vehicle back to the hotel for a few hours to rest up before a big night out. It was quite warm and sunny and so a bunch of us went swimming in the pool back at Qta de la Rosa where we were staying.

That night we went out and caught a fairly spectacular sunset at the Round House at the top of Quinta das Carvalhas, owned by Real Companhia Velha. The views from up there are pretty spectacular and we had petiscoes and drinks outdoors until it got pretty dark. We then headed inside along with the owner's son, Pedro Silva Reis and and another VIP from the company. Pedro talked about the history of the company and relationship to the 1756 demarcation and Marques de Pombal, viticulture of the property and some deeper information about their involvements with Port and Douro wines and purchase of Delaforce.

Inside the round house, It was a bit warm in there for my tastes and no fans or a/c available. I was pretty unhappy, but not because of that, but I had been unlucky to be attacked by Douro mosquitos that seem to enjoy feasting on my sweet blood.

Dinner and wines were paired with an assortment of whtes and red Douro wine and we had a bunch of Ports afterwards too, but the real surprise was that we had a Fado singer join us for about an hour towards the end of the evening. Our guests were loving it as he played some popular folk tunes, light rock, even "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd and it turned into a fun sing along. But he also played some classical Fado too, which was really great and appreciated.

At the end of the evening we headed back to the hotel for a well deserved long night's sleep!