For The Love Of Port

From a tasting at Pete's Fine Wines in Bellevue, WA, on December 14, 2008.

2006 Dow's Senhora da Ribeira Vintage Port
paired against 1991 Warre's VP

Very purple, though not as inky as the Graham's Six Grapes. The nose tells you it is young, and it almost smells dry. There's a tartness there that reminds me of a tart apricot cobbler, but without the apricots. After some time just sniffing, a significant amount of minerality develops. Graphite, pencil lead, and a decidedly earthy note are all present.

The earthy note carries over to the mouth where it is joined (and dominated by) a strong blueberry presence. It tastes dry, too, though not as dry as the Infantado LBV. Though obviously young, it doesn't taste unfinished or immature. Some felt that the minerality was a sign that it will develop for many years, but I noted that it seemed like there might not be anything for it to develop into. It is quite good as it currently stands, though, and handily won its pairing for me. (The class was fairly evenly divided on this one, though.)

This brings back some real memories for those of us on the second FTLOP harvest trip in 2006. We had just finished treading grapes in the lagar at vesuvio, when we went across the river to the small village of Senhora da Ribeira (or is it Seira da Ribeira?) to eat dinner. Inside the restaurant were the pickers for Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira celebrating the end of the harvest with much drinking and singing... and bagpipes and drums. I'll never forget that!

I consider this Quinta to be totally unappreciated. I've enjoyed everyone that I've had.
-Dave-

David Spriggs wrote: I consider this Quinta to be totally unappreciated. I've enjoyed everyone that I've had.
-Dave-

Dave is right, this property rarely gets mentioned that much as the likes Bomfim, Malvedos, etc. But I've also enjoyed everyone I've had from this property. The after harvest party Dave mentioned still to this day remains one of my overall highlights of all the trips to the Douro. It was totally unplanned and we just happened to be there at the exact same time. A rare occurrance for sure and it was great to be able to witness a traditional end of harvest party. We had a magnum of 1970 Dow's VP on the table, a gracious gift from Rupert Symington after our visit to Vesuvio, and I could see the workers trying to see what vintage it was, as it only had a small old type written slip label in it and "DOW'S" in small letters at the top. I finally held up 7 - 0 to indicate 1970 and they all got this huge smile on their face and gave us the thumbs up to indicate their approval of what we were going to drink. A night that I will never forget.