TN: 1980 Caves Sao Joao Porta Dos Cavaleiros

[Ray Barnes]

This wine was purchased in the spring of 2011 from the (relatively) high-end wine retailer Liberty Wines in Vancouver for about $45 Cdn. It had just arrived in the store after being cellared at the estate. I had some reservations about buying a 30 year old Portugese table wine, but was promised a full refund if the wine was in poor condition. Anyway, after sitting on this for close to 7 months, today was the day to give it a whirl.

This wine comes from the Dao region of Portugal and I do not know which grapes were used. The label provides no details and neither does the producer's website.

The wine had no sediment and was served without a decanter. To my surprise, it was open and forward at once. My previous experience with a 1982 Chateau Poujeaux from the Moulis region of Bordeaux was a 45 minute wait before it started to hit its stride. Same thing with a 25+ year old pinot noir from Gilroy, CA. However, this wine was ready to rock.

The wine is not opaque, with a black cherry color and maybe a little purple tint toward the rim. It looked in the glass a lot like village level Gevrey Chambertin. On the forward nose, it was a pleasant blend of pepper, raspberry, blackberry and a touch of licorice. Sort of a mutant pinot noir/syrah bouquet, for lack of a better comparison. In the mouth, the wine is medium bodied, with quite firm tannins - even at 31 years of age - and a bit of dark fruit. One of those who tried it found it too dry and lacking in fruit, the other friend and myself found it very good indeed. It is I think better served with food than by itself. It tasted oddly reminiscent of some chiantis. After the bottle was open for an hour, the flavour expanded a bit more, with the tannins better integrated. I was very pleasantly surprised by the vigour of this wine. It looks like it could go another 5+ years no problem. The finish is long and generous. The 12.5% alcohol was well integrated.

Overall I found this wine to be excellent indeed and a marvellous example of what Portugal is capable of producing besides fortified wine. I would have no hesitation in buying it again - and given its age, it is in my opinion a formidable bargain. Considering its distinctive flavour profile, it may however not appeal to everyone.

[Ray Barnes]

As a footnote, I believe the producer, Caves Sao Joao, is from the Bairrada region, as are most of its wines, but Porta Dos Cavaleiros is sourced from the Dao.

[Rune EG]

Very interesting to read.
I have had several Caves Sao Joao bottles, but more from 1990 and 1995.
Stille have a couple in my cellar.

I find that they can go from fantastic, to quite poor.
Like with many older red wines.

I will try to find this particular red that you tasted.

[Moses Botbol]

I was buying the '87 for like $14 a bottle and it was still going strong. Wish I could still get it (despite the low WS score). I thought it was a great wine for the money. I find Dao's to have excellent aging potential and great value.