Portal restuarant (London) wine list

[Rob C.]

I have been tasked with selecting a red and white for a party being held at the Portal restaurant in London.

As the wine list is somewhat overwhelming and my knowledge of portuguese wines is so limited, i thought i would see if there's anyone here who had any particular recommendations.

Full list here: link

Budget: up to £50 for red, £40 for white, with some upward flexibility. This will be for a party of 60 or so people who will be ordering all-sorts (so no particular food pairing).

[David Spriggs]

What fun! I like the following:

White:
Quinta do Gomariz Grande Escolha
Quinta do Portal Colheita Branco
Quinta da Lagoalva Reserva Arinto & Chardonnay


Red:
2008 Quinta do Portal Colheita (easier drinking)
2008 Quinta do Portal Reserva (might need some decanting to give it some air).
2008 Qinuta da Saes Reserva "Estagio Prolongado"
2009 "Monte da Peceguina" Herdade de Malhadinha

These would be my choices at that price point. Of course for a few dollars above 50 (for the reds) you can get a big step up. You might also consider the Portal Rosé, which is quite nice.

[Rob C.]

Very helpful - many thanks.

The 2000 Portal Gran Reserva will have to wait until i take a visit with a smaller party! We'll go for the Portal Reserva 08 and will have a look to see if we can taste a couple of the whites on the shortlist before deciding.

[David Spriggs]

Great! Let us know which whites you selected and how they showed!

[Rob C.]

We ended up going for the 2000 Gran Reserva.

Unfortunately it turned out they did not have enough bottles for our party, and swapped in the 2006 (for the same price...). Unfortunately the party organiser did not realise this could make a difference.

It was still good, but still very tannic and tight and a bit of a disappointment for current drinking at the price paid. As well as a few years in the cellar, I suspect this required more than the 3 hour decant they gave it. I returned the other week to try a bottle of the 2000 Portal GR, which i really enjoyed (though could just be a factor of extra bottle age - i find these things hard to judge).

[Andy Velebil]

We ended up going for the 2000 Gran Reserva.

Unfortunately it turned out they did not have enough bottles for our party, and swapped in the 2006 (for the same price...). Unfortunately the party organiser did not realise this could make a difference.

It was still good, but still very tannic and tight and a bit of a disappointment for current drinking at the price paid. As well as a few years in the cellar, I suspect this required more than the 3 hour decant they gave it. I returned the other week to try a bottle of the 2000 Portal GR, which i really enjoyed (though could just be a factor of extra bottle age - i find these things hard to judge).

Uh, yeah that's a big difference. 2006 wasn't an overall great year for Douro reds, though there are some notable exceptions. So your note doesn't surprise me given the comparison to 2000.