Friends Simon Berry Green and Johnny Symington treading at Quinta do Vesuvio

The stream of visitors continues through Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos.  Johnny Symington and his wife Helen are entertaining guests at Quinta dos Malvedos for a few days.  Among them are good friends Simon Berry of Berry Brothers and Rudd, and his wife Lucy.

In addition to his responsibilities as Chairman of Berry Brothers, Simon is also the Cellarmaster to the Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Household.  In this capacity he advises the Queen on her cellar and serving recommendations for her State Banquets.  Symington Family Vintage Ports regularly feature on state occasions such as the state visit of President Sarkozy when the classic Dow’s 1977 vintage port was served.

Accompanying Simon and Lucy Berry were their friends Veronica and Jeffery Berman who are serious port afficianados, as well as Tim and Dounie Stanley-Clarke, Tim has played a key PR role for the Symington family in the UK for  over 30 years.

Last night the group visited Quinta do Vesuvio, joining Paul and Jane, and Peter Symington, and many more guests from Vesuvio and Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais.  Twenty seven sat down to an excellent dinner featuring local roast beef and a Quinta do Vesuvio 2008 Douro DOC, rounded off with a board of traditional Portuguese cheeses and magnums of Dow’s 1977.

Afterwards, Simon, Johnny and some of the guests joined the roga (the quinta’s picking team) in the adega, to tread Tinta Roriz in one of the famous granite lagares.  We had 54 people treading 25 pipes of grapes (roughly 20,000 kilos of grapes).

Simon Berry, Jeffery Berman and Tim Stanley-Clarke in the winery at Quinta dos Malvedos

Today Johnny’s guests visited the winery and enjoyed tasting a small flight of Malvedos ports, including the 1999 and sample bottles of the Malvedos 2006 and 2009 Vintage Ports, which are ageing in our Lodge until ready for release.  Later they toured the vineyards at Malvedos, and then cooled off with a boat trip up and down the river to see some of the Symington’s other river quintas.

After an evening in Porto with Henry Shotton, the Quinta dos Malvedos wine maker, they came up to the Douro yesterday, making their first stop at Quinta da Cavadinha, the winery and flagship quinta for our sister brand, Warre’s.  Paul hosted them to lunch and a wine tasting, which in typical Portuguese fashion lasted till abut 5:00 in the afternoon.  Afterwards Paul, Pedro Leal da Costa, our head viticulturist, and Miles Edlmann, research viticulturist and winemaker at Cavadinha, showed the group around Miles’s experimental vineyards and the winery.

UK Journalists at the lagar in Warre's Quinta da Cavadinha winery with Paul Symington

At the lagar above, left to right,

• Jamie Goode, award winning wine writer and judge for the prestigious International Wine Challenge among other competitions, on-line at The Wine Anorak
• Richard Woodard, a free lance wine journalist widely published in both print and on line media, including Imbibe, Harpers, The Drinks Business and Drinks International
• Patricia Langton, free lance wine journalist and wine event organiser, on line at Patricia Langton.com
• Chris Losh, founding Editor of Imbibe magazine and co-founder of the Sommelier Wine Awards
• Emily O’Hare, sommelier at London’s River Cafe.  Emily just finished her WSET Diploma and is visiting the Douro as winner of the Graham’s Scholarship for her top score in the Fortified Wines module.  Find her on~line through her Facebook Group Women!  Know your wines!
• Annie Limm, publicist with Limm Communications
• Paul Symington
• Miles Edlmann

From Cavadinha the group went from Pinhão to Quinta dos Malvedos by boat.  Paul stopped halfway between to let those who wanted to cool off have a swim in a particularly quiet – and cold! – stretch of the Douro River.

The group then settled into Quinta dos Malvedos, where they are staying during their visit.  Charles Symington, our head winemaker, joined them in time for dinner, and afterwards three decanters of Port came out.  At Jamie Goode’s suggestion, the wines were tasted blind.

Quinta dos Malvedos 1965 Vintage Port

The first was promptly identified as Vintage, with 1966, 1963 and 1955 Graham’s being the prevailing choices.  In fact, it was the Quinta dos Malvedos 1965 vintage.  This is a superb wine and proof of just how good single quinta wines can be, still beautifully balanced and elegant after 46 years.

As we enjoyed the aromas of the second wine, Emily was first to comment “Much more wood!”  earning a “Well done!” from Paul.  While the wine was correctly identified as an old tawny, Paul finally revealed it was the Graham’s 1961 Single-Harvest Aged Tawny.  Just three casks of this wine have been bottled, and are now sold out in less than a year since release.  The group enjoyed the extraordinary opportunity to taste such an old wood-aged port alongside the bottle-aged 1965, and compare the very different  flavour profiles created by the two methods of ageing.

An 1882 Colheita held by the Symington family

The third wine had a more intense and slightly browner colour than the others, but Jamie promptly suggested an early 20th century colheita (another name for a single harvest tawny port).  In fact, it was an 1882 colheita.  This extraordinary wine was purchased by James Symington in the 1950s from a Douro farmer, and then brought to Gaia where the casks have been stored in the  lodge at our offices.  This means it was aged for its first 70 years or so in the extreme heat of the Douro summers, and developed a very concentrated flavour which is often referred to as “Douro Bake.”  For the last 60 odd years it has continued to age much more gently in the cooler coastal climate of Vila Nova de Gaia.

The wine was purchased because 1882 was the year Andrew James Symington arrived in Porto.  His family in Scotland had fallen on hard times, and Andrew James’s father had asked his old friends the Graham family if they could possibly employ his son in some capacity.  The 18 year old AJ as he was known joined the Graham’s general trading firm in Porto.  A few years later he married Beatrice Atkinson, of an old Port family, and entered the Port trade, though not with Graham’s, oddly enough.

Two of the casks of 1882 colheita in the Symington offices

This 1882 colheita has never before been served to visitors, the family have always saved it for their own use on special occasions.  The wine was just extraordinary, concentrated with a distinct note of dried orange peel and a finish that just went on forever.

The group spent today touring the vineyards and adega at Malvedos, and had another tasting of more recent Quinta vintages before lunch.  In the afternoon they headed up to the Douro Superior to visit Cockburn’s Quinta dos Canais, Dow’s Senhora da Ribeira, and finally Quinta do Vesuvio, where they will join the treading tonight in the stone lagares before they return to Malvedos.

Charles Symington tasting grapes from one of our south facing parcels of Touriga Nacional

Early this morning Charles Symington made a thorough survey of the vineyards at Quinta dos Malvedos.  With the winery due to open tomorrow, he is fine tuning the picking order for the next couple days, as well as continuing to monitor all the grapes, even those likely to be picked last.

As we drove through the quinta and walked through selected vineyard parcels, Charles kept up a running commentary on the condition of the grapes.  What is striking is how very differently the grapes mature according to their altitude and aspect to the sun.  For example, we have a pair of parcels of Touriga Nacional, one above the other (with a parcel of a different grape separating them), all planted about 5 years ago, all south facing.  The upper parcel had noticeably fewer grapes than the lower one, which had quite a good crop and good flavour.  Another parcel of Touriga Nacional on the eastern face of the quinta, above the River Tua was nearing perfection.  An adjacent parcel faced south due to the contour of the hill, and Charles commented he expected it to be riper.  Taste one grape… yes, quite a bit riper.

Good colour extraction from thin-skinned Tinta Amarela

Overall, the picking order is looking like this:  the Tinta Barroca first, clearly, starting with a north facing parcel.  In fact, our tractorista seems to have anticipated that, as the plastic bins were already stacked up at the end of the terraces.  It looks as if we will have four lagares of Tinta Barroca, which means four days of picking.  Next is likely to be the Tinta Roriz.  We have about a half a lagar of Tinta Amarela, and as we come to the end of the Barroca Charles will make the call when to pick that, and whether it will be vinified together with the end of the Barroca or be blended into the Roriz.  The Tinta Roriz is likely to be around two lagares.

Tinta Roriz at Quinta dos Malvedos

That means we should be ready to start the Touriga Nacional next Wednesday, all being well.  Charles is particularly pleased with the quality and flavour of the Touriga Nacional from Port Arthur, and from the north facing parcel 37 just behind the house; it looks as if those will be vinified together again this year.

As usual, the harvest will finish with the Touriga Franca and one small parcel of Tinta Cão.

Or at least, that’s how it looks today.  As with all things during harvest, every day or two we re-assess conditions and progress and remain flexible to modify our plans as needed.

I’m listening/watching a series of La Blogotheque’s Take Away Shows, which find some unreasonably talented musicians doing what they do, in random moments and a-typical settings, for such performances. These films never cease to enthrall me with their raw, one take, low-fi (for high-def), live performances in public spaces, amongst whoever happens to be there, in those moments. They are often single-shot (or made to appear that way), largely acoustic, usually portable and often fully in-motion. Now maybe I’m just biased because some of my favorite current artists have chosen to take part in the series: Andrew Bird,  Yo La Tengo, Moutain Goats, Megafaun, Wilco…  There’s one with Femi Kuti on a Paris rooftop, several with Beirut, Iron & Wine in poorly lit wine cellar, Chocolate Genius with string accompaniment amongst the rubble of a demolished building. There’s even a goateed Tom Jones doing “We Got Love”, amongst others, backstage and in his hotel room. In the opposite direction, there’s an extraordinarily nerdy cover band project, Neutral Uke Hotel, a ukulele-based Neutral Milk Hotel tribute.  La Blogotheque’s Take Away Shows catalog is relatively extensive, considering the quality. There’s an innocence and a sincerity in these creatively shot one-off performances, each existing for its own sakes. As a whole, the Take Away Shows may very well be the best live music experience one can achieve without leaving home or spending any money.

The 1982 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is running unusually hot for a wine of its age and is still almost overbearingly alcohol prevalent after several hours of breathing. Eventually, a sweetness does begin to emerge on the palate reminiscent of rum marinated maraschino cherry, dusted with black pepper and a cool northern breeze of menthol. This wine has a long way to go still, just to settle into itself and after over 6 hours of breathing time, I left one glass out overnight and sealed the rest up, with my trusty Vacu Vin (still not sponsored!).

The glass that sat out overnight was far warmer and more welcoming, nearly 20 hours after being poured, and the rest of the contents of that bottle showed worlds better the next day, and in small glasses for the rest of the week. At this point, the ’82 Noval is showing medium ruby in the glass, brickish and yellowing at the rim. The nose is ashy, but still replete with alcohol, though the palate has become much rounder, displaying dry raspberry liqueur, violets, and caramelized plum, and wisps of the spice and menthol that was prevalent the previous day. While the fire on the nose never relented, the palate became much softer and more integrated with time. Though relatively rich and pleasurable there is significant alcohol on the finish that leaves more of a burn than an aftertaste. The wine is pretty, but largely unchallenging, making it reasonably versatile for a sticky, though it seems to go best with cigar course.

All that pickin’ I was absorbing during the last post has left me in that kind of a mood and Bill Monroe has been spending a fair amount of time on my desktop. No other single human being is as associated with the inception of a widely recognized genre of American music as is Bill Monroe with Bluegrass. With the 1946 addition of (then not yet legend) banjo player, Earl Scruggs, to his previous string ensemble, the instrumentation and style of Bluegrass was formed. Along with the rest of Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys (Lester Flatt: guitar; Chubby Wise: fiddle; Howard Watts: bass), between ’46 and ’47, recorded 28 songs that soon would be canonized as the original Bluegrass standards. These tunes included “Blue Grass Breakdown,” “Molly and Tenbrooks,” and Monroe’s best known, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” The last of which made an indelible impression on early Rock & Roll when it was recorded by a young Elvis Presley in 1954.

The 1970 Burmester is still beautiful but growing lithe. Visually, it’s a deeply ruby-hued brilliant, but light gold, far more resembling an ancient cognac than any form of wine. While the nose is also similar to a long aged cognac of high pedigree, it doesn’t show the level of alcohol that such a cognac would. At this stage of its life, the palate is almost barren of fruit, but a deep and nuanced caramel persists, mingling with cocoa powder, and hints of sweeter milk chocolate, as well as dry cigar tobacco. Once again, tempted by the available options, a little simple alchemy occurs and a small glass of the remaining ’70 Burmester is dosed with a small shot (about 10% of total volume) of the previously blended dry reds: (2/3rd Kay Brothers Amery Hillside Shiraz ’02, 1/3rd St. Supery Elu Red ’02). The dry blend returns fruit and mid-palate body to the aging caramelized cocoa sweetness of the 40 year old Colheita. While It would be a sin to foul the original intent of a full bottle of anything so rare, this evenings small amount of experimentation only enhanced the tasting experience.

Rupert Symington and Roy Hersh

Readers may recall our mentioning Rupert Symington’s visit to Vancouver last March, where, together with Roy Hersh, he presented “Elegance, Power and Complexity” a vertical tasting of eight of Graham’s Vintage ports since 1970.  

If our readers are not yet familiar with Roy, we are pleased to introduce him to you here.  Roy has enjoyed a long career in the food and wine industry, as wine critic, judge, writer and teacher.  In 2003 he was one of just two Americans invited to join the Confraria do Vinho do Porto (Port Wine Brotherhood) here in Porto.  To fulfill his oath to promote Port, he launched For the Love of Port, a website which is a terrific resource to the Port lover, as it includes an active discussion board, a database of members’ tasting notes, and a subscriber’s newsletter, as well as offering annual insiders’ tours to Porto, the Douro and Madeira.

Below is Roy’s report on the Vancouver tasting, with his own tasting notes.  (Note: The following material is Copyright July 2011, Roy Hersh)

The scene was set at the 33rd annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.  A gathering of consumers and media members packed the room to partake in a very special tasting of Port.  Just moments before the presentation was to begin Rupert Symington approached me to join him on the podium to present a vertical tasting of eight extraordinary vintages of Graham’s Port ranging from 2007 to 1970.

This was one of the premiere tastings featured this year, as “Fortified Wine” was one of the two main themes featured during the weeklong festival.  The room was filled with a mix of curious wine enthusiasts and some avid Port fans seeking to gain a greater understanding of Graham’s while sipping on some mighty impressive Vintage Ports.  I felt somewhat unprepared, not even knowing what was included in the lineup; but how do you say no to Mr. Symington?

Rupert had prepared an agenda and eloquently spoke about the history of Graham’s, Quinta dos Malvedos and other vineyards involved in the mix, and he provided fine descriptions about treading in lagares, the cellar worthiness of Port and a brief discussion of the important period between 1720 and 1890, as well as the typical production levels for vintage releases of Graham’s.  Great info!

We then turned directly to the actual tasting session, which began with the youngest Vintage Port, the 2007 and headed back in time to 1970:

2007 Graham’s Vintage Port – Opaque magenta with a purplish edge.  Lush floral aromas with mocha and chocolate.  Plum and boysenberry flavors with medium ripe tannins and a seamlessly, long finish.  From a small crop that yielded only 72,000 bottles.  I think it’s safe to say the 2007 Graham’s should age very well for 30-40 years.  94+ points

2003 Graham’s Vintage Port – Fantastic fragrance of freshly crushed grape exhibiting great purity and seasoned by scents of menthol and esteva.  Dark fruit flavors prevail, bright, rich and concentrated.  Although a powerful Port, its refined tannins and sublime texture lead up to a most stunning finish. Drink now to 2048.  9,000 cases produced.  Graham’s  excelled in this hot vintage! ~ 95+ points

2000 Graham’s Vintage Port – Aromatically this was a bit reticent, but some coaxing allowed the red fruit notes to emerge.  Medium weight and seemingly more vinous than either the 2003 or 2007.  Smoky and spicy black cherry, cocoa and eucalyptus flavors melded beautifully. The 2000 is still very tannic and will support long term cellaring, improving for many years and showing more grip than either previous Port.  Drink now or cellar through the middle decades of the century. A gorgeous young Vintage Port, it deserved more hours in decanter and it would have performed even better.  But why quibble about a great Graham’s like this? ~ 94+ points

1994 Graham’s Vintage Port – Vinous, extremely balanced and offering scents of red licorice and raspberry fruit with a mocha note. The 1994 offers focused and concentrated fruit that stands out in a crowd.  The acidity and ripe, round tannins deliver deft balance.  This is going to reward patience and although easy to sip now, Graham’s ’94 will evolve at a high level for another 5 decades and should be permitted to improve in bottle.  It’s a remarkable, classic Vintage Port. ~ 95+ points

1985 Graham’s Vintage Port – The audience realized after having tasted their way through half of Graham’s stellar vintages; that they were onto something special with this 1985 offering. Great depth of color and deeply extracted, with no clue we were drinking a Port possessing a quarter century of bottle age.  Great intensity and extraordinary density; this 1985 is unbelievably youthful.  Spicy and sweet ripe plum and sandalwood seasoning, crisp acidity along with soft and mouth coating tannins.  It is a Port for the ages; I look forward to seeing how well this will drink in 25 more years.  ~ 94+ points

1980 Graham’s Vintage Port – 1980 is likely the most underrated of the vintages included in this tasting.  I have always been a great fan of the Dow, Warre, Gould Campbell & Graham’s Ports from this year.  The Symington family seemed to “own the vintage.” Delicious, soft, classic Graham’s style; it’s still showing prominent tannins at 31 years of age.  Sweet grenadine and ripe fig flavors along with eucalyptus, cocoa powder and a sublimely soft, smooth mouthfeel and persistent finish.  1980 was never considered a legendary vintage, but it just goes to show how soundly Graham’s performs even in vintages that were not appreciated by the critics when young. 1980 Graham’s will easily drink well for 15-20 more years from here.  92+ points

1977 Graham’s Vintage Port – I will admit when I am wrong.  Throughout the early part of the 1990’s and up to the mid-point of the past decade, I was never a fan of the 1977 Graham’s.  It was too hot and spirituous for my liking and I couldn’t see how after so many years, this would ever resolve itself.  The last six bottles I’ve been a part of since 2005, have proved me wrong.  The 1977 has finally morphed and today, it presents really well.  Notes of prune, tea leaf, herbs and bouquet garni elicit an evocative aromatic profile.  Delicious and finely balanced with vibrancy and round tannins providing structure at nearly 35 years of age.  I see this continuing to improve for at least another 15 years before hitting a plateau.  The “comeback kid” has arrived. ~ 93+ points

1970 Graham’s Vintage Port – This was the first Vintage Port produced as the Symingtons purchased the firm from the Graham’s brothers in 1970. James Symington (Rupert’s father) actually made this very first vintage under the new ownership.  I’ve always been a huge fan of this particular Graham’s and it is up there with other exalted Ports like Nacional, Fonseca & Taylor which is rarified territory in this brilliant vintage.  This particular bottle was exemplary, a really fine showing; with an amazingly youthful appearance and a hedonistic, silky mouthfeel of great length. ~ 96+ points

Graham’s has proven again, that the consistency of its Port is its hallmark.  It is my opinion, having led or participated in vertical tastings of all the major Port houses, that since WW2, no other Port producer has achieved the same level of excellence, regardless of vintage, as has Graham’s.  Another remarkable quality of this shipper is the ability of its Vintage Ports to consistently age 50+ years.

Note:  Roy’s tastings notes on these wines have now been added to the Knowledge Base of our Vintage Port Site, where you can read more about Graham’s and all the Vintage Ports made by Symington Family Estates.

Charles Symington

What does the winemaker’s calendar look like for the other ten or eleven months of the year, when he is not harvesting and making the new port wines?  Charles Symington, Graham’s head winemaker, describes the annual cycle of his “To Do” list.

Tastings are a year round occupation.  After the new harvest wines are made, they remain in the Douro to settle in the cool winter conditions.  There is a major tasting of all new wines in December, on the basis of which Charles can begin to make decisions about blending lotes (batches).  As the wines are brought down from the Douro between approximately December and April the wines can be blended as necessary upon arrival for storage in our Lodge in Gaia.  Typically for Graham’s we will have ended harvest with around 100 lotes, and by this time the following year they will have been consolidated into roughly 65 wines.

Just some of the samples in our Tasting Room

Wines typically close up after harvest for a period of about six months, and often can get much darker, as well as generally developing their character, getting bigger and better (or perhaps not).  For this reason, beginning in April Charles again systematically tastes all the new wines to confirm or amend their quality categorisation and likely use, e.g. wines earmarked for possible use in Vintage ports, LBV, tawnies, and so on.  This is also the time of year when he reviews the wines initially flagged for likely Vintage use, and can begin the triage to move wines from Vintage to Six Grapes designation.

By the second January following harvest, he will have made his decision and if necessary his final blend for a Graham’s Vintage declaration or Quinta dos Malvedos  bottling.

In parallel with the assessment of the prior harvest wines, Charles and Manuel Rocha and Nuno Moreira of the Sala de Provas (Tasting Room) routinely review all our wines, of all appropriate ages, that have been earmarked for use in a particular style of wine.  For example, just recently they reviewed all the possible Reserve and LBV wines (stocks between 4 and 7 years old) and Charles finished blending the Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage 2007.  This new LBV will shortly be registered with the IVDP (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto, the Port trade’s regulating body) and will be bottled in January 2012.  Charles is very pleased with the 2007 wine – if any of you are familiar with the Vintage Ports from 2007, you know what a wonderful year it was.

When blending new batches of non-vintage wines, the team compare them with previously bottled wines to ensure consistency.

While ensuring we blend and bottle our ports of a specific harvest in a timely fashion (Vintages for release roughly 18 months after harvest, Crusted 2 to 3 years after harvest, and LBVs 4 to 6 years after harvest), Charles also keeps an eye on stocks of our blended wines, for example all our entry level and Reserve ports, as well as our 10, 20, 30 and 40 Year Old Tawnies, and plans to blend and bottle new supplies of those products as needed.

July is typically the time of year when stocks are lowest, so a full inventory is taken and double checked against our records before pretty nearly the entire firm takes holiday the first two weeks of August, and then begins countdown to the next harvest.

And no, Charles didn’t say a word about plans for 2010 declarations or bottlings.  Even the blogger will have to wait till next spring for that news.

Post by Chuck Hayward | July 12th, 2011

Vintage port is one of the more unique segments of the wine industry, yet many people regularly overlook it at the dinner table and even those of us who attend countless trade tastings don’t get to try it that often. Yet when port houses declare a vintage, it provides the opportunity to sample a range of excellent wines, across vintages, as well as the chance to talk shop with some of the most interesting personalities in the wine world.

Vintage Port on tour, groupies not included

The latest declaration has been quite controversial since, in the past, the port industry has never declared more than three vintages in a decade. By producing a 2009, the three houses that comprise the Fladgate Partnership (Fonseca, Croft and Taylor Fladgate) will have released four vintage ports (2000, 2003, 2007, 2009). Another twist is that many of the estates owned by the Symington family (Graham’s, Dow’s and Cockburns among them) chose not make vintage port in 2009. Both of these factors are sure to be topics of debate for the next century, especially since port can often hang around that long.

With a historical legacy composed of techniques and traditions that have lasted through the ages, it seems as though port—and how it is made—never changes. But like the old adage “still waters run deep” (which can also apply to the Douro River at the spine of the port region), much occurs in this small sphere, a great deal of it running through the passionate mind of David Guimaraens, the sixth generation of his family to work in the port industry. I got the chance to speak with him and gain new insight into his world.

David Guimaraens, photo from Fonseca website

“There are many things happening today in the world of port and it is imperative that we act as agents of change,” said David. “We have turned our back on empirical knowledge, and at the same time there is a danger that we are going to make nothing but fruit bombs. We are forgetting about complexity, nuance, balance and fruit.”

Among his recent accomplishments, he has begun to work with 11 different grapes, much more than the traditional five varieties used by most port houses. He has also devised a machine that mimics foot treading, a method of crushing fruit that David still thinks is essential for making vintage port. And like many other winemakers, his move towards organic viticulture has been underway for some time, which resulted in the first-ever organic port being made at Fonseca.

However, David believes “the single biggest revolution in Port” was the changes he made in the spirit that is added to stop fermentation. Since the 1990s, when port houses were no longer required to purchase their spirit from the Portuguese monopoly, David has turned to producers in France that make a superior product. Because the spirit makes up such significant portion of the final wine, the quality of the spirit is essential. “I want a spirit that is clean and neutral but still maintains a sense of vinosity. It is important that the spirit does not mask the fruit.” He has discovered that the improved quality of grape spirit has allowed younger vintage ports to be drinkable at an earlier point in their lives. “When young, it makes a perfect ruby port,” declared David.

A plethora of Port

The tables spilled over with examples of the decade’s four vintages, and our conversation naturally turned towards the vintages to be tasted. “There are two types of vintage ports,” explained David. “Cool years like 2000 or 2007 create a fresher style of port. They are much prettier wines, and there is a greater sense of purity. The other type of port comes from warmer years like 2003 and 2009. They are much more powerful with firm tannins and take longer to come around.”

With that, I attacked the wines and David was off to do the introductory speeches…

Stay tuned for the next blog post, which will look at the styles of the four harvests as well as tasting notes for the soon-to-be-released 2009s.

The Taos Inn

Last Saturday, Jenn and I dined at the Taos Inn restaurant known as Doc Martins. The winds had died down, the smoke had cleared, and the intense sun had lowered in the sky. We sat down on the patio for an early dinner. I had taken a brief look at the wine list whilst my daughter ate an even earlier dinner at the Adobe Bar.  At the bar there were three opera students and their instructor from Santa Fe were singing for the first part of the evenings music. I perused the wine list to various arias. The list is fairly broad with selections from all over the world and deep vintages for several wines from California. There is a Mexican wine, several from Washington state, a couple vintages of Heitz Trailside, and irresistible vintage port. I knew I would pass on the New Mexico selections but could not decided what to drink. I decided that I would leave it up to the sommelier.

2003 Quinta des Roques, Reserva

When we sat down for dinner, I was again tempted to just drink a bottle of port with our meal. But sanity prevailed and  I chatted with the sommelier about what we like and with complete obfuscation from my indecision about what we wanted to drink (or was it oxygen deprivation from the 7,000 feet of elevation?)  we started off with Craig’s recommendation.  He recommended the 2003 Quinta des Roques, Reserva, Dao, Portugal. He was careful to ensure we were comfortable with the wine and price range. He decanted the wine and made sure we were happy.

Jenn and I started with the Rattlesnake and Rabbit Sausage along with the Chile Relleno.

Rattlesnake and Rabbit Sausage

Chile Rellano

Craig checked on us a few times and we chatted about wine. He told us the story about Mr and Mrs. Street building a bomb shelter in the 1950s because they were afraid that Taos looked like Los Alamos from the air. The bomb shelter now serves as the wine cellar so you can often see Craig walking off into the complex of buildings then returning with bottles in his arms. There is a wine fridge on the main floor, perhaps holding more popular selections.

Jenn with our five glasses of wine

After seeing us receive our appetizers Craig kindly brought out glasses of the 2008 Gruet, Cuvee Gilbert Gruet, Pinot Noir to try. He was very excited about this new wine and thought it is a great example of New Mexican Pinot Noir. We were excited to try the wine because we had bought a bottle in Albuquerque. We did open the bottle so I’ll post a tasting note later on. He also brought out a glass of German Riesling for Jenn to drink with her Chile Rellano.

We then ate the pork and trout entrees.

Pork Entree

Trout Entree

By the time we finished our meal the winds had died down, it was a comfortable temperature, and we kept talking about drinking some port. There were selections of 1977 Gould Campbell, 1977 Grahams, along with, I believe, 1966 and 1963 Grahams. The prices were on the low-end, if not lower than, the retail listings on Wine-Searcher. Craig explained that he and the owner review the wine inventory once per month and set prices to encourage people to buy wines. They like people to drink the older bottles. Some selections that have been recently drunk up include 1999 Havens Burriquet for $45 and 1999 Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape for $90.

He checked the bomb shelter for half bottles but only found a 1988 vintage port so we settled on the 1977 Gould Campbell. We asked Craig if he could double-decant the port so we could take it back to our room. He was wary about the sediment but did a fine job of removing the cork and the sediment. He returned the bottle closed with a different cork, the original cork in one piece, a glass with the sediment, and glasses for our room.

I highly recommend the Taos Inn and picking wine off the list with the help of Craig.  The wine list alone is enough reason to dine at the restaurant.

1977 Gould Campbell

2003 Quinta des Roques, Reserva, Dao
This took a few hours to open up. Dusty flavors of leather, oak in this restrained wine. There are flavors of minerals and a light amount of blue fruits. Drying tannins in the finish.  ** Now.

1977 Gould Campbell, Vintage Port
Imported by Grape Expectations. We drank this over three nights. The first night it was expectedly showing restrained fruit and alcoholic power. It improved on the second night and was even better on the third.  Dark red fruit, spices, leather.  **** Now-2027.

Touriga Franca from Block 31. Full disclosure: this particular photo was taken in 2010!

We are very proud to announce that Graham’s has bottled our very first wine whose making was chronicled in this blog:  a Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage 2009.

You may recall that 2009 was a challenging year.  We had had 3 dry winters in a row, so in-ground levels of water were low.  On the up-side, we got some good rain in June, which helped the vines cope – most importantly, enabling them to put out good leaf cover, which served well to protect the grapes later in the summer from the very hot Douro sun.  The grapes were slow to reach phenolic ripeness, and even though we waited longer than many to start our picking, it was a generally earlier than usual harvest, and yields were generally down, particularly in the Upper Douro, where Malvedos is situated, near Tua.  More details are available in Paul’s full Harvest Report.

But, as Paul so frequently points out, with the really astonishing micro-climatisation of the Douro, and the many varieties of grapes we can blend into our Ports, we can just about always make some good wines.  Somewhere on those hillsides, there will be at least a few parcels that did reasonably well in this particular year’s conditions and will make good wines.

For the Malvedos 2009, two of the parcels that responded particularly well to the conditions and set the tone of the finished wine, were blocks 29 and 31 of Touriga Franca.

Touriga Franca is a grape that does well in conditions like 2009’s – it has thick skins, so it is particularly resistant to the desiccating effects of sun and heat, and it really only achieves complete ripening when and where it can enjoy full sunlight and exposure.

Parcels 29 and 31 are just above river level (around 100-120 m of altitude) and face full south across the river.  The vines get all the sun there is, and given a bit of a bend down river, they continue to get sun till quite late in the day, as the sun sets into a sort of notch in the hills to the west.

These were the first blocks of Touriga Franca we picked, on 24 September 2009, and Henry knew he was on to a good thing when he saw the first grapes come in, as you can read in the blog.

The wine was Henry’s 10^th lagar of the vintage, and he recalls being pleased with the baumé of 13.2°, which may be why he chose it to star in our very first Video experiment on the blog.  You can see – and hear! – the robotic lagar punching down the cap of the fermenting wine here:

I asked Henry about this lot, and what exactly it brought to the finished Malvedos 2009.  He replied:

This Touriga Franca realized its potential (complete ripening requires lots of sunlight and good exposure), producing a wine robust and rich in colour and structure, with particularly lifted, exotic floral aromas adding complexity, as well as intense blackberry fruit flavours and velvety tannins.

As it happens, the blogger tasted a sample last weekend alongside the Graham’s 2007.  The Malvedos 2009 is incredibly rich with dense fruit – the family resemblance you find in all Graham’s or Malvedos vintage ports – but those floral aromas are extraordinary.

So, now you know what you can look forward to.  As with most of our single-quinta vintage bottlings, the wine, now bottled, has been laid down to age in our lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia, and we will release it when it is ready to drink, probably in 8 to 10 years’ time.  Mark your calendars.

2009 Port 
We are pleased to be able to offer three wines from the 2009 port vintage. While not universally a declared vintage, the quality of the wines released by the Fladgate partnership is exceptional. Brooding and concentrated, these are wines that reflect the hot, dry nature of the summer of 2009 and will provide immense longevity.

Great Wines of the Douro
We lined up a broad range of wines to taste for possible inclusion into this offer. And the result? Those pulled forward were from Quinta do Vale Meão and Niepoort.

Francisco “Xito” Olazabal of Vale Meao is ‘Revista de Vinhos’ (Portugal’s leading wine magazine) Winemaker of the Year, which is reflected in the continued excellence of his wines.
Dirk Niepoort is a man at the top of his game;  his 2008 reds are the finest we have tasted (but don’t overlook two of his white wines included in this offer).

These two producers have excelled with their 2008s.  The cooler 2008 vintage has traded some of the concentration and richness of the superb 2007 vintage for enhanced freshness and elegance, and has produced wines of equal quality and stature.

Rupert Symington and Roy Hersh

Rupert manned the tasting table himself, together with colleagues from Mark Anthony Wine Merchants, our Canadian distributor, pouring Graham’s Six Grapes, The Tawny, 10 Year Old Tawny, 2005 Late Bottled Vintage and the Quinta dos Malvedos 1999 Vintage Port for our visitors and answering their questions about Port.

In addition, for those who could not resist the promise of “Elegance, Power and Complexity” there was a special vertical tasting of eight Graham’s Vintages:  2007, 2003, 2000, 1994, 1985, 1980, 1977 and 1970.  For this, Roy Hersh of For The Love of Port joined Rupert to co-moderate the tasting.  The wines lived up to their billing and were showing superbly, the 1985 in particular just staggered the audience, as an example of Vintage Port in its absolute prime.

When it was all over, Rupert had his reward:  together with Dan Wildermuth of Rodney Strong Vineyards in  Sonoma and Chris Hoffmeister of Mark Anthony, he landed a 7’8″ (2.30 metre), roughly 300 pound white sturgeon in the Fraser River in British Columbia.  It was released again after the photo op, so no caviar that night, alas!

Mouton-Rothschild 1998

“When you buy wine, don’t buy one bottle, buy six or twelve.” – Sound advice from Christophe Brunet, especially when it comes to these wines; if only your budget can stretch that far…

Following a tour through Champagne, Burgundy, Tuscany and the Rhône, discussed in Part 1 of this post, Christophe Brunet, wine ambassador for the Primum Familiae Vini brought us to Spain for two wines. You might think, looking at the vintages, that these wines are more ready for drinking, however they are still incredibly youthful and would benefit from greater bottle age. First was the Gran Coronas Mas La Plana, vintage 2001, from the Torres family. This wine is 100% cabernet sauvignon, harvested from vines that were planted in 1964 on a 20-hectare, single estate vineyard in Catalonia. The wine spends 12 months in French oak. Deep ruby in colour, cloudy and with a bricking rim. The nose was very truffly to begin with – a sign of the ten years age thus far. Eventually classic cabernet notes of green bell pepper, and dark, blackfruits emerge, although they are accompanied by classic aromas of the region – warm earth, rosemary and rustic coffee beans. High in alcohol, though as with all these wines, matched by a sufficient, if moderate, acidity. There are soft, creamy, ripe tannins, blackcurrant and black olives on the palate and a very ripe-fruit finish. This wine was perhaps less concentrated than some of the other reds in the flight, although makes up for this in complexity. A generous but serious wine.

Moving north and west of Madrid to the Ribera del Duero region, we encounter Vega Sicilia, producer of perhaps Spain’s most famous wine – the Vega Sicilia Ùnico. We were privileged to taste the 2000 vintage – a very good vintage for the region, and amazingly, a wine that has only just been released! The wine is a blend dominated by tempranillo (90%) and rounded out with cabernet sauvignon, it then spends at least seven years in a mixture of American and French oak barrels; after another couple of years stored in bottle, the wine is finally released to the market. So, yes, an astonishing wine by a producer of incredible pedigree, and although the sun that ripened the grapes that produced this wine shone eleven years ago, this wine is more than capable of evolving further in the bottle for decades to come. In the glass it was a deep ruby, cloudy, with a thin brick rim. The wine had a very concentrated, complex nose: roasted rosemary, cigar leaf; it was very herbaceous, but overlaid with sweet vanilla, subtle coconut, coffee, bitter chocolate, molasses, ripe dark fruit and citrus peel. With the warm Spanish climate you may expect a real blockbuster of a wine, but while this wine is high in alcohol, with moderate acidity, the body is only medium in weight with grippy, silky-textured tannins. The oak is very well integrated and the wine has a lovely complex, dark-fruit, leafy finish. As I said, this wine feels youthful, with a tight, concentrated structure.

We then returned to France for what was, for many, the highlight of the night: Château Mouton-Rothschild, Bordeaux first growth of the Pauillac appellation, vintage 1998. This is classic Left-Bank claret at the top of its game. 86% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot and 2% cabernet franc; aged in new French barriques for up to 22 months. Deep ruby in the glass, somewhat cloudy with a bright red rim. The nose began with dark, just-ripe blackcurrant aromas – neither green and underripe nor overly blowsy and fruity.

Studiously tasting wines from the PFV tasting

Vanilla from the oak was in the background of the aroma profile, accompanied by the classic cabernet bell pepper note – although edging to yellow peppers rather than green for me. Celery, cut grass, truffle, mushroom, naphthalene and a certain meatiness rounded out the aromas. The palate contained crisp acidity, moderate alcohol, some flintiness and a certain appealing austerity in the flavours. The tannins were ripe, grippy and elegant – classic cabernet claret tannins. A wine that had all the elements in just the right amount.

After a barrelling of reds, the whites made a comeback in the form of sweeter examples. Egon Müller provided a late harvest riesling – the Scharzhofberger Spätlese 2009, while Hugel et Fils produced a 2005 Vendange Tardive Gewurztraminer. The riesling comes from a tiny, 7-hectare estate on the banks of the river Saar. Pale straw in appearance with a very aromatic nose – lilies, lime leaf, pineapple and a classic German-riesling minerality. This minerality was even more intense on the palate, with a real ‘flintyness’, a razor-sharp acidity, a light body, low alcohol (8%), some notable astringency, but a lovely, soothing sweetness. A truly incredible and complex wine, though it is several decades too young!

The 2005 Vendange Tardive Gewurztraminer had a similar level of sweetness (about 50g residual sugar compared to 40g in the riesling); vendange tardive is French for ‘late harvest’.  That similarity aside, the two wines were worlds apart. 2005 has produced less overt gewurztraminers in Alsace than other years, but even so, the nature of the grape provides concentrated aromas of lychees and pear and a low-acid, luscious, medium-sweet body. The typical ‘rosewater’ note of gewurz is notably more elegant and restrained than in some examples. Despite the low acidity (a hallmark of gewurz), the alcohol is well balanced and there is a refreshing minerality to the finish – it is elegant, flinty and fresh, with ginger spice and orange peel. Delicious and complex.

The final wine of the night served as an appropriate digestif: Graham’s Vintage Port, 1980, from the Symington Family Estates. I’m not as familiar with ports as I am with other, non-fortified wines, however, this example was very striking. A deep ruby in colour, cloudy with an orange-brick rim. The nose was fragrant, fresh and floral; there were distinct notes of blood orange, plum and blueberry too. The palate was intense, with a crisp acidity, molasses and nuts making the flavours along with incredibly youthful fruit. What really struck me about this wine, aside from the way in which the complex flavours and the various structural elements were all held in remarkable balance, was this ‘youthful’ quality. It had all the complexities of a wine of its age, yet still felt as if it were just out of the starting blocks and had a very long way to run. Had I tasted this blind, I don’t think I would have put it as a full three decades old!

Thus an enjoyable evening was had by all. The audience was cheekily asked for their favourite wines of the night. How to choose a first amongst a flight of equals? Certainly some wines were drinking readily, whereas others needed more time in bottle. And the latter wines were certainly more present in the minds of the crowd than the delicious champagne, for instance. When it came to it, however, there was a roughly equal split between the Vega Sicilia and the Mouton-Rothschild, with a few outliers for the others. I fell into the Vega Sicilia camp, though can hardly wait another decade or two for the Gewurz or the Tignanello!

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• Hilary Term “Grand Cru” (theoxfordwineblog.wordpress.com)

On a November-evening (the 8th) in 1995 I was a part of a magical tasting that I often recall as one of the most memorable tastings for me.

It was The Fyn Port Wine Club (often mentioned as one of the finest of its kind in the World). See more at: www.vintageport.dk

The theme was Taylor’s, Graham & Fonseca – 1966, 1970 & 1977. It seems like everything you would want from a Port Wine was cooked into this single tasting.

1966 Fonseca Vintage Port was unfortunately left out as it wasn’t possible to ship from London in time for the wine to settle before tasting. It was replaced with a 1970 Vintage Port from Gould Campbell that should be interesting to taste instead.

Eleven tasters were eager to be a part of this experience. Even for a tough crowd of Vintage Port-veterans this was indeed very exiting. To taste the absolute top producers in their finest hour as these three vintages are. And it is not very often you would find these exact wines to be compared directly against each other.

The wines were tasted semi-blind silent tasting, poured in three heats:
1. 1977′s
2. 1970′s
3. 1966′s

Tasting notes:

Graham’s 1977 Vintage Port
At this stage the Graham’s style of making Vintage Port is too pleasing and sweet for me. It is still world-class and my number two for this Vintage. Maybe not in Graham’s finest hour as I often think the wines after 1970 and until 1987 not quite as unique as the wines before and after. Probably because of Symington family’s take-over in 1970 from The Graham’s [Johnny Graham later started Churchill's Port]. Though this is still a really stunning Vintage Port with lot of personality and ageing potential.

Fonseca 1977 Vintage Port
Strict and precise like you would expect a Vintage Port from Fonseca. definitely much too you and a very high quality Port. Like Croft Fonseca’s Vintage Ports represent this very english style in Port-making with acidity and firm alcohol. I prefer this more firm style of Port when it is much older. At this stage or younger it is almost unpleasant for my palate. Never-the-less this is a high quality Port with lots of potential for keeping in the cellar.

Taylor’s 1977 Vintage Port
One of the finest wines I ever tasted. At this stage it is just too premature, compared to the silky taste and ripeness of the older vintages. This wine will mature and take its place as one of the best Taylor Port’s ever made. Massive taste is what comes first; loads of dark chocolate, cherry, roasted nuts and raisins. Extremely young and potent wine that should not be enjoyed in two decades.

Graham’s 1970 Vintage Port
A serious outsider to best Port of the year. Deep mature fruit with hints of coffee and sweet dried fruit, caramelised figs. A masterpiece only downgraded simply because I like Taylor’s and Fonseca’s wines of the year better. What a pity for such a World Class wine.

Fonseca 1970 Vintage Port
Excellent body and structure with a velvety that shows just how well Fonseca’s wines age. This must surely be one of their best of the Century (unfortunately we wouldn’t be tasting the 1966 Vintage Port from Fonseca; it has the reputation of being just that!). The velvety taste og walnuts and well-balanced very long finish with long and complex taste. This is a wine that could be in a book about the 100 things you must do before you die!

Taylor’s 1970 Vintage Port
A VERY close runners-up to my prefered 1970 Fonseca. Go ahead make my day is what goes through my mind as I wonder about this wine. This is everything you could ever ask for. A fine, fine Port that shows maturity in all the right places. Still with firm body and grape nuances that lies underneath the thick layers of concentrated figs and honey and mostly walnuts. Rich and balanced rounded with raisins and spice. The wine is well on its way into maturity but it is still showing power and lively palate that is somewhere between youth and real maturity.

Gould Campbell 1970 Vintage Port
This is obviously a very good Vintage Port and in any other situation than this one it would be considered a treat. But as a substitute for a Fonseca 1966 Vintage Port it was measured in a scale that would seem unfair to most of the wines ever produced. Even though this is a neat and nice – in fact a classy Vintage Port that delivers a strong and impeccable taste. Everything you would want from an old Vintage Port. Good clean taste with fine matured walnut notes and a nicely matured body. In this tough company all of that just seemed to vanish in a group of 3 Ports that all should be considered in the top 50 of Vintage Ports produced in the 20th Century.

Graham’s 1966 Vintage Port
One of two wines from this Vintage – and by far the best of the two. A superb and very complex wine at its best. A mature and sweet wine with a hint of mint that ensures the balance in the wine stays in focus. A teat by any means.

Taylor’s 1966 Vintage Port
I always wondered about this wine. I tasted it, found it pleasant and absolutely a high quality wine by any standards, but it was a little bit strange maybe beginning to decline, orange color all through the glass, almost sweet and not very much like the Taylor-taste I so much appreciate and to me is The standard to be measured against when you produce Vintage Port (I re-tasted the wine from another cellar some years later with the same result). Though being harsh to this wine it is only because of the expectations and the high level of its competition. By any means this is a lovely high-class wine – just not World Heritage!

At the end of the tasting all of us had made our remarks and rated our own three top preferences with 3 points (best), 2 points (2nd) and 1 point (3rd).

My top preferences was:
1. 1970 Fonseca Vintage Port (3 points)
2. 1970 Taylor’s Vintage Port (2 points)
3. 1966 Graham’s Vintage Port (1 point)

- Taylor’s 1977 Vintage Port was a close runners-up but simply because of the prematurity it was not in my final 3 (this is probably one of the best Ports I ever tasted it just wasn’t as ready at this stage as the others).

The general opinion at this tasting was different:
1. Fonseca 1970 Vintage Port
2. Graham’s 1970 Vintage Port
3. Graham’s 1966 Vintage Port
4. Graham’s 1977 Vintage Port
5. Taylor’s 1970 Vintage Port

Overall all of these wines (except 1970 Gould Campbell and 1966 Taylor’s) should be considered 97+ on a scale of 100 points. I almost never judge the single wine on a scale like that when I taste wines in this league. I think it is insulting to the masterpieces that was meant to be enjoyed and not rated. The difference between the wines would depend on personal preference which should only matter to one-self…and by this I don’t mean that the wines can not be discussed!

After the tasting the glass washer-team shared a bottle of Fonseca 1991Guimaraens Vintage Port that was offered to the members as a bargain from the importer at a ridiculous price of approx. $20. As I write this I recall that I still have a few bottles of that in my cellar.

A few days later I tasted a Hooper’s 1912 Vintage Port that was in amazingly good shape. Silky and smooth with walnut and honey notes. Another fine experience!

All tastings notes are from November 1995 so all recommendations towards drinkability and maturity is from that date!

The only white of the night was a truly delicious premier cru white Burgundy: Perrières from the Meursault appellation, vintage 1996. A fairly deep gold in appearance, with a slight green tinge. Very concentrated aromas. First to hit me were notes of the elegant French oak – allspice, toast, almond and buttered popcorn. There was some yeastiness too, overlaid by the vegetal tertiary aromas from 15 years bottle age. Burrowing into the aroma profile as the wine opened in the glass I got classic chardonnay fruit notes from a reasonably warm climate – apricots and peaches. This wine was perfect on the palate. Lemon, some peach, a little honey, also an earthy minerality. Crisp acidity, balanced alcohol, medium bodied – all elements in harmony. However, it was the finish that really did it for me; the wine swelled across the palate and then tapered off beautifully with honey and distinct creaminess. Almost like lemon cheesecake!

Starting at the light end of the reds, we didn’t move too far away from Meursault and had a 1990 Grand Clos des Epenots – a red Burgundy from Pommard. The appellation of Pommard is distinct in Burgundy in that it typically produces Pinots of quite robust tannins. This wine was no exception, and had some of us place it in Italy on account of these tannins. However the aroma profile was distinctly pinot noir with a gamey quality, leather and mushrooms due to the age, flint, perfumed violets, hazelnut from the French oak and pronounced raspberry fruit underlying all of this. The palate was very balanced – moderate alcohol and acidity on a light body – but the tannins, although fine and elegant, were very noticeable for such a light wine.

The next wine was a 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Prestige Cuvée, Roger Sabon. Like many red wines from the Southern Rhône, this was a blend, dominated by grenache (60%) with 15% syrah and 10% mourvèdre. The grenache brought through classic aromas of strawberry jam; the nose was rounded out by notes of olives, freshly cut green branches, black cherries and licorice. The vintage was very apparent in this wine. 2005 was a fairly warm year in the Southern Rhône, thus the palate was high in alcohol with firm, powdery, ripe tannins. The quality of the wine, however, ensured there was enough acidity to give balance.

Wine four was a 2009 barrel sample from one of the top Left Bank Bordeaux producers – Cantenac-Brown. To me this wine had more in common with a Californian Zinfandel than it did with its Left Bank siblings. A very deep purple in colour with a nose that simultaneously smelt of chocolate cake and fruit cake along with blackberry, vanilla and allspice. It had an incredibly fragrant, spicy (as in allspice) nose, which I don’t usually associate with cabernet sauvignon at all, although there is a significant amount (35%) of merlot in the blend. The palate showed a full body with fairly high alcohol and intense, ‘sticky’ tannins; I likened them to wet fingers sliding along a glass surface. Definitely needs more time in the bottle.

We then moved up the road geographically, to another Left Bank appellation – Pauillac, but way back in time with a Grand Puy Lacoste from 1966! After 45 years in bottle, this wine was a very pale ruby, almost brown with an immense gradient. Aromas were complex and concentrated – lots of mushroom and truffle, nuts from French oak and leather like a vintage British sports car. With 75% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot, and the balance cabernet franc, the classic Cab-Sauv notes of green pepper and cedar wood still came through, with a hint of ripe black fruits, plums and allspice. With wines of such age it is always a bit frightening to open the bottle with the fear that the wine would have degraded over time and not live up to your expectations. We had no such worries here. The structure was elegant and refined; moderate acidity and alcohol, soft chewy tannins that bit you with more intensity as you swallowed. The finish was incredible; very long with bright fruit, bitter chocolate and right at the end it became almost honeyed, a sensation that reminded me of baklava.

Finally on the reds we were treated to a 1990 Brunello di Montalcino from Poggio Antico. Montalcino is a town, and wine growing appellation south of Chianti, in Tuscany. Like Chianti Classico, this wine is 100% sangiovese. A cloudy, translucent ruby in the glass with an orange rim. The nose was fragrant and complex with hazelnuts, dark cherries and violets. Classically Italian, although it wasn’t immediately apparent to me where in Italy to place this wine. The structure was very well balanced, crisp acidity, moderate alcohol edging towards the ‘high’ regime. The tannins were intense – chewy with a chalky texture, making you really suck your gums for long after you’ve swallowed the wine. However, this was all superimposed on a surprisingly light body. It put me in mind of a heavy-weight ballet dancer – large and powerful but surprisingly light on his feet. Another long, ripe finish to this wine too.

The final two wines of the night moved into dessert territory. The first was Dr Loosen’s Beerenauslese Riesling from Mosel in Germany, vintage 2006. I won’t get into the technicalities of the German wine labeling lingo here, however this is one of the Loosen estate’s top wines, produced from carefully selected grapes. Medium lemon in colour, with a green tinge and notable viscosity. Highly aromatic as you’d expect a riesling to be: honey, lime leaf, grapefruit, mango and pineapple, with just a tad of the petrol notes that good Riesling obtains as it ages. Light body, although with some viscosity, crisp acidity, low alcohol (6.5% a.b.v) and moderately sweet with a long honeysuckle finish. What was striking about this wine, other than its elegance and sheer deliciousness, was an incredible texture on the palate. The natural spritz in the wine had teamed up with the lime flavours to create a sensation of sherbet dancing all over your tongue!

And finally, while many an Oxford dinner is known to end with a serving of port, none in my experience have served a vintage port from 1967! This example was from the Cockburn house (pronounced “Co’burn” for those in the know). It was a pale ruby-brown, with almost no gradient as there was barely any colour left in the wine at all! Notes of prune, cocoa, polished mahogany, with a medicinal, fennel quality on the palate as well. The structure contained some sweetness but was not at all cloying, obviously high alcohol with moderate acidity. I’m not at all a port expert, but this wine certainly puts to shame the average Oxford dinner digestif!

And my wine of the night? Well, it is a difficult decision with so many incredible bottles – all great examples of what they are. However, for pure elegance and drinking pleasure, especially as I rarely drink chardonnay, my prize goes to the Meursault, very closely followed by the ’66 Grand Puy Lacoste. Dr Loosen’s riesling will be incredible in another 20 years and I have a bottle in my cellar. Perhaps I will write about it again then!

Three old Graham's Vintage Ports decanted before dinner and standing on the sideboard at Malvedos

Much is made of decanting vintage port, so much so it can put people off even trying one of Graham’s wonderful vintage ports for fear they will somehow get it wrong and ruin the wine.

The truth is, Vintage Port is one of the easiest and most straightforward of wines to decant.  In fact, we might even recommend you practice your decanting skills on lots of port, before attempting to decant dry table wines!

Charles Symington, Graham’s head winemaker, is slightly impatient with all the mystery.  He said the simplest fail-safe rule, which will do no harm to any well-made vintage port up to 40 years of age, is to open and decant the wine two to three hours before drinking.  For most of us, intending to drink our vintage ports after a meal, that means opening the bottle and decanting before we settle down to dinner.  What could be easier?

When you take the bottle from the cellar or shelf where it has been resting on its side, simply stand it upright – gently – and let it stand.  If the bottle is less than 40 years old, 5 to 10 minutes is adequate – the sediment in Port is quite heavy and will settle down quickly.  If the wine is very old – more than 40 years – then Charles suggests letting it stand upright a half hour.  More than that is hardly necessary.

Extract the cork gently, and then pour the wine into the decanter:  hold the wine bottle nearly level, so the wine flows smoothly with adequate airflow passing over the wine in the neck of the bottle – this way the wine will fall without the gurgling that comes from blocking the passage of air into the bottle.

Good light will help you spot the sediment moving into the neck as you finish decanting

Decanting is easiest with good light behind the bottle, so you can see clearly the sediment beginning to come into the bottle neck and stop pouring.  If in doubt, simply shift and pour the remaining wine into a glass – that way if there is sediment, you’ve not poured it into the decanter, on the other hand, if the wine is still clear, you can empty the glass contents into the decanter too.  It is always worth taking a quick nose and taste of the wine from the just-opened bottle, and comparing it with the aromas and flavour after a few hours in decanter.

If you are concerned that you may not be able to see the sediment when it reaches the bottle neck, then you may wish to use a funnel lined with a piece of muslin (thin cotton cloth) to catch the sediment as you reach the end of the bottle.

So that’s it:

• Let the bottle stand upright 10 to 15 minutes if it’s less than 40 years old, and up to 30 minutes if it’s older.
• If your vintage port is less than 40 years old, decant 2-3 hours before you plan to enjoy your wine; if it is older, better to decant just 30 minutes to an hour before.
• Pour the wine gently into a decanter and stop pouring when you see the sediment moving into the bottle neck.
• Optionally, you may pour through a funnel lined with a piece of muslin.
• Enjoy your vintage port.

Above all, remember part of the great pleasure of fine bottle-aged ports is observing how the aromas and flavours unfold over time; you needn’t worry about missing some single perfect moment, these wines will give pleasure over the entire course of a relaxed evening with friends and family.

From the first flight of 16 glasses, it was easy to eliminate 8 – many were not intended as wine glasses, and were non-runners from Charles’s point of view simply because the glasses did not hold the aromas of the port at all.

The photo above shows Charles’s glasses at the end of judging the first flight – the glasses pulled forward are the ones he voted to eliminate.  From left to right, the pulled forward glasses are number 1, the Ouverture Bourbon glass, 2 is the Wine Tumbler Champagne glass, number 6 is a Restaurant Tequila glass, number 9 is the Vinum XL Aquavit glass, 10 is the Ouverture Spirits glass, 13 is the Sommelier Cognac XO, 15 is the Restaurant Single Malt Whiskey, and 16 is the Wine Tumbler Port glass.

If you look at the shapes, the glasses he eliminated are all fairly open, and the beverages for which they were designed are all (except the champagne) very high alcohol spirits, not wines.

When I asked how he made his choices in subsequent flights, he said it’s not something you can easily explain, the best glasses concentrated the aromas better, but also made them very sharp.  He said it’s maybe best explained by analogy – the difference between music played on a child’s inexpensive beginner violin versus the same music played on a Stradivarius – there is an accuracy and purity in the impressions you receive from the finer instrument.

Charles said it will be very apparent to anyone who does this kind of tasting: the different aromas of the wine will be sharper, more clear, in a more suitable glass.

One of our readers asked what glass Charles uses in his blending work.  The photo at far left is from our Sala da Prova (Tasting Room), taken when they were setting out some wines last summer to review for possible blending; near left is the Riedel Sommelier Vintage Port glass (this leaded glass, and its non-lead glass twin were joint finalists at Friday’s tasting).

The Sala da Prova glass is a professional tasting glass made in Portugal, Charles described it as a fairly closed tulip shape, and commented it is actually not very easy to drink from – but it does concentrate the aromas for him.

Tasting the same wine – Vintage Port, of course! – from multiple glasses is definitely worth trying.  If you look at the comments on the prior post about the Riedel tasting, several people commented they were skeptical what difference a glass could make until they went through this kind of exercise themselves.  If you would like to try this at home, here are a few tips:

• Do line up a wide variety of glasses – narrow tulip, open bowl-shaped, straight sided, as well as the specialist Vintage Port glasses – so you can experience the results from the very different shapes, and how they hold (or don’t) the aromas of Vintage Port.
• Be sure the glasses are scrupulously clean – the Riedel website has very specific directions, most notably, detergent is not necessary, hot water should do the trick.
• Sniff the clean empty glass to be sure there are no lingering odours from detergent, chlorinated water, or a dirty dish-towel (a common problem in restaurants).
• Before you pour your wine servings, dispense just a little port in the glass and swirl, then discard that liquid into the next glass, swirl and repeat for all glasses in the line up.  This should clear any last lingering off odours.
• Think about your fill quantities in the glass:  keep them consistent across all the glasses.
• Perhaps try the effect of different fill levels in identical glasses – Charles was wondering aloud if that might affect aroma perceptions (volume of space available in the glass for aromas to rise into).
• Of course follow the classic wine tasting assessment routine:  swirl the wine in the glass, then sniff and assess the aromas, really think about those, before tasting the wine.
• When you assess the performance of each glass, think about the aromas (concentration, variety or complexity perceptible), but think also about the drinking sensations:  flavour of course, but also texture, perception of alcohol, acidity and tannins.  Georg Riedel feels that even these things can be influenced by the glass shape.

Several people asked for the full list of glasses tested on Friday.  Note that the event was focussed on the “on-trade” glassess – those available to restaurants, bars, etc.  Most of these are also available at retail, possibly by a different range name, your Riedel dealer will be able to help you.  Note that number 11 was only made the first time a week or two ago, but it is identical to number 3, the Sommelier Vintage Port, which is available at retail.  These two were tied as the final choice for best glass.

1. 6408/77 – Ouverture Bourbon – Non lead
2. 412/08   Wine tumbler champagne – Non Lead
3. 4400/60 Sommelier Vintage Port – Lead Cristal 24% PBO hand made
4. 480/5     Ouverture White Wine – Non Lead
5. 446/71   Restaurant Cognac – Non Lead
6. 446/18 Restaurant Tequila – Non lead
7. 4444/55 Vinum Extrem Icewine – Lead Cristal machine made
8. 4444/85 Vinum Extrem Prosecco – Lead Cristal machine made
9. 6416/10  Vinum XL Aquavit – Lead Cristal machine made
10. 6408/19 Ouverture Spirits – Non lead
11. 446/60 Restaurant Port Glass – Non lead
12. 6416/60 Vinum Port glass – Lead Cristal machine made
13. 4400/70 Sommeliers Cognac XO -  Lead Cristal hand made
14. 4400/61 Sommeliers Tawny Port –Lead Cristal hand made
15. 446/80  Restaurant Single Malt Whisky – Non lead
16. 412/60  Wine Tumbler Port glass – Non lead

If you do your own testing at home, we would love to hear about it!  Post to the comment space below to tell us about it, or on Facebook, if you want to include a photo.

Georg Riedel

A most unusual Port tasting was held at the Factory House in Porto last Friday:  although the five vintage ports on show were wonderful, the 18 port winemakers and critics present were asked not to judge the quality of the wines, but to judge which of 20 different wine glasses best delivered the aromas and flavours of Vintage Port.

Georg Riedel, 10th generation to head up the famous glassmaking company, and Johnny Symington, co-Managing Director of Symington Family Estates which, through their subsidiary Portfolio Vinhos Lda, distributes Riedel glassware in Portugal, hosted this extraordinary event.

The Riedel company, based in Austria, is renowned as the first glassmaker to propose specific shapes as well as sizes of glass to enhance the experience of tasting individual wines.  Friday’s event was an example of their ongoing research and partnership with the wine trade to determine the optimum glasses for specific wines, in this case Vintage Port.

On Friday, the panel members arrived to find the table of the second dining room at the Factory House laid with place settings of 16 glasses in a wide range of shapes and sizes.  Georg introduced the event, explaining how the shape of the glass can act as a loudspeaker for the wine, enhancing the intensity of the aromas and even influencing the drinker’s perception of the alcohol level, sweetness or dryness and mouth feel of the wine.  He then laid out the rules and format of the event as follow:

• Round 1 they tasted from 16 glasses, and would be asked to eliminate 8;
• Round 2 they had to eliminate 4 of those 8;
• Round 3 the wine would be served in the remaining 4 Riedel glasses and also 4 glasses made by competitors; participants were to eliminate 4 out of the 8;
• Round 4 eliminate 2 of the remaining 4;
• Round 5 decide which one glass best presented Vintage Port to the drinker.

One Vintage Port was served for each round.  There was absolute pin-drop silence in that room as the participants concentrated, sniffing and tasting from each glass, sometimes taking two glasses aside to focus more closely.  The first flight was concluded surprisingly rapidly, subsequent rounds took a little more time.  But for the first three rounds the scoring was very clear, often unanimous or nearly so, whether to keep or eliminate a particular glass.

Of the four glasses that made it to Round 4, all were Riedel glasses: 3 of the competitors’ glasses were almost unanimously rejected, the fourth was closer, but still several votes short of being kept in competition.  Georg said he was excited to see that two of the remaining glasses were lead glass and two were not, though he did not identify which was which, and said no one but a glass specialist would spot the difference.  Leaded glass has a more porous surface, and he wondered if that might be an advantage in presenting Vintage Port to the drinker.

Of the two eliminated in Round 4, Glass Number 4 was the Ouverture White Wine glass, developed in 1989.  Georg commented that absent a specialised port glass, a white wine glass is a good choice for serving port.  In fact the glass is one of his favourites; for him this glass presented the Vintage Ports with less intensity but greater diversity of aromas, as well as a grainier texture, drier flavour and a wonderful mouth feel.  The other elimination was Number 12, the Vinum Port glass, which was designed in 1991 after a similar tasting event with winemakers.

In the end, it was a dead tie:  Glass Number 3 (left in the left photo) and Glass Number 11 (left in the right photo) each received 9 votes.  Georg was actually quite excited about the results:  Glass number 3 is the Sommelier Vintage Port glass which was developed in 1992 and is made of mouth-blown lead crystal, whilst Glass number 11 is the identical glass machine blown from non-lead glass.  The glasses used for the tasting had been made for the first time just 10 days previously.  He felt the results proved that in fact, a drinker’s impression of the wine is governed solely by the dimensions and shape of the glassware, and not by the lead content of the glass itself.

Both Johnny and Georg remarked that the tasting panel was comprised of top critics and the winemakers who, between them, represented 80 or 90% of the Vintage and premium Port production.  To have this group reach such a clear concensus confirms that yes, the shape of the glass really does affect the drinker’s perception and potential appreciation of the wine, and furthermore, that this particular shape is the one they feel will best present their Vintage Ports to consumers.

In case you were you wondering about the wines, the five Vintage Ports served were:

1. Quinta do Vesuvio 2008
2. Fonseca Porto Guimaraens 2001
3. Graham’s 2000
4. Vau Vintage 1999
5. Graham’s 1980

In our next blog posting, Charles will give us his insights to how the wines were shown by the different glasses.

The Tasting Panel:

1. Julie Barba, Riedel
2. Luis Baila, RTP1
3. Joaquim Augusto Cândido da Silva, Portfolio Vinhos Lda
4. Charles Symington, winemaker, Symington Family Estates
5. José Manuel Sousa Soares, winemaker, Gran Cruz
6. Georg Riedel
7. Eduardo Neto, Sommelier, Restaurante Pedro Lemos, Porto
8. Ana Pereira, Ramos Pinto
9. Pedro Sá, winemaker, Sogevinus
10. Sergio Pereira, sommelier, Restaurante New Faces, V N de Gaia
11. João Afonso, Revista de Vinhos
12. José João Santos, Wine Magazine
13. António Montenegro, Sogevinus
14. Antonio Agrellos, winemaker, Quinta do Noval
15. José Silva, presenter, Hora de Baco, RTPN
16. Luis Sottomayor, winemaker, Sogrape
17. David Guimaraens, winemaker, Taylor Fladgate Partnership
18. Johnny Symington, co-managing director, Symington Family Estates

If you wish to try these glasses and do your own wineglass-testing tasting at home, three of the four final glasses mentioned above are available for retail purchase; only number 11 is so far only available to the trade.

Riedel’s website has full details about their range of glassware, a guide to help you select the right glass for your wine or spirit, and information about the firm and the family that has run it since the 17th century:  www.riedel.com

As witness today:  at a special tasting at the Factory House in Porto, it was David Guimaraens, winemaker for The Fladgate Partnership (makers of Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft) who insisted the Graham’s 2000 Vintage Port be properly decanted when it was brought up from the cellar at the last minute for an additional un-planned tasting flight, and showed us all how:

Meanwhile, it appears Charles Symington, Graham’s own winemaker, was pouring himself a particularly generous serving – not a tasting sample, a serving – of the Fonseca Porto Guimaraens Vintage Port 2001.

More about this extraordinary tasting event in an upcoming blog … stay tuned!

The world of vintage port wine is a fascinating one of itself, with its rich history, the skill and intricacy of the production process, and the many varieties and characteristics of the vintage ports on offer. There is however nothing quite to match the experience of an actual bottle of vintage port wine enjoyed at leisure. This of course necessitates that vintage port wines be located and purchased, and this can be a little off-putting for the newcomer. This article provides a quick overview of the options available and the issues involved in the purchase of vintage port wine.

Purchasing Port Wines In Store or On-Line

Most enthusiasts of vintage port wine will initially look to acquire a port that has been aged and is ready for drinking now. In this regard, your local wine store is an obvious starting point, since they will have single bottles of vintage port that are ready for drinking now and can serve as a perfect introduction to some popular shippers and styles.

As your taste and experience develops, it is then worth progressing to one of the excellent on-line suppliers of vintage port wines (such as http://www.vintagewineandport.co.uk ). Here you will be able to select from a wider range of vintage years, and so can consider years that are of personal importance as presents or keepsakes. An excellent single bottle of vintage port wine will cost you around £50 to £100, and almost all online merchants will provide you with tasting notes so that you can be guided towards a taste or style that suits you or the recipient. These represent excellent value, and you can often negotiate bulk discounts if you are looking to progress to the purchase of several bottles of a favoured vintage.
Purchasing Vintage Port Wine ‘En Primeur’

Once you have reached a sufficient level of experience and confidence with vintage ports, and if you have access to suitable long-term cellaring facilities, you may wish to progress to an investment in young, freshly bottled vintage port. This could be with a view to developing your own, high quality stocks of vintage port wines for posterity, or as an investment opportunity with a view to reselling these vintage ports at the higher price that a fully mature vintage port demands.

Most of the vintage port produced is sold straight after bottling (i.e. 2 years after the vintage), referred to as ‘en primeur’. These young port wines will have potential which may or may not be realized, and so here is where the true port wine connoisseur can find a true gem at a bargain price. The wine shippers will make such stocks available for purchase through selected traders in June or July of each year, although they will typically not be delivered until the following year, and payment may be required much earlier to secure your stocks. This does not present a significant problem of course since these port wines are being purchased specifically with a view to further ageing in bottle, and so this can even provide you with the time required to organize the necessary cellaring facilities.

IAn Pleasants http://www.vintagewineandport.co.uk/port.cfm

Fonseca Guimaraens was established in 1822 by Manuel Pedro Guimaraens after he acquired control of the Fonseca & Monteiro Company.  It was in the contract that the name Fonseca should always appear as long as the company was in existence.  The Guimaraens family retained control of the port shipping company until 1948 when it was sold to Taylor’s.  Fonseca is now part of the powerful Fladgate Partnership, along with Taylor’s and Croft.

Fonseca Ports are wines of consistently fine quality and its Vintage Ports are usually ranked among the top wines in each declared vintage.  A member of the Guimaraens family, David Guimaraens, is still the winemaker.  David happens to be the great-great-great-grandson of the founder.  He ensures that all the wines in the Fonseca portfolio are made to the highest standards.  The grapes for Fonseca’s wines are mainly come from 3 company owned quintas: Quinta do Cruzeiro, Quinta do Panascal, and Quinta do Santo Antonio, all purchased in the 1970s.  The grapes for all the Vintage Ports are still crushed by human feet, but the non-vintage grapes are crushed using a system of robotic feet.

By far the biggest selling Fonseca Port is Bin No.27, a delicious Reserve Ruby Port full of dark berry aromas, plum, and raisins.  It’s also a great value at only $15.95 at the LCBO.  Currently there are a few bottles of the 2003 Fonseca Vintage Port still available at the LCBO, at around $127, but not many.  There is, however, quite a large quantity of the relatively unusual Fonseca White Port on LCBO shelves at $14.95.  For information about white Port, read my article “What is White Port?” on Suite101.com.  Fonseca also makes a nice Late Bottle Vintage, but currently there’s only one bottle left in the LCBO system right now – the 2003.

Fonseca Vintage Port Tasting Notes: with a rating of the overall vintage in general for Vintage Port.

1966 English bottled: The 1966 vintage has been rated as an excellent, or Classic, vintage, characterized by power and elegance.  It was customary until 1971 for Port to be shipped to places, such as the UK, in barrel and then be bottled at their destination.  1970 was the last year this practice was allowed.  This wine is showing beautifully right now, but still has enough stuff to help it last quite a bit longer.  The colour is a medium tawny with a very light rim.  It’s overflowing with aromas of caramel, dried cherries, dried figs, and potpourri.  Sensually silky on the palate with a long and luxurious finish.  This was without a doubt my favourite of the tasting.  The rest of the group seemed to agree with me because it ranked number 1 by the whole group.

1966 Fonseca bottled:  A slightly deeper colour than the English bottled version with a touch more of a ruby hue to it.  Similar complex aromas as the English bottled, but not quite as pronounced.  Dried flowers and dried berries dominate.  Silky on the palate with flavours of dark chocolate caramels and baking spice.  Drinking very well now, but can also age quite a bit longer.  This was the overall 3rd favourite of the everyone in attendance.  Another beauty.

1980: 1980 has been rated as a good vintage, characterized by attractive fresh fruit flavours.  A pale tawny colour – lighter than the two 1966 Ports.  Aromas of dried red fruit and caramel dominate.  On the palate it has a silky texture but seemed less concentrated than the other wines of the tasting with a slightly astringent finish.  I had this ranked as my 7th favourite, but the group disagreed with me, making it the 2nd overall favourite of the night.

1985: The 1985 vintage was ranked overall as a very good vintage, characterized by a few outstanding wines, but some not very good at all.  The Fonseca Vintage Port happens to be one of the very good wines of the vintage.  Still showing a deep ruby colour with a garnet rim.  Lots of fig, and dark fruit aromas of prune and black plum, with a pretty floral note.  A lovely round texture on the palate with flavours of ripe cherry, blackberry, and baking spice.  I had this ranked as my 3rd favourite, however the rest of the group disagreed with me again as it was the overall 6th favourite of the tasting.

1992: This vintage has been rated overall as very good to excellent, characterized by rich, concentrated wines.  The Fonseca 1992 has a medium-deep garnet colour and aromas that seemed a bit muddy to me, but showing some dried fig, prune, and black licorice aromas.  A velvety texture, and slightly fuzzy tannins lead to flavours of chocolate and dark fruit.

1994: This vintage has been rated as outstanding (or Classic), characterized by very fleshy wines with firm structure.  This wine has a stewed dark fruit character along with aromas of suede and caramel.  On the palate there is a round texture with flavours of baking spices, Christmas cake, and prunes.

2003: This vintage has been rated as a very good, some say Classic vintage, characterized by a hot summer – some areas were even too hot.  An opaque ruby colour with stained tears.  This wine shows generous, ripe dark fruit flavours of blackberry, blueberry, and plum, with a touch of spice.  A very lush, velvety texture with ripe dark fruit and spice.  Needs time.

2007: This vintage has been rated as excellent, but the wines still need several years before drinking.  A very deep purple colour with stained tears.  This wine is brimming with black fruit, such as blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry and plum, with an attractive floral note (roses?).  The tannins are still quite aggressive and need several more years in the bottle to soften up.  Rich dark fruit, cherry, and violet flavours lead to a long finish.  This wine should be beautiful in about 20 years.  I ranked this as my second favourite of the tasting.