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More Portuguese Dessert Wines
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- QUINTA DO TEDO
Vincent Bouchard grew up in Burgundy and his family made wine there for many
generations.
He learned the wine business and the barrel business in France before taking
some advice from Robert Mondavi to come to California to study wine and wine
marketing.
Bouchard married a California woman and we understand they live in Italy
these days.
The couple ventured to Portugal in 1989 and Bouchard enjoyed hiking the
hills and terraces of the Douro Valley. In 1992 the pair purchased a
small estate called Quinta do Tedo.
This property is situated by the Douro at the confluence of the Tedo and
Douro rivers. It comprises some 20 hectares scattered over some five
different parcels.
The wines are all "estate grown." That is, they do not buy
grapes from neighboring growers, but use on fruit from their own vineyards.
The fruit is hand-harvested into chestnut baskets. These are brought
to the cellar and emptied into a de-stemming machine. Bouchard
believes the tannins from the stems offer no positive character to the wine,
so they remove them. The grapes are then placed into a stone lagar
holding anywhere between 1200 to 1800 gallons.
Grape picking baskets awaiting the harvest in the lagares at Quinta do
Tedo.
The fruit is then treaded by foot over the course of three or four
days. Talk about labor intensive!-
Enologist Hugo Fonseca in the Quinta do Tedo cellars.
- We have often found the Tedo wines to be quite good and they're usually
offered by a local importer at very attractive pricing.
We currently have the 1997 Vintage Port. This comes from vineyards
planted more than 40 years ago. The parcels are mixed...Touriga
Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Pomar, Tinta
da Barca, Mourisco, Tinta Amarela, Rufete and Malvazia Preta, according to
the winery.
The wine was matured in large French oak for two years. We find it
to be in the "very good" category from a qualitative
standpoint. It's a nice wine, but seems a bit softer than many
1997s...I suspect it's close to its peak now and should remain on a
plateau for a decade, or so. I don't see this wine blossoming
further, though.
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Currently in stock: 1997 QUINTA DO TEDO VINTAGE
PORT SALE $24.99 (750ml)
Crasto's vineyards.
- QUINTA DO CRASTO
The Quinta do Crasto is owned by the Roquette family and it's an estate
which produces, primarily, table wines.
Less than ten percent of their sales are in Port. Winemaker Manuel
Lobo says they view the making of Port as an extension of their table wine
production. The fruit is picked when it's ripe and not
over-ripe.
We have some 1997 Vintage Porto in stock. This is a
medium-full-bodied Port and it's showing quite nicely now.
Currently in stock: 1997 QUINTA DO CRASTO Vintage Porto SALE
$53.99
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- TAYLOR, FLADGATE & YEATMAN
 Though the name of this company sounds like
that of a law firm, they are
obliged to use this long name to avoid legal entanglements with the New York winery called
"Taylor."
The history of this company goes back more than 400 years. Their Ports are
consistently excellent and in our "classification" of Douro Valley brands, we'd
have Taylor, Fonseca and Graham's as our top choices.
Their vintage Ports typically fetch prices a few percentage points higher than the rest.
In terms of style, theirs is a rather firm, well-structured vintage Port, made for
cellaring rather than immediate gratification.
The "sister" company of
Fonseca, for example, produces a sweeter, rounder Port. Taylor is more brawny in its
youth, showing an elegance and refinement with aging. Most of their Port comes from the Quinta de Vargellas estate, with the balance coming
from Quinta de Terra Feita.
While their basic Ruby and Tawny Port are quite nice, our clientele seems to favor
their "wood Ports." The 10-Year-Old Tawny is simply marvelous, being
medium-bodied and with hints of dried fruits. The 20, 30 and 40-year tawnies are
progressively paler in color and have less "fruit" (I, frankly, like the 10 year
best--that's probably because of my preference for full-throttle Vintage Ports).
The "Quinta de Vargellas" wines I have found to be variable.
However, the 1995 is outstanding--deep in color and fruit and wonderfully-balanced.
It is certainly drinkable now and seems to be structured for another 10-20 years' aging.
Some vintages of this have been less deep and/or they display a spirity quality
which is not well-integrated with the wine. Whatever the case, being objective in my
evaluation of the wines, as much of a fan as I am of Taylor, I don't buy in every vintage
of Vargellas.
We used to stock Taylor's White Port, but are currently sold out. The
director of the firm says they will probably not be selling this in the US
market, so we also have Churchill Graham's White Port and Warre's, in addition
to Fonseca.
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TAYLOR 1970 Vintage Port Sold Out
TAYLOR 1977 Vintage Port $199.99
TAYLOR 1983 Vintage Port $109.99 (good value!)
TAYLOR 1997 Vintage Port $89.99
TAYLOR 2000 Vintage Port $89.99
TAYLOR 10 Year Tawny Port $25.99
TAYLOR 20 Year Tawny Port $49.99
TAYLOR 30 Year Tawny Port $112.99
TAYLOR 40 Year Tawny Port $149.99
- FONSECA
 Under the same ownership as Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman (but run quite
independently of each other), Fonseca is also a Port of superb quality.
The firm was founded in the late 1700s and the Fonseca branch of the family tree traces
its roots back to Brazil. The Guimaraens part of the
"family" became involved back in 1822, taking control of Fonseca. One
stipulation made by the retiring Fonseca: His name must be associated with the firm in
perpetuity. Well, the Guimaraens' are still involved in the firm today.- Fonseca's vintage Ports typically offer a more rich, sweeter
quality than the Taylor. My sniffer often detects more a dried fruit quality in the
Fonseca, with Taylor displaying a bit less "ripe" notes or, at least, a more
berryish quality.
They make the typical range of wines....from basic ruby and tawny to their flagship
"Bin 27" Port through the range of wood Ports to the great Vintage Ports the
firm is most famous for.
Fonseca also produces a White Porto called Siroco. This is made of two kinds of
Malvasia varieties and aged for four years in wood. It is off-dry (about 3% residual
sugar) and tastes great on a hot, hot afternoon served over ice with a twist of lemon or
lime.
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FONSECA 1963 Vintage Port $429.99
FONSECA 1977 Vintage Port $259.99
- FONSECA 1983 Vintage Port $ 119.99
FONSECA 2000 Vintage Port $89.99
FONSECA "Bin 27" Port $15.99
FONSECA "Siroco" White Port $16.99
FONSECA 1997 Vintage Port $89.99
FONSECA 1994 Vintage Port $224.99
FONSECA 1992 Vintage Port $119.99
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- COCKBURN'S
 Firstly, the name of the firm is pronounced "Co-Burns," not
"Cock-Burns."
Quinta do Tua, Quinta de Val Coelho and the Quinta do Atayde provide the bulk of the
production for Cockburn's Ports.
The company has always been keen on improving the
vineyards and upgrading the raw materials, as it were (the fruit). The Quinta do
Atayde is a new vineyard in the flatlands of the Vilarica Valley. Cockburn's is a
pioneer in this non-terraced region. The interesting feature here is that they've
planted these vineyards in single-varietal format. That is to say, most Port
vineyards are a mixed bag of grape varieties.
Cockburn's is attempting to separate
each variety and harvest each in accordance with the qualities of the fruit. As some
varieties ripen earlier than others, Cockburn's is thinking to maximize the best qualities
of each grape variety. This certainly seems sensible, doesn't it?
Their "Special Reserve" is a sweet, smooth, medium-bodied Port. I find
it'ssort of like an aged "Ruby" Port.
They've been rather stingy in
declaring "vintages"....so if you ever find a 1977 Cockburn's (or 1966 or 1945),
you'll be holding something very rare and very fake.
The 1970 vintage is sort of soft in its center, yet still a bit of hardness to it.
It's less of a "classic" compared to other 1970s, but its price is also
substantially lower than its compatriots.
Their 1983 is a spicy (still) Port...deep
and concentrated. This ought to be good for another decade or two.
Cockburn's
1994 Vintage Port is very typical of the vintage....deeply fruity...spicy...berryish and
full. It is certainly approachable now, yet it has another few decades of life ahead
of it.
We had a bottle of 1955 Vintage Port in late 2008...much of the color had
dropped out and the wine was a rather pale ruby color...the nose was nice
and it was smooth and silky on the palate, apart from the heat of the
alcohol. It was a wonderful bottle...
- COCKBURN'S "Special Reserve" Port $17.99
- COCKBURN'S 1994 Vintage Port $69.99
- COCKBURN'S 1963 Vintage Port SALE
$199.99
COCKBURN'S 2000 Vintage Port Sold Out
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- DELAFORCE
 One of
the Delaforce family set up the firm of Martinez Gassinot in the early
1800s, while it was in 1968 that George Henry Delaforce founded this firm.
A Delaforce family member actually took over the winemaking in the early
1990s, but the company was sold in 2001 to the Taylor and Fonseca
group.
The wines are lighter and generally a bit less complex than the sister
brands of Taylor and Fonseca. Some very good Colheitas have been
recently bottled and we have these in half-liter format.
- Currently in stock: DELAFORCE 1944 Colheita $299.99 (500ml)
DELAFORCE 1952 Colheita $199.99 (500ml)
DELAFORCE 1965 Colheita $109.99 (500ml)
DELAFORCE 20 Year Old Tawny $36.99
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DOW'S
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 The
Dow's name is one associated with top quality Port and it has been so since
the 1870's.
The firm started out as Silva & Cosens, a Portuguese fellow and a
British gentleman working together in the 1840's. A member of the Dow
family joined the company in 1877, following a member of the Warre family,
another great name in Port.
Dow's is owned by the Symington family, the great British Port "Mafiosi,"
A.J. Symington joining Dow's in 1912. The fourth generation of
Symington's runs this firm today.
The firm owns several great vineyards and has been at the forefront of
innovation, yet they still have some old, traditional lagares where
they tread the grapes by foot!
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house style is slightly drier than many Ports, but only slightly. Most
people won't be able to detect this subtle difference. The
vintage-dated Ports here are routinely quite good, but since they're not
over-the-top sweet, those who rate wine on a numerical basis tend to miss
these by a few points.
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- Currently
in stock:
1966 Dow's Vintage Port Sold Out
1970 Dow's Vintage Port $179.99
1977 Dow's Vintage Port Sold Out
1985 Dow's Vintage Port $ 79.99
1991 Dow's Vintage Port (375ml) $29.99
1994 Dow's Vintage (375ml) $49.99
1994 Dow's Vintage Port $89.99 SALE
1996 Quinta do Bonfim Vintage Port $35.99
2000 Late Bottled Vintage $19.99
1982 Colheita $54.99
QUINTA
DO NOVAL
 Noval
is a storied firm, tracing its name back to the early 1700's, being owned by
the Rebello Valente family. When the phylloxera scourge hit the Douro,
devastating the vines, the property was put up for sale, being bought by Antonio
José da Silva,
whose name appears, from time to time, on some Vintage Port bottled by Noval.
Noval pioneered the concept of decades old bottlings of Tawny Ports.
They also were the first to offer "Late Bottled Vintage" Port,
offering the 1954 in 1958.
The firm is famous for its "Nacional" vineyard Port, a wine made
from ancient vines planted before the phylloxera louse arrived in the
Douro.
Noval, along with Niepoort, offers exceptional Colheita Ports. The
quality is good and the pricing is quite reasonable.
The property was purchased by the AXA insurance group in the early
1990s. It seems to be running rather smoothly, the quality of their
products being quite good.
Currently in stock:
1968 Colheita Sale $152.99 (375ml)
1974 Colheita (list $110) Sale $99.99
1997 Vintage Sold Out
40 year Tawny $119.99
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- QUINTA do INFANTADO
 This little enterprise
has been in the Roseira family since the late 1800s, though it was owned by the King of
Portugal at one time. The company is relatively small, being the size of a modest
California winery. One of their distinctions is that theirs is an
"estate-bottled" Port. Though they've been making Port for so many years,
they're not well known thanks to a curious, ancient law which changed a few years
ago. It said that to be able to export your wine, you had to ship it, in bulk, for
bottling in the town of Vila Nova de Gaia. As most little companies could not afford
to maintain a bottling plant so far from their production facility, the notion of being
able to export their wares was unheard of. This silly law was changed in
1986.
But that is but one distinction for this firm. Another little known
fact is that vineyards in the Douro are "classified" or rated as
to the quality of the fruit they generally produce. Naturally, the top
vineyard sites (which have an "A" rating) go into vintage Ports
and top bottlings. At the D, E and F level you'd have fruit destined
to go into the most basic of ruby and tawny Ports.
Infantado's vineyards are Class A exclusively. Even their
"little" entry level bottlings are from Class A sites!!!
Infantado makes a wide range of wines...the usual suspects, actually. Their 1995 is
a very fine bottle of wine and we have it at a very attractive price! Like most
other good, young Ports (these days), this is beautifully balanced and is worth tasting at
this early stage. It probably can last another few decades.
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QUINTA do INFANTADO 1995 Vintage Port $35.99
- WIESE & KROHN
 These names don't sound Portuguese. The firm was started in the
1860s by a couple of Norwegians who were involved in codfish. (I don't make this
stuff up...this is true!). The Carneiro family owns the place today, having been a
part of this firm since 1922. The brand name is simply "Krohn's" and this
was a wise (or Wiese) move to simplify the name.
I tasted a whole range of their
wares in 1998 and was really dazzled by some of their Colheita Ports. Though they
offer Colheitas in many years, I thought some of the best were from vintages which were
not widely "declared" as Vintage Port. Perhaps their best wines, then, are
retained for use in the Colheitas?
These are "reserve" Ports, matured for years
and years before being bottled. The 1965 is the star of their portfolio, having a
brighter and deeper core of fruit. For the fussy vintage Port drinker (such as
myself), this is a smooth and remarkable bottle. It was bottled in 1998.
The 1958 is a shade lighter, as is the 1961. Both are delicious.
The 1966 seems to be a tad richer. The 1976 is a medium-bodied, mildly
nutty Port.
The firm does not get much notice in the U.S. market, being more popular in
the European market.
- KROHN'S 1965 "Colheita" Port
$109.99
KROHN'S 1958 "Colheita" Port $134.99
KROHN'S 1961 "Colheita" Port $129.99
KROHN'S 1997 Late Bottled Vintage Port $17.99
KROHN'S 1966 "Colheita" $99.99
KROHN'S 1976 "Colheita" $65.99
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- We have access to many older vintage Ports. We
don't have adequate space to stock an encyclopedic collection, so if you are, indeed,
seriously in search of something, please make an inquiry.
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