Day 6 – Friday

This morning, we would be hopping on the train for a short ride further east into the Douro Superior, the easternmost part of the Demarcated Douro Valley to visit Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas.

Quinta de Vargellas

Quinta de Vargellas is the flagship Quinta for Taylor Fladgate, and from my first trip there in 2006, this historic property has always been very special to me. I struck up a close friendship with owners Alistair and Gillyane Robertson on that first trip, and always tried to plan a visit to see them every time I came back to Portugal.

I connected with Gillyane a few months prior to our trip, and we scheduled lunch and a visit to the Quinta. However, a week before our trip, Gillyane emailed me to let me know that they were not going to be able to meet us due to a funeral for a long-time family friend. However, Gillyane said she still wanted us to go for lunch, and that the staff there would take good care of us. She said that since I’d been there so many times, I knew where everything was and for us to make ourselves at home.

So we boarded the train in Pinhão and disembarked at the rustic train station at Vargellas. This small station was built in 1886 and is specifically for the Quinta. While it is an enjoyable (somewhat uphill) 15-minute walk up to the Quinta from the train station, there were two cars waiting for us when we got off the train to drive us up to the main house.

When we arrived at the main house, Antonio, our host for the day, invited us to make ourselves at home, enjoy some White Ports and tonics that had been set out for us, and enjoy the views from the veranda. He said that lunch would be ready soon.

Before long, we were all seated around the outdoor table, enjoying some wonderful Portuguese fare and Portuguese wines and Ports.

After lunch, we decided we would take the long walk up to The Folly, a small pagoda built to celebrate the ruby wedding anniversary of Alistair and Gillyane. It sits high up on a point overlooking both the Douro River and Quinta de Vargellas.

Lt. Sharpe – the 14-year-old mascot of Vargellas – got up from his nap when he saw where we were headed and led the procession to The Folly. When we all arrived at the top, a cooler with more White Ports and tonics was waiting for us.

As I sat in the Folly, surrounded by family and close friends, sipping a White Port and tonic, looking out at the 360 degree panorama, I thought “there may not be a better view in the Douro Valley.”

Before long, a car began making its way up to the Folly, and when it arrived, my old friend David Guimaraens (Winemaker for Taylor and Fonseca) hopped out and came over to greet us. I was really surprised to see him, but he had heard from Gillyane that we would be visiting, and he wanted to come over to say hello.

We had a fabulous time chatting with David for the rest of the afternoon, but soon it was time to say goodbye and head back down to the Vargellas train station to catch our train back to Pinhão.

After returning to the Vintage House Hotel to refresh and change for dinner, we all met in the lobby and I revealed one of the surprises I had arranged for the group. We were headed to the Michelin-star DOC Restaurant in Folgoso not by taxi, but by boat!

We walked down to the dock, and our Barco Rabelo was waiting to whisk us away to dinner. These motorboats, built to resemble the iconic barco rebalo boats that historically carried barrels of Port downstream to Porto, are a unique experience and something that I didn’t want the group to miss on this trip.

D.O.C. Restaurant

We arrived at the dock right next to the D.O.C., the famous restaurant by Chef Rui Paula. As mentioned, it has a Michelin star and is a restaurant I always try to eat at during my trips to the Douro.

Day 7  – Saturday

Today would be our last full day on our tour, and we would be taking the train back to Porto to enjoy one last visit and one memorable final meal.

Sandeman

When we arrived back at São Bento train station, we headed back to the Hotel Teatro to drop off our bags. We then took a nice long walk to the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the Douro River, where we met up with one of my dearest friends in Portugal, George Sandeman.

George is from the seventh generation of the Sandeman family, who, from 1790 until 1980, owned the Port Producer bearing the family name. He joined the family business in 1977, and eventually rose to become Chairman of the House of Sandeman. The company was sold to Seagram in 1980, then briefly to Pernod Ricard in 2000, and finally to Sogrape in 2002. George remained involved in the business for many years before leaving the company.

George led us on a very informative (and humorous) tour of the Sandeman Lodge, and then led us to our tasting of a number of Sandeman Ports.

Sandeman Fine White Port – Honey in color. Very clear. Some complex floral notes on the nose. Medium dry in style. Topical notes of banana and lychee on the palate with some slightly dusty tanning on the very end of the finish. 90 points. (9/23/2017)

Sandeman Founder’s Reserve Port – Ruby purple in color – nearing the color of an eggplant. Red fruit on the nose with a touch of spirit present. Blackberry and dark fruit on the palate. Firm tannins on the finish with some nice residual fruit still showing through. 91 points. (9/23/2017)

2011 Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port – Dense, dark purple in color. Red fruit, a touch of spirit and some earthy notes on the nose. Intense, tannic midpalate with Bing cherry, boysenberry, and blackberry. Good acidity on the long finish. 93 points. (9/23/2017)

Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Rich amber-orange in color. Almonds, spice, and caramel on the nose. Very balanced palate with smooth midpalate of orange spice, caramel, and espresso beans. Nice long finish. 92 points. (9/23/2017)

Sandeman 30 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber-orange in color. Vanilla, cedar and orange spice on the nose. Nice, complex flavors of roasted hazelnuts, burnt sugar, and honey on the palate. Very long, balanced finish. 94 points. (9/23/2017)

After the tour, we walked to the restaurant Presuntaria Transmontana for lunch, a few more wines, and to socialize a little more with George.

Lunch Wines

• 2015 Vale dos Ares Alvarinho
• 2015 Caladessa Escolha

2000 Sandeman Vintage Port – Dark ruby in color, Some really nice dark fruit notes of black cherry, tobacco leaf, and spices. The dark fruit carries over to the palate, with notes of rich blackberry and boysenberry. The tannins are pronounced on the mid-palate and roll through the very long finish. 92 points. (9/23/2017)

Taylor 10 Year Old Tawny Port – Medium-ruby in color. Some really nice orange peel, spice and woody notes on the nose. Medium-bodied, with some red fruit, notes intermingling with the tannins and a touch of spirit. Nice, easy drinker, with a medium-long finish. 88 points. (9/23/2017)

The Yeatman Restaurant

After saying goodbye to George, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxing (and packing for tomorrow’s travel). We reconvened in the evening to head out for dinner at The Yeatman’s Restaurant, which has two Michelin stars.

For We were joined by a few other people, including Anne Marie Faustino, a dear friend who worked for Taylor, and Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz, two of my local Seattle Port friends who had arrived in Porto for the FTLOP Port Harvest Tour.

As we got to the entrance of the restaurant, someone noticed a sign with my name on it. It looked like we would be eating in the private dining room.

When I’ve eaten at the Yeatman before, I have always gotten the Chef’s menu and the matching wine pairings. The meal consists of several small, mind-blowing plates that employ gastronomic techniques to produce a singularly wonderful culinary experience.

It was a perfect way to end off one of the most memorable trips to Portugal, and I was so happy that my family and close friends got to experience how special this place – and the people – can be.

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