We didn’t know it then, but the 2019 Port Harvest Tour would be a turning point. Less than three months after this memorable tour in September 2019, the first reports of flu-like symptoms surfaced in Wuhan Province. A month later, in January 2020, the first case of COVID-19 in the United States was reported in Snohomish County, Washington (near Seattle). The world really would never be the same.

As I touched down in Porto’s Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in September 2019, those events and aftermath lay ahead in the future, over the horizon, and I was obliviously happy to be returning to Portugal to see old friends, taste great wines, and make new memories in this place that I have held so dear.

Pre-Tour Day 1 – Thursday

Taberna dos Mercadores

After checking into my hotel and relaxing for a little while, I met up with several of the FTLOP Port Harvest Tour regulars who had also come into Porto a few days early to do some tastings and visit some Quintas on their own. We met for lunch at Taberna dos Mercadores, one of my favorite restaurants in Porto.

Mercadores is a very small restaurant, and it is usually difficult to get into as they don’t take reservations. We decided we might have better luck getting there just as they were opening for the lunch service. The plan paid off, and they were able to seat our whole group at a table.

We started with a bottle of 2018 Ribeiro Santo Encruzado White Wine, ordered mussels and some appetizers, and spent a little time getting caught up with each other.

For the main course, I ordered one of my favorite (and visually impressive) dishes on the menu – salted sea bass. The fish is caked in salt and is prepared (flaming) at the table.

The meal was, as it normally is, exceptional and we spent the early afternoon enjoying the cuisine and the company.

Bacchus Vini

After lunch, we headed down to the riverfront and stopped by one of our regular wine bars – Bacchus Vini. We sat down at one of the tables on the sidewalk outside of the bar, and our dear friend Maria Fonseca soon emerged to welcome us back. Maria always provides us with interesting tastings, often pouring some very nice Ports from some of the lesser-known producers.

1970 Quinta da Devesa Colheita Port – Bottled in 2018. Yellow-orange in color. Tropical fruit notes on the nose with some spice. Some tropical fruit and peach, caramel, and tangerine on the palate. Well-balanced acidity. 90 points. 9/19/2019

1976 Quinta da Devesa Colheita Port – Bottled in 2018. Orange-brown in color with good clarity. Orange peel and smoky caramel notes on the nose. Maple syrup and orange spice on the palate. Good acidity and balance. Great intensity on the long finish. 92 points. 9/19/2019

Vieira de Sousa 10 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber with an orange edge. Slightly oxidized note with some vanilla on the nose. Smooth texture and nice long finish. This seems closer to a 20 Year Old Tawny than a 10 Year Old Tawny. 91 points. 9/19/2019

2011 Casa dos Lagares Fragulho Reserva Moscatel – Tangerine in color with good clarity. A solid, off-dry wine with balanced sweetness and great, long finish. 92 points. 9/19/2019

1985 Dalva Colheita Port – Bottled in 2019. Amber orange in color. Woody notes and caramel on the nose. Rich, lush mouthfeel with orange spice and good acidity on the palate. Great long finish. 93 points. 9/19/2019

After we finished our tasting, I said goodbye to the group and headed off for a dinner with one of my close friends, George Sandeman, and his wife Eduarda at LSD (Largo de São Domingos).

Largo de São Domingos (LSD)

I met George Sandeman on my first trip to Portugal in 2006 when he was our host for a tour, tasting, and lunch at the Sandeman Lodge. We kept in touch, and we usually got together for dinner or drinks each time I returned to Portugal. I was especially looking forward to seeing George on this trip, as I had a special gift from Seattle that I wanted to give him.

I met up with George and his wife Eduarda at Largo de São Domingos, better know as “LSD.” We greeted each other, ordered some wine, and spent some time getting caught up with each other over a bottle of wine and some appetizers.

Dinner Wines

• 2015 Herdade de Peso Reserva
• Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny Port

We had a lovely dinner, and as we sipped our 20 Year Old Sandeman Tawny Port, it was time to give my gift to George.

A short story from 2016 is in order here to provide some context around the gift I had brought George.

The Comet Tavern – Seattle, Washington

In 2016, George was serving as the Chancellor of the Confraria do Vinho do Porto (Port Wine Brotherhood), and he traveled to Seattle in October of that year to preside over a Confraria Induction Ceremony for new members. I was inducted that year for the work that I’d done to help build and grow For The Love Of Port, a Port wine website that I built in 2005 with my dear friend and Port Wine Expert Roy Hersh. 

During a conversation with George prior to the ceremony, he relayed a funny story about one of his visits to Seattle years ago. George was working in the trade for Sandeman, and he was asked to go to Seattle to visit a place called The Comet Tavern. The Comet Tavern was apparently one of the largest purchasers of Sandeman Port on the West Coast, and a goodwill visit to such a good customer was arranged.

When George arrived at the Comet Tavern in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, he was surprised to see it was pretty much a dive bar – not the kind of establishment one would expect to move cases and cases of Sandeman Port. He went into the bar and was greeted by the staff there, who were all excited to have George Sandeman visiting.

George finally got around to asking one of the Staff members about the large quantity of Sandeman Port they regularly purchased. The staffer explained that The Comet Tavern had not yet gotten all the required approvals to serve hard alcohol, but they could serve wine and beer. So The Comet started offering shots of the highest alcohol “wine” they could find – Port!

At the post-ceremony dinner, the story of George’s Seattle visit all those years ago came up again, and one of us jokingly said we should go visit The Comet Tavern after the dinner was over. Fast forward a few hours and our motley crew were rolling into The Comet: Chancellor of the Confraria George Sandeman, President of the Institute do Vinho do Porto (IVDP) Manual Cabral, Confrade Jorge Rosas, and new Confrade Stewart Todd, still wearing my tuxedo from the ceremony.

While I am sure that we raised quite a few eyebrows as I led the group through the door, we headed up to the bar and asked if we could get Sandeman Port shots. George briefly explained the story to the bartender as he poured our shots, and offered to take our picture as we toasted the Confraria and The Comet.

I presented George with his gift, we said our goodbyes, and by the time I got back to my hotel, George had texted me the following picture of him with the custom Comet Tavern T-Shirt and Coffee Mug that I had given him.