Pre-Tour Day 2 – Friday

Quinta de Vargellas

 

Today I would be taking the train up to one of my favorite places in Portugal – Quinta de Vargellas. This beautiful property is the flagship Quinta for Taylor Fladgate, and is owned by Alistair Robertson (former CEO of Taylor) and his wife Gillyane.

I have visited Alistair and Gillyane at Vargellas numerous times, and the beauty of this historical property and their amazing hospitality make every visit with them memorable.

Quinta de Vargellas is located about three hours by train from Porto. It is one of the last stops on the train line that runs from Porto, through the Douro Valley, to Poccino near the Spanish border. As a large, historic, and working farm, it has its own railway station, though few tourists ever venture out this far since there are only a few stops further before the train line ends, and Vargellas and Quinta do Vesuvio (the next stop on the train line) are not open to the public.

When I arrived at the tiny building that serves as that formal Vargellas station, Alistair, Gillyane and two other, familiar-looking guests were there to greet me. Gillyane introduced them as Erika and Markus from Switzerland – friends of theirs who, like me, love to come to Vargellas when we are visiting the Douro Valley.

After warmly all greeting each other, we headed to the main house and enjoyed a glass of Port as we chatted and waited for lunch to be served.

We were soon joined by one of Alistair’s and Gillyane’s daughters, Pandora. We gathered around the table on the beautiful veranda and enjoyed a light lunch and a variety of dinner wines.

 

 

 

Lunch Wines

• 2013 Zind Humbrecht Riesling Thann
• 2016 Antão Vas da Peceguina
• Taylor 20 Year Old Tawny Port

 

As we sat around the table, Markus and Erika recounted how they first met Alistair and Gillyane. They had long been fans of Taylor Ports and had read a lot about Vargellas. Since Vargellas isn’t open to the public, they had taken the train up to Vargellas on a previous occasion, gotten off the train, played with a couple of the dogs around the train station, and then caught the train heading back the other way towards Porto.

One year while visiting Portugal, they were planning the same thing – take the train to Vargellas, get off and hang out at the station by the river, and then catch the train back to Porto. However, when the train stopped at Vargellas, a tour group got off the train and was met by Alistair and Gillyane, who assumed that Markus and Erika were part of the tour. Erika kindly explained that they weren’t part of the tour, but Gillyane said “Never mind – come and have lunch with us!”

At this point in the story, I suddenly realized why they looked familiar. That group that got off that train in 2013 was the FTLOP Port Harvest Tour, and I remembered them joining us for lunch that afternoon! We all had a good laugh when I made the connection, and it was nice how we had all ended up back here together six years later.

After we finished lunch, we headed down to the Douro to board Alistair’s boat for a late-afternoon tour river cruise, complete with an ice chest full of White Port and Tonics. We had a lovely afternoon cruising the Douro and watching the beautiful scenery roll by.

When we returned to Vargellas, it was almost time for dinner. We headed back to the large, candle-lit table on the veranda for dinner and wines, and it was another of those experiences that I seem to have a lot at Vargellas when I just want to pause and take in the moment.

 

Dinner Wines

• 2017 Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
• 2013 Tapada de Coelheiros
• 1970 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port

Vargellas was right in the middle of their harvest, so the stone winery buildings down from the main house were buzzing with activity. The workers were in the process of foot-treading the grapes in the ancient stone lagars, so Pandora and I decided that we would change into the “Vargellas Grape Stomping Uniform” – blue shorts and a white Vargellas tee shirt – and head down to the winery to help.

Typically, when Port wine grapes are brought into the stone lagars at Vargellas, the first phase of foot-treading is done by workers who line up in rows and march systematically back and forth across the lagar in what is known as the corte (the cut). After about two hours of this organized, usually silent period of treading, the foreman will announce liberdade (freedom). This is usually accompanied by music, and the workers can walk around and tread wherever they like in the lagar. This also usually turns into singing, dancing, and conga lines for about two more hours until the grapes are fully crushed and fermentation is underway.

Thankfully, we arrived in the middle of Liberdade, so there was an accordion player filling the building with upbeat music and a lot of laughing and dancing in the lagar.

There is a good reason why “guests” are given the white tee shirts – it makes the grape hand prints show up better! After we climbed out of the lagar and cleaned off our legs and feet, we headed over to join Alistair and Gillyane for a last few glasses of Port before heading off to bed.

The next morning, I got up early, quietly packed my bags and gathered my things, and spent a few last moments taking in the beauty of Vargellas and the Douro before I headed down to the train station to catch the early morning train back to Porto.The next morning, I got up early, quietly packed my bags and gathered my things, and spent a few last moments taking in the beauty of Vargellas and the Douro before I headed down to the train station to catch the early morning train back to Porto.The next morning, I got up early, quietly packed my bags and gathered my things, and spent a few last moments taking in the beauty of Vargellas and the Douro before I headed down to the train station to catch the early morning train back to Porto.

 

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Pre-Tour Day 3 – Saturday

DR at Enoteca Wine Shop

 

After having breakfast at my hotel and then taking a morning stroll around Porto, I met back up with our small group of FTLOP regulars to continue our pre-tour tastings – this time by tackling a lineup from one of our favorite Tawny Port producers. Formally known as “Agri-Roncão,” they are better known for their brand name of Ports – DR.

Today we would be meeting up with DR’s Owner Ana Ribeiro and Export Manager Elizabete Almeida at the Enoteca Wine Shop in Porto to taste a wide range of their Tawny and White Ports.

I was also excited that three other Port Harvest Tour veterans happened to be in town and would be joining our tasting today – Andy Velebil (FTLOP Forum Moderator); Julian Wiseman and Derek Turnbull (the latter two are from the UK).  All of us have gone on Harvest Tours together previously, but it had been a while since I had seen them.

White Ports

DR 20 Year Old White Port – Unfiltered cask sample. Bottled two days prior. Clear, honey-straw in color. Honeysuckle and some spice on the nose. Rich, lush mouthfeel with honey, caramel, and some butterscotch notes. Very long finish with bright acidity. 92 points. 9/21/2019

DR  30 Year Old White Port – Cask sample. Not bottled yet. Light butterscotch in color with clearing on the edges. Slightly spirited nose with some citrus and orange blossom. Pronounced orange on the palate with some honey and citrus on the long finish. 93 points. 9/21/2019

DR 50 Year Old Very Old White Port – Cask sample. Clear, honey gold in color. Subdued nose with some light spirit. Incredible unctuous honey and toffee. Very long finish with great acidity and good balance. 94 points. 9/21/2019

 

Tawny Ports

DR 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber-orange in color. Woody notes with vanilla on the nose. Balanced mid-palate, with some orange spice notes. 90 points. 9/21/2019

DR 30 Year Old Tawny Port – Yellow-light brown in color. Orange peel with a touch of petrol and spirit on the nose. Rich orange spice, pralines, and caramel. Very long finish. 94 points. 9/21/2019

DR 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Dark orange-amber in color. Cedar and Crème Brule on the nose. Orange peel and brown sugar on the palate with a very long finish. 95 points. 9/21/2019

DR 70 Year Old Very Old Tawny Port – Dark amber-orange in color. Toasted nuts, pralines, and mahogany notes on the nose. Fabulously unctuous with vanilla, tangerine, and molasses on the palate. Extremely well-balanced with a very long finish. 97 points. 9/21/2019

DR 1885 Very Old Port – From 1885. Cask sample. Brown-yellow in color with yellow edges. Viscous in the glass. Mahogany, tobacco, and molasses on the nose. Saline, dark chocolate, roasted nuts, honey, and brown sugar on the unctuous palate. Deep, rich finish with very balanced acidity. 99 points. 9/21/2019

 

Vintage Ports

2001 DR Vintage Port – Pop and pour. Dark garnet in color. Significant sediment. Some smoky notes and red fruit on the nose. Blueberry on the palate and pronounced tannins on the long, balanced finish. 89 points.  9/21/2019

2017 DR Vintage Port – Pop and pour. Opaque purple in color. Blueberry and dark fruit on the nose. Very young wine. Firm tannins with a backbone of dark fruit. Very long finish. 91 points. 9/21/2019

 

 

The tasting was phenomenal, the wines showed beautifully, and the quality of the wines is reflected in the high tasting note scores from all of us. To make a fantastic day even better, we had dinner reservations at restaurant Eskalduna Studio, a Michelin Star restaurant in Porto.

 

Eskalduna Studio

Eskalduna Studio is in an area just a little north of the Ponte Infante Dom Henrique bridge. Chef Vasco Coelho Santos and his team craft a culinary experience by providing tasting menus with 8-10 small courses, or “moments.”

While I don’t normally include menus in my articles, this one will be an exception. The wide range of Moments that were served was astounding, and every course brought rich, complex flavors that made me wish I could order a whole plate of each of them.

And while the lightly wasn’t great and won’t do the photographs of the food justice, here are a few shots of some of the dishes. Trust me – every Moment was remarkable and memorable.

 

 

Wines with Dinner

• 2011 Druida Encruzado Reserva
• Frey Granito White
• 2006 Munda White