2019 Port Harvest Tour

September 19, 2019

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Day 2 – Monday

Poças Port Lodge

Our first stop of the day was the Poças Port Lodge, located a little up the hill in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Poças was founded in 1918 by Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior and has been family owned ever since.

The Quintas

Poças has three Quintas, one residing in each of the three regions of the demarcated Douro Valley (Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo, and Douro Superior).

Quinta das Quartas, which is in the Baixo Corgo, was given to Poças in 1932 to settle a debt. It was renovated in 1985 and has one hectare of vines, the Poças winery, and a large warehouse to store and age wines.

Poças purchased Quinta de Santa Bárbara (located in the Cima Corgo) in 1999. The Quinta boasts 30 hectares of vines, some of which are much-desired “old vines” and are used primarily to make Poças Douro DOC wines.

Finally, Quinta de Vale de Cavalos was purchased in 1988 and is in the Douro Superior. It has about 45 hectares of vines and features sufficient altitude, proximity to the Tejo River, and a granite/schist soil combination that allows Poças to produce high-quality wines there.

When we arrived at the Lodge, we were greeted by Pedro Pintão, Director of Marketing & Communication. He is one of the great-grandsons of founder Manoel Domingues Poças Júnior, and he would be our host for the afternoon.

We started with a tour of the Poças facility, which houses an impressive range of production and storage capabilities: large and small barrels, stainless steel vats, and stored bottles.

After our tour, it was time to head to the tasting room and begin our tasting of a wide range of Poças wines and Ports.

Poças 10 Year Old White Port – Bottled in 2018. Light orange-peach in color. Clear. Tropical fruit, fresh nose with some spirit. Peach and tropical fruit on the palate. Rich flavor profile. Good freshness and fruit character, and a good touch of oxidation from the barrel. A little different stylistically, which caused some problems with the approval process with the IVDP. 91 points. 9/23/2019

Poças 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Bottled in 2018. Orange in color with light amber notes. Hints of wood and spirit on the nose. Rich, full body on the mouthfeel with caramel, orange peel, and a touch of bitterness on the finish. Slightly drying tannins on the long finish. 92 points. 9/23/2019

2000 Poças Colheita Port – Bottled in 2019. Burnt umber center with yellow edges. Clear. Vanilla, wood, and a small whiff of “little vinegar” notes (not unpleasant or a fault) on the nose. Orange and some honey on the palate. Good, structured tannins on the very long finish. 92 points. 9/23/2019

1992 Poças Colheita Port – Bottled in 2017. Deep, rich amber-orange in color. Clear. Noticeable oxidation (in a good way) and spirit on the nose, with a touch of cocoa powder and light herbs. Still some fruit character and really bright acidity. Very long finish. 92 points. 9/23/2019

Poças 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Bottles in 2017. Amber-orange in color with yellow on the rim. Some light oxidation with caramel, orange peel, and some light spirit. Very unctuous mouthfeel with some tannins on the mid-palate. Pronounced acidity, apricot notes, and great structure on the long finish. 93 points. 9/23/2019

1967 Poças Colheita Port – Bottled in 2019. Orange-straw in color (surprisingly light in color). Light notes of pine resin and some VA on the nose (in a good way). Very rich mouthfeel with rounded, well-balanced acidity. Clean, high-toned with orange, herbal notes, and a touch of marzipan. 94 points. 9/23/2019

1985 Poças Vintage Port – Purple-amber in color. Fig and some prune on the nose with some chocolate and dried fruit. Good acidity, with resolved tannins and still some red fruit noticeable. Nice structure with a long finish of raspberry and some dusty tannins. This is a VP heading towards a long, elegant drinking plateau for the next 10-15 years. 92 points. 9/23/2019

2017 Poças Vintage Port – Impenetrable squid ink center with purple edges. Blueberry and some tankiness on the nose, with a touch of mint. Pronounced tannins with dark fruit and great structure. Long finish. 90 points. 9/23/2019

Poças Quinado Colheita Port – This wine was made over 40 years ago and is a special kind of rare Port wine to which quinine has been added. It has been aged in a wooden barrel since then. It was bottled from cask for our tasting. 40 years ago, it was a ruby Port It was infused with herbs, quinine, and vanilla and then aged. Orange-brown in color. Vanilla, Caramel, and some light oak notes on the nose. Buttery caramel, vanilla bean, and hints of orangesicle on the palate. Bright acidity but well-rounded finish. 94 points. 9/23/2019

Lunch Wines

2017 Poças Branco da Ribeira Douro White
2015 Simbolo Douro Red
1997 Poças Vintage Port
1996 Poças Vintage Port

As visit with Pedro was outstanding, and we all left with a deeper understanding and appreciation for both the quality and range of their wines.

Our next stop would pit two of our favorite Tawny Port producers against each other, and we couldn’t wait!

DR vs. S. Leonardo Taste-Off

While there are a lot of producers who are making high-quality, outstanding Tawny Ports, our crowd of regulars has come to know two producers – and their Ports – extremely well: DR (aka Agri-Roncão) and S. Leonardo (aka Quinta do Mourão).

We were headed to Vinoteca Garrafeira & Wine Bar in Porto to taste their 10, 20, 30, and 40 Year Old Tawnies side by side. BLIND!

We would be tasting the wines in pairs (10 Year Olds together, 20 Years Olds together, etc.) and we had the staff at Vinoteca pour blind them so we wouldn’t know which was the DR and which was the S. Leonardo.

As we are apt to do when we are doing serious tastings, everyone was heads down, tasting, writing notes, and there were virtually no discussions going on.

It was only after we had finished all our notes, voted for our favorite in each pair, and tried to guess if the winner was DR or S. Leonardo that we revealed all the bottles.

	DR 10 Year Old Tawny Port – Clear, amber-brown in color. Cinnamon, orange peel, and mocha on the nose. Orange spice, nuts, and unctuous mouthfeel with balanced tannins and bright acidity arriving on the mid-palate. Very long, rich finish with waves of flavors. 90 points. 9/23/2019 S. Leonardo 10 Year Old Tawny Port – Orange-brown in color. Very clear. Subdued nose of vanilla, spice, and almond. Unctuous mouthfeel with a great balance of sweetness and acidity. Cinnamon and dried fruit with some bitter almond skin on the midpalate. 92 points. 9/23/2019
	DR 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Light orange-amber in color. Clear. Mahogany and mocha on the nose with a touch of herbs. Bitterness with some spirit right off the bat. A touch hot, with red hots, notes of herbs, and some orange peel. Long finish with bitterness falling away to nice balanced, through a little hot, finish. 91 points. 9/23/2019 S. Leonardo 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Orange-yellow with lightning at the edges. Clear. A touch of rose petals and spirit on the nose. Intense orange peel on the entry but extremely balanced on the mid-palate with subtle orange and honey notes. The finish falls off for a second and then returns in subtle waves of flavor. 93 points. 9/23/2019
	DR 30 Year Old Tawny Port – Light orange-brown in color. Clear. Sassafras, honey, a touch of orange spice, and floral notes on the nose. Honey, cola on the palate with really great balance and acidity. Great, balanced finish with citrus peel and mocha notes. 94 points. 9/23/2019 S. Leonardo 30 Year Old Tawny Port – Dark brown-orange in color. Clear. Dark chocolate and brown sugar on the nose. Chocolate and caramel on the rich mid-palate. Bright acidity. Some subtle cherry notes on the late palate and a long, balanced finish. 92 points. 9/23/2019
	DR 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Orange-yellow in color. Clear. Light touch of oxidation, cherry cough drop, and mahogany notes on the nose. Orange cordial with hints of sweet cherry kirsch. Extremely balanced palate with great integration. Caramel, orange peel, and a slight touch of spice. 95 points. 9/23/2019 S. Leonardo 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Dark, amber-brown in color. Clear. Mocha powder, molasses, and a touch of spirit on the nose. Rich intensity of flavor with chocolate, tobacco molasses, and spice. Very long, unctuous finish with wonderful balance and intensity. 96 points. 9/23/2019

Overall the majority consensus of the group correctly identified the producer for all eight of the wines.

While I preferred the S. Leonardo for all of the wines except the DR 30 Year Old Tawny Port, a majority of the group went with S. Leonardo for the 10 and 20 Year olds, and the DR for the 30 and 40 year olds.

This was such a great, educational experience to taste these wines side by side blind, and I hope that it is an exercise that gets repeated in the future!

Dinner at O Comercial

After we finished our tasting, we headed over to one of the most iconic buildings in Porto, the Palácio da Bolsa, which is located in the historical center of Porto. On the main floor is the elegant restaurant O Comercial.

I recall the meal being very good, but honestly, my attention was more on the wines that we had brought along to taste, primarily from Blackett Ports and Brunheda Douro Wines.