Day 6 – Friday

Quinta do Vale Meão

Quinta do Vale Meão is one of the most historic Quintas in the Douro, steeped with a long history and direct ties back to one of the most legendary figures in the history of Port. Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira purchased 300 hectares of land in the Douro Superior in 1877. It was a speculative purchase at the time, since there were no roads in this far eastern part of the Douro Valley, the Douro railway’s extension east had still not come anywhere close to the property, and the safest way to reach the property was a twelve-day journey from Porto via boats pulled up the Douro River by oxen on the shore.

However, Dona Antónia was counting on the railway eventually reaching further upriver towards her new property, and ten years after her purchase, the railway reached to within three kilometers of her land. That was close enough for her to embark on her grand development plan, and between 1887 and 1895 she transformed the property into a grand estate: Quinta do Vale Meão. While pleased with the end results, she sadly passed away at the age of 85 the following year.

The property was passed down through her descendants, and in the 1970s, Francisco (“Vito”) Javier de Olazabal, took over the management of the property. Historically, the grapes from the Quinta had been sold to Ferreira (the family company established by descendants of Dona Antónia), and Vito took over the role of Managing Director of the firm when his father passed away in 1983.

Since there were many family members who owned shares in the company, there was a growing concern that some would want to cash out their shares in the company, which could threaten the Ferreira’s financial stability. Vito stepped in and negotiated the sale of Ferreira to Sogrape, which helped to consolidate ownership of Ferreira and ensured that the company and brand would continue. Vito was asked to stay on as the CEO, which he did for the next decade.

Vito’s share of the proceeds from of the sale of Ferreira allowed him to slowly acquire the shares of Quinta do Vale Meão held by other family members, and by 1994 had managed to acquire sole ownership of the Quinta.

In 1998, Vito resigned from Ferreira and turned his sights to a new project with his son. With this new venture, Vito stopped selling the Quinta’s grapes to Ferreira and instead started keeping them for the production of their new wines.

When Vito retired as Chairman of Quinta do Vale Meão, his son Francisco Olazabal took over the reins. Today we would be spending the day with Vito’s son, winemaker Francisco Olazabal, and Vito’s daughter Luisa, who is currently the Director of Marketing.

Luisa first took us on a tour of the property, including a short walk through the vineyards and a tour of the production facilities. Our tour ended in the beautiful tasting room, where they successfully managed to introduce a modern feel while maintaining the historical ambiance of the building.

We were joined in the tasting room by Francisco, who would be leading us through a very extensive tasting of Quinta do Vale Meão’s Vintage Port wine lineup.

2000 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Purple-garnet in color. Semi-opaque. Fresh blueberry and some light herbal notes on the nose. Blueberry and black currant on the palate with great, well-balanced tannins on the mid-palate and long finish. Easy-drinking Port with still some aging potential. 94 points. 9/27/2019

2001 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Dark purple center with lighter purple on the edges. Blueberry compote and some floral notes on the nose. Massive blueberry and dark fruit on the approach, giving way to firm tannins and some herbal notes on the mid-palate. Very long finish. 91 points. 9/27/2019

2007 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Floral notes and some herbs on the nose. Dark purple in color. Well-integrated dark fruit on the entry, giving way to well-balanced tannins on the mid-palate. The quality of the Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional (50/50) makes this wine a much more floral Vintage Port. Very long, warm finish. 94 points. 9/27/2019

 

2008 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Very dark, almost opaque purple in color. Slightly subdued nose with some dark fruit notes. The Touriga Nacional grapes from this year were exceptional, and the 50/50 mix with Touriga Franca gives this wine tremendous structure and ability to age. Boysenberry, blueberry, and some mint on the great, well-balanced palate. 93 points. 9/27/2019

2011 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Dark garnet-purple in color. Blueberry and intense dark fruit on the nose. Intense dark fruit on the entry and then some really great, slow-rolling tannins march across the mid-palate and into the very long finish. 95 points. 9/27/2019

2017 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port – Garnet purple in color. A touch of tankiness here. The fruit is obviously not integrated yet, but good notes of primary red fruits on the nose. Well-balanced tannins already on the palate, with red currant and boysenberry on the very long finish. 93 points. 9/27/2019

 
 2019 Quinta do Vale Meão White Port – Cask sample. Created through maceration. Lemon water in color. Cloudy. Lemonade and sugar water on the nose. High residual sugar on the palate. Lemon, citrus, and sweetness on the finish. N/R. 9/27/2019

2019 Quinta do Vale Meão White Port – Cask sample. Pressed, but not macerated and some skin contact. Limoncello in color. Cloudy. A touch of spirit on the nose. Still some residual sugar (like sugar-water) but more citrus notes on the palate. N/R 9/27/2019 

2019 Quinta do Vale Meão Douro Red Wine – Cask sample. This red wine included Tinta Barrocca. Primary fruit on the nose with a touch of tankiness. Red fruit on the full-bodied palate, with well-balanced tannins and a great long finish. N/R. 9/27/2019

After the excellent tasting, we headed over to the old estate house for lunch. As I walked through the door, it felt like I was going back in time to the 1800s. From the furniture to the décor to the pictures on the walls, it felt like this building was frozen in time, and I could almost imagine what it must have been like a century ago to gather around the table for dinner.

 

Dinner Wines

• 2016 Meandro do Vale Meão Douro White
• 2017 Meandro do Vale Meão Douro Red
• 2016 Monte Meão Vinha dos Novos Douro Red
• 2016 Monte Meão Vinha dos Novos Douro White
• 2008 Quinta do Vale Meão Douro Red Wine
• 2017 Quinta do Vale Meão Vintage Port

 

D.O.C. Restaurant

Our last official event on the tour was a last dinner at our go-to restaurant in the Douro – D.O.C. It has become a bit of a tradition that we eat at D.O.C. once or twice on each tour, and we usually invite someone from the Port wine trade to join us. Tonight, we would be joined by our old friend Sandra Tavares da Silva from Wine & Soul.

Sandra was previously a model, but she said that she always wanted to make wine. In the 1980s, Sandra’s grandfather purchased Quinta da Chocapalha, a wine estate North of Lisbon, where Sandra grew up. She studied Agronomy in Lisbon, and in 1999 got an internship at Quinta Vale Dona Maria. After the internship was over, she was offered a position there as winemaker. She met her husband, Jorge Borges, who was working in the Port trade already, and together they set out to create Wine & Soul.

They started small, but eventually, they acquired both a Quinta (Quinta da Manoella) and several specially selected vineyards. They now produce a wide range of Douro wines as well as Ports.

Dinner Wines

• 2018 Wine & Soul Manoella Douro White
• 2018 Wine & Soul Guru Douro White
• 2017 Wine & Soul Manoella Douro Red
• 2017 Wine & Soul Quinta da Manoella Vinhas Velhas Douro Red
• 2017 Wine & Soul Pintas Character Douro Red
• 2017 Wine & Soul Pintas Douro Red
• 2009 Wine & Soul Pintas Vintage Port
• 2017 Wine & Soul Pintas Vintage Port

 

 
 

 

Day 7 – Saturday

Casa Santa Eufémia

Casa de Santa Eufémia was founded in 1894 by Bernardo Rodrigues de Carvalho. The property is located on the South side of the Douro River between Peso da Régua and Pinhão. The estate has 40 hectares of vineyards at an altitude of 300 meters.

Originally founded as a unified property called Quinta de Santa Eufémia, the estate was divided in 1990 into two parts: Sociedade Vitivinicola Quinta Santa Eufémia Lda. (now known as Quinta Santa Eufémia) and Casa de Santa Eufémia.

Due to legalities, Casa de Santa Eufémia was unable to vinify, bottle, or export its wines until Portugal joined the European Union in 1986. Since then, they have been using their extensive back stocks to produce (among other wines) extraordinarily well-aged Tawny and White Ports.

We arrived at the Quinta, and were greeted by our friend, Lúcia Carvalho.

Lúcia Carvalho

We took a tour of the venerable old cellars, and then enjoyed a nice spread of appetizers before launching into our tasting.

The Cellars

Lúcia Carvalho, Eric Ifune, and Mario Ferreira

Casa de Sta. Eufémia 10 Year Old Tawny Port – Ruby-amber in color – dark for a 10 Year Old Tawny. Nuts, orange spice, and woody notes on the nose. Orange peel and a touch of bitterness on the approach and mid-palate. A long, rich finish. 91 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia 10 Year Old White Port – Cask Sample. This has not been presented to the IVDP yet for approval. Amber-orange in color. 6-7 years in barrel. Caramel notes and some spirit/spice. Lively acidity, which masks a lot of flavors on the mid-palate. Notes of peach and pineapple on the finish. 90 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia 20 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber-brown in color with lightening on the edge. Subdued nose, with nuts, wood, and a touch of molasses. Orange, and tangerine on the palate, with well-balanced tannins and lively acidity. Lush mouthfeel and complex long finish. 94 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia 30 Year Old Tawny Port – Amber-orange with some yellow on the edges. Tobacco leaf and cola on the nose. Lush mouthfeel with cola and brown sugar on the palate. BAM! Expanding flavors of butterscotch and honey on the palate. Great, balanced acidity and tannins on the long finish. 95 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Dark amber-orange in color with yellow on the edges. Vinagrinho (balsamic), chocolate, colas on the nose. $%@’ing ridiculous mouthfeel and reductive cola, mocha, molasses, and soy sauce on the palate. A touch of salinity on the long and crazy unctuous finish. 96 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia Cask 17 Very Old Tawny Port – Cask sample. Over 100 Years Old. Brown-orange in color with some clearing on the edges. Clear. Mahogany, saline, chocolate, and some mint on the nose. Incredibly unctuous mouthfeel with some saline notes. Lively acidity, with orange peel and some mocha on the palate. Waves of flavor roll over the palate into a long finish. An intense flavor that hangs on swallow after swallow. This ancient Tawny Port has never been topped off. 98 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia Extra Dry White Port – Cask sample. Around 37 g/L residual sugar. The mother wine is 12 years old. Gold straw-yellow in color. Some tropical fruits and a touch of spirit on the nose. They expect to bottle this in November 2019. Dry, light with pleasant acidity. Medium-long finish. 88 points. (9/28/2019)

2009 Casa de Sta. Eufémia Late Bottled Vintage Port – Dark purple-black in color. Opaque except for the very edge of the rim. Black fruit and some herbal notes on the nose. Blueberry and black currant on the palate with intense fruit flavor and well-structured tannins on the mid- palate. Long finish with just a touch of bitterness. 92 points. (9/28/2019)

Casa de Sta. Eufémia Very Old White Port – Cask sample. Tan with very light straw in color. Green tinge on the edges. Honey cake and some light herbal notes on the nose. Caramel and tropical fruit notes on the palate. Nice acidity and unctuous profile on the finish. More than 40 years old. 94 points. (9/28/2019)

2016 Casa de Sta. Eufémia Vintage Port – Black purple with 100% opacity. Black fruit on the nose, though still a little tanky so some integration is still needed. Blackberry compote on the entry with exploding mid-palate of tannins (wow)! Very long finish with great structure. 92 points. (9/28/2019)

Lucia Carvalho and Ricardo Macedo

Lunch at Case de Santa Eufémia

 

Enoteca 1756

Our last meal of the 2019 Port Harvest Tour was at Enoteca 1756 just up the block from the riverfront in Vila Nova de Gaia.  

Dinner Wines

• 2012 José Viseu Carvalho & Filhos Maria do Céu Douro White
• 2018 Casa de Sta. Eufemia Reserva Douro Red
• 2016 Ribeiro Santo Vinha da Neve Dão White
• 2013 Ribeiro Santo Vinha da Neve Dão Red
• Quinta de Brunheda Armazém de Codeçais Tonel 4 Very Old Tawny Port (Cask Sample)
   

Epilogue

It was another wonderful trip to Portugal and The Douro Valley, and as always, we were able to visit some amazing properties, taste some fantastic wines, see a lot of old friends, and create a lot of new memories.

Corrections, comments, or questions can be sent to [email protected].