Pre-Tour Day 6 – Friday

After a pleasant night’s sleep, we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, packed up our bags, and bid farewell to the Douro. It is always hard to leave such a beautiful, relaxing place, but we needed to get back to Porto as Jody would be flying back to Seattle soon, while I would be staying in Portugal for another week on the FTLOP Port Harvest Tour.

When we arrived back in Porto, we checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed out to visit one of our favorite wine bars in Porto.

Bacchus Vini

Bacchus Vini is a great wine bar just a stone’s throw from the Porto side of the iconic Ponte Luis I Bridge. Stopping by to visit my friend Maria Fonseca has become a mandatory event when I come to Portugal, and she always has some interesting wines and Ports to serve me (sometimes blind). We grabbed a table outside on the sidewalk and were soon joined by a few of the old FTLOP regulars who would also be going on the FTLOP Port Harvest Tour: David Spriggs, Eric Ifune, and Glenn Elliot.

Maria began to bring us wines to taste as we got caught up with each other and admired the view of the bridge and the Douro River.

Quinta Ste. Eufemia 10 Years Old White Port. Golden amber-brown in color. Subdued nose, with dried fruit, oak, and a touch of burnt sugar. There are dried citrus fruits on the palate, with well-balanced acidity. Rich mouthfeel on the very long finish. 92 points. 9/24/2021

Quinta de Devesa 20 Years Old Tawny Port. Amber in color with a hint of copper. Complex notes of dried fruit, honey, and roasted almonds. Very nice structure, with balanced acidity. Very long finish. 93 points. 9/24/2021

2011 Dalva Colheita White Port. Subdued nose (wine was chilled), but light notes of orange spice, cinnamon, and toffee. There are tropical fruit notes on the palate and great acidity. Very long finish with good balance. 91 points. 9/24/2021

Afterward, Jody and I returned to the hotel to get ready for our last meal together in Portugal, at one of my absolute favorite Porto restaurants.

Taberna dos Mercadores Restaurant

Pre-Tour Day 7 – Saturday

Lado Wines

After seeing Jody safely off to the airport for her return flight to the US, I reconnected with Eric, Glenn and David at Lado Wines – a great wine bar that is a partnership with the Association of Port and Douro Wine Producers and Bottlers (AVEPOD), an association that represents small producers from the Douro Valley.

Maria Tita, the Export Business Development Manager at Quinta das Lamelas and a Wine Educator at Lado Wines would be our host for the day, and had selected an impressive lineup of Ports for us to try.

The producers we would be tasting today were a few old ones we were very familiar with and a few that were newer for me, at least. We would be tasting Ports from Quinta da Prelada, Blackett, Quinta das Lamelas, and Quinta do Mourão.

10 Year Old White Ports

S. Leonardo 10 Year Old White Port. Tropical fruit on the nose with some honey and an underlying note of a dusty old library. Rich, intense mouthfeel on the palate, with banana and white peach, good acidity, and a touch of bitterness. Rich intense finish with great balance. 91 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta das Lamelas 10 Year Old White Port. Banana and some vinagrinho (“little vinegar”) on the nose. There is also an interesting note of Graham crackers on the nose. A lot of banana and tropical fruit on the pallet and a touch of Brandy (like bananas foster). The tropical fruits keep rolling through the long finish. Good balance. 92 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta da Prelada 10 Year Old White Port. Clear, golden color. There is caramel, honey, and dried fruits on the nose. It has a rich, balanced mouthfeel with a little bit of acidity on the mid-palate. 90 points. 9/25/2021

Blackett 10 Year Old White Port. Caramelized peach and grilled pineapple on the nose. More tropical fruits on the palate with pineapple and some vanilla. There is a dusty, woody character to this wine with give it an interesting complexity. There is a touch of tannins on the long finish. 90 points. 9/25/2021

20 Year Old White Ports

S. Leonardo 20 Year Old White Port. Old wood and caramelized tropical fruits on the nose. Rich mouthfeel, intense vanilla and orange explodes in the mouth. There is a brief spike of acidity in the mid-palate that gives way to some wonderful complexity and richness. Full bodied with bright tropical fruit on the finish. 94 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta das Lamelas 20 Year Old White Port. Light notes of Lemon Pledge with so tropical fruits underneath. Rich flavor profile of citrus, vanilla, and woody notes. The acidity and sweetness seem slightly out of balance, but the richness helps mitigate this. Some herbal notes on the finish, but otherwise clean and crisp. 92 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta da Prelada 20 Year Old White Port. Honey, light caramel, orange blossom and floral notes on the nose. There is some initial astringency on the pallet, but it gives way to some nice complex notes of dried fruits, grilled pineapple, and a touch of vanilla. It has a nice, long finish that shows just a touch of spirit. 91 points. 9/25/2021

30 Year Old White Ports

Quinta da Prelada 30 Year Old White Port. The Port poured relatively clean out of the bottle, but slowly developed a cloudy appearance in the glass. This is apparently an issue with some of the Prelada Ports. There are some very nice notes of caramel and cedar on the nose. Very smooth flavor profile, but it seems almost a little too smooth and elegant. There is bright acidity with hazelnut and tropical fruits on the very long finish. 92 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta das Lamelas 30 Year Old White Port. Golden-amber in color. There is a touch of banana and a hint of other tropical fruits on the nose. The rich, intense mouthfeel has white peach, honey and some vinagrinho (“little vinegar”). The is a superb wine, with a rich complexity that provides waves of flavors through the mid-palate and into the very long finish. 94 points. 9/25/2021

S. Leonardo 30 Year Old White Port. Wet slate, sweetness, and some subtle citrus notes on the nose. Very rich, intense mouthfeel with bright acidity and wonderful notes of almond skins and candied oranges. The finish on this wine just seems to go on and on. 93 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta das Lamelas 40 Year Old White Port. Bright tropical fruit notes on the nose with some sweet caramel underneath. Very rich, complex, and sweet mouthfeel with good acidity and some notes of lime, lychee, and melon. There is an intensity to the wine that focuses the richness and complexity of this wine. Very long finish with well-structured balance and acidity. 95 points

40 Year Old White Ports

S. Leonardo 40 Year Old White Port. Bananas and guava on the nose. Bright acidity but it balances nicely with the sweetness. Great complexity on the mid-palate with some caramel, vanilla, and star fruit. Great structure and very long finish that shows citrus, orange peel and a touch of walnut skins. 94 points. 9/25/2021

Quinta da Prelada 40 Years Old White Port. Cask sample. This will soon be bottled under the recently approved 50 Year Old White Port category. Sample from 5cl (miniature) bottle. Vanilla, caramel, and some old wood notes on the nose. Rich profile with orange spice, tropical fruit and some vanilla notes underneath. It is full bodied with a very rich and long finish. 94 points. 9/25/2021

Blackett 40 Year Old Tawny Port. Amber-orange in color. Caramel and nougat on the nose. The palate has notes of creme brulee and toffee. Bright acidity with extremely long finished. 93 points. 9/25/2021