After over 20 Years in Washington State, my dear friend Roy left for his new home in Porto, Portugal. It has been a life-long dream of his to move to Portugal to continue to be closer to his passion and profession – writing about Port, Madeira, and Portuguese wines, and running his For The Love Of Port tours (the best in the business).
Roy really got me into Port in 2004, and we partnered on building the website for his young newsletter, For The Love Of Port. Over the years, he has been a mentor, a partner, and a friend, and we have shared countless bottles together on his tours, at FTLOP events, at Sammamish Port Club tastings, and with just the two of us on long nights at his house.
As one of his last big hurrahs here in the States, we got together for one final tasting in Sammamish to wish him well on his journey and new adventure. But goodbyes aren’t forever, as many of us expect to see him when we visit Portugal and whenever he returns to visit the Pacific Northwest.
2006 DR Colheita Port – Bottled in 2022. Dark amber-red in color. The color of this wine resembles a 10 Year Old Tawny Port. Some light chocolate notes, red fruit, a little oak, and a touch of spirit on the nose. It has an intense mouthfeel with an expanding, rich palate of sweet cherry and mild cinnamon spices on the palate. Really good, long finish with nice red fruit notes popping back up on the tail end. 92 points. 6/4/2022
1985 Fonseca Vintage Port – Decanted eight hours. Very dark, semi-opaque purple in color. Great, complex nose of blackberries, black currants, a touch of graphite, chocolate, and some light herbal notes. Wonderfully balanced and full bodied on the palate with rich notes of cranberries and red currants. It has a rich, long, smooth finish. 94 points. 6/4/2022
1985 Graham Vintage Port – Decanted six hours. Semi-transparent, amber-red in color. There are cherry candies and sweet red fruits on the nose. On the palate, there are some really wonderful chocolate and red fruit notes. Rich, but also very smooth flavor profile. The rich flavor profile carries through to the long, smooth finish. 94 points. 6/4/2022
1987 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port – Decanted eight hours. Dark purple-amber in color. There are a lot of dark fruit notes on the nose, especially blackberry and blueberry, as well as a touch of mint that I frequently find on wines from Quinta de Vargellas. Intense dark fruit carries through to the palate, with rich blueberries, black currants, and a wonderfully smooth, well-integrated flavor profile. Tons of chocolate on the finish. 95 points. 6/4/2022
1991 Taylor Fladgate Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port – Decanted eight hours. This wine is mostly opaque with a dark purple-amber color. There are boatloads of chocolate on the nose of this wine. Even on the palate, where I normally find at least a few mint or herbal notes, there is primarily chocolate covered cherries. The structure and tannins are exactly what I expect from this wine, as is the long finish. I probably would have given this a higher score, but it is slightly one-dimensional with all the pronounced chocolate notes. 93 points. 6/4/2022
1994 Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage Port – Decanted for eight hours. This wine is dark amber-purple in color, and has a nose of violets, mint, and some herbs. There is amazing balance to the wine, although I feel like this wine may be missing a little of the “power” and intensity that I am used to experiencing with this wine. This could be because of the extended eight hour decant time. However, it is still a stellar wine with a long, complex, and beautiful finish. 95 points 6/4/2022
1997 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Dark amber in color. This wine has a funky nose almost like tar or asphalt, which I have experienced in this wine before. While there are some herbal and red fruit notes underneath, there must just be something with the aromatics for this wine. Thankfully, everything else about this wine was very enjoyable. The palate has just a hint of that funkiness, but the palate also shows some beautiful nice red fruit, red currant, and raspberry. Very long finish. 92 points. 6/4/2022
S. Leonardo 60 Year Old Very Old Tawny Port – This was bottled in 2015. Dark amber-orange in color. Carmel, orange spice, and some fantastic vanilla on the nose. There are complex, rich notes of vanilla and butterscotch on the palate. There is also some very nice oxidation on this wine that just ramps up the complexity another notch. This wine is so very smooth! It has an extremely long finish that goes on and on. This is an outstanding wine. 98 points. 6/4/2022
DR 70 Year Old Very Old Tawny Port – Bottled in 2017. OMG. Amazing notes of orange spice, antique wood, and caramel on the nose. Incredibly smooth but complex palate with caramel, burnt sugar, dried fruits, and some roasted nuts. Waves of complex flavors weave in and out through the mid-palate and into the extremely long finish. The acidity is spectacular. 97 points. 6/4/2022
