I connected with three of my Port-Loving friends from Southern California, Santa Cruz and Las Vegas in early 2021 as we were finally getting past the worst of COVID and had an idea for the four of us to get together for a low-key, casual weekend of tasting “interesting” Ports and wines. We held our first Guy’s Port Weekend in May 2021 in the Los Angeles area, and we all had such a good time we thought we should make this a regular thing.
For the July 2022 iteration of The Guys’ Port Weekend, we decide to meet up at our friend David’s place in Boulder Creek, California. As we have become accustomed to doing, we all brought “interesting bottles” and “bottles that would be fun to try.” The weekend wasn’t limited to Port wines – we also had non-Port wines over the course of the weekend, but Port was what brought us all together originally, so that mostly remains the theme for these gatherings.
In all fairness, the whole point of these get togethers is to hang out, relax, socialize, and drink some nice Ports and wines. I think we all managed to write tasting notes for almost all the wines, but once we had our notes written, it was back to sipping and chatting. As a result, I have lots of good notes for these wines, and good pictures from the weekend, but this article will be, by necessity, a little less verbose than some of the other event write-ups I’ve done.
Friday Evening
Andy, Eric and I had scheduled our flights into San Jose, so we all got in around the same time, so we met up at baggage claim, collected our suitcases and our wine carriers, and headed outside where David was waiting to pick us up. We got caught up on the drive to David’s place, nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We all unpacked our wines and did some very light grouping/organizing of wines, but in keeping with the “casual weekend Port drinking” theme, we generally grouped the wines along the lines of “yeah, lets drink all the Grahams Vintage Ports at the same time” or “is that a tonight wine or a tomorrow wine?”
Once we got our wines semi-sorted, we decided that we would head out and grab some lunch before we started diving into the wines.
David’s friend Yevgeny joined us in time for lunch, which provided us all some sustenance for the afternoon and evening of tasting ahead.
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After a very satisfying lunch, we headed back to David’s place to start the afternoon tasting festivities. Everyone grabbed a glass, and we officially began the tastings with two nice Colheita Ports from Graham’s and Krohn, an old Late Bottled Vintage Port that I purchased on my very first trip to Portugal in 2006, and a nice Douro White wine.
1994 Graham Single Harvest Tawny Port – Bottled in 2020. Orange-amber in color. Dark fruit with roasted nuts and vanilla notes on the nose. Rich, well-balanced palate with orange spice, a touch of cinnamon, and some herbal notes. Long finish. 93 points. 7/15/2022
2020 Quinta da Fonte Souto Portalegre Branco – N/R. 7/15/2022
2002 Quinta do Javali Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port – Bottled in 2006. I purchased this bottle on my very first trip to the Douro Valley in 2006. Quinta do Javali’s Ports tend to stylistically trend towards a “greener” or “herbal” style. Amber in color with some touches of brown. A touch cloudy with some sediment. Initially a lot of esteva (herbal) notes on the nose, but then in the decanter the it rounded out to a pleasant nose of herbs and dusty fruits. Nice sweetness on the palate. The fruit in this wine seems to be starting to fade so there isn’t as much to balance out the noticeable tannins. This is an admirable effort in a bad Port wine year. 89 points. 7/15/2022
S. Leonardo 20 Year Old White Port – Bottled in 2021. Amber-brown in color. Caramel and burnt sugar on the nose. Rich, sweet flavor profile with vanilla cream, caramel, and a smooth round mouthfeel. Very long, rich finish. 94 points. 7/15/2022
1968 Krohn Colheita Port – Bottled in 2008. Yellow-brown in color with some cloudiness. Woody notes, dusty orange spice, dried fruits, and some light VA on the nose. Smooth flavor profile with some spice and bright acidity. Notes of rich caramel and baking spices. Very long finish with lively acidity and spice. 90 points. 7/15/2022
As the afternoon wound down, we got ready to head over to a great Italian restaurant in downtown Boulder Creek, Scopazzi’s, for dinner. We carried a few wines with us to drink with dinner. Note: Generally, I don’t take tasting notes or score dry wines we are having at dinners.
Dinner Wines at Scopassi in Boulder Creek, CA
2010 Niepoort Coche Branco Douro White – N/R. 7/15/2022
2015 Doña Maria Vinho Regional Alentejano Grande Reserva – N/R. 7/15/2022
2009 Niepoort Robustus Douro Red – N/R. 7/15/2022
After a wonderful dinner, we headed back to David’s place so we could get some rest and prepare for the next day’s assignment: more great wines!
Saturday
We all got up and enjoyed a nice, slow-paced morning – exactly how it should be. We headed over to a little cafe to eat some breakfast, then came back to David’s house to open some more wines (shocking, I know…) and to watch a little of the Tour de France.
Casa de Sta. Eufemia 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Bottled in 2019. Amber-orange in color with some yellow-brown on the edge. Cocoa powder, orange spice, and some dark oak on the nose. Rich, smooth entry with vanilla, butterscotch, and some acidity popping up on the end of the palate. The finish is very long and smooth. 93 points. 7/16/2022
Bulas 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Bottled in 2017. Orange-amber in color. Dried figs, nuts, and some light herbal notes on the nose. Fresh, sweet flavor profile with vanilla, caramel, and very balanced acidity. Extremely smooth, with very long, fresh finish. 94 points. 7/16/2022
Vieira de Sousa 40 Year Old Tawny Port – Bottled in 2020. Amber-brown in color with some light yellow on the edges. Subdued nose of old wood, spices, and some citrus notes. There is a mustiness to this wine that may suggest that this bottle is off. It happens. N/R. 7/16/2022
1976 Niepoort Colheita Port – Bottled in 2004. Subtle nose of caramel, dried fruits, and light spices. Rich, smooth entry with some red fruit, spices, and good acidity. Nice balance and slightly more elegant flavor profile. Very long, smooth finish. 91 points. 7/16/2022
1960 Warre Vintage Port – Amber-orange in color with some cloudiness. Decanted 4 hours. Chocolate, red fruit and light spices on the nose. Subtle spirit with cherry and red fruits on the palate. The spirit continues through the mid-palette and into the rich, long finish. 91 points. 7/16/2022
1963 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port – Oporto bottling. Decanted 4 hours. Amber-brown in color. Red current, cinnamon, and light mint notes on the nose. Rich, intense red fruit, and lively acidity on the entry. Some intense spice on the mid-palate, giving way to a rich warm finish. There is so much quality and balance here. This is perhaps one of the best showings of this wine that I’ve had. 94 points. 7/16/2022
1980 Dow Vintage Port – Almost opaque purple in color with slight garnet on the edges. Rich floral and red fruits on the nose. Smooth boysenberry and amazing structure on the palate. This is showing so young. Rich, red fruit and wonderful long smooth finish. 96 points. 7/16/2022
1985 Dow Vintage Port – Amber in color. Amazing red fruits on the nose with some cinnamon and a touch of mint. Rich, intense mouthfeel with great tannins, red fruit, and fantastic structure. Red fruit and still-lively acidity on the very long finish. 95 points. 7/16/2022
1986 Dow Quinta do Bomfim Vintage Port – Amber-purple in color. Fresh red fruit on the nose. It has a very rich palate with raspberry and red currant, and some nice tannins and acidity on the mid-palate. Really great, long finish with red fruit, nice acidity, and balance. 94 points. 7/16/2022
1998 Ramos Pinto Late Bottled Vintage Port – Dark purple in color. Chocolate, red fruit, rose petals, and a touch of mint on the nose. Very nice, structured notes of rich boysenberry and sour cherry. Great acidity and a nice long finish. 92 points. 7/16/2022
1973 D’Oliveiras Verdelho Madeira – Amber-orange and color. Salted caramel, dried fruits, and a touch of VA on the nose. Rich saline notes on the palate with full body, great acidity, and very long finish. 92 points. 7/16/2022
David grilled some fantastic steaks, and we enjoy a couple of Douro red wines with our dinner.
Dinner Wines
2000 Quinta do Portal Grande Reserve – N/R. 7/16/2022
2007 Quinta do Sagrado Douro Red – N/R. 7/16/2022
2006 Niepoort Redoma Douro White – N/R. 7/16/2022
The Weekend’s Wines
