In early 2021, I connected with three of my Port-loving friends from Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and Las Vegas and we organized the first of what has been come a quarterly get-together to catch up with each other and drink a lot of Ports and wines together. Unlike many of the formal tastings that we attend where there are carefully curated lineups, formal tasting, intense discussion, and copious tasting notes, we decided that these gatherings would be low-key and focused on just enjoying the weekend, the wines and each other’s company. Tasting notes optional.
For the January 2023 iteration of The Guys’ Port Weekend, we traveled to Las Vegas, where Eric had rented out an Air BnB for the weekend. As we always do, we all brought “interesting bottles” and “bottles that would be fun to try.” Note: Due to the casual nature of the weekend, this recap is shorter on details and has fewer tasting notes than is normal for some of my other Port articles.
Day 1
Since we couldn’t check into the Air BnB until the afternoon, after Eric picked us up from the airport we headed over to his brother’s condo complex, where Eric had secured the Community Room for us to begin our weekend adventure. We started with a bubbly, then some reds, and an ancient Maderia.
Mid 1800’s Unknown Madeira – N/R
2007 Quinta da Levandeira do Roncão Douro DR Grande Reserve – N/R
1994 Adega da Cartuxa Évora Cartuxa Reserva (Alentejo) – N/R
Filipa Pato 3B Rosé (Bairrada) – N/R
2007 Quinta da Pellada Dão Carrocel (Dão Touriga Nacional) – N/R
2011 Darby CHAOS (Columbia Valley) – N/R
Unknown Madeira. This wine is believed to be from the mid-1800s. This Madeira came from a demijohn that was part of the Liberty Hall Museum discovery in 2015. Liberty Hall, located on the campus of Kean University in Union, New Jersey, was home to many prominent historical figures, including Alexander Hamilton. It began its conversion from a residence to a museum in 1949. As part of renovations in 2015, a wall was removed and a treasure trove was discovered – cases of Madeira from 1796, gin, whiskey, and other liquors. Forty demijohns of Madeira from the 1820s were also discovered in the attic. Some of the collection went up for auction at Christie’s, and my friend Eric managed to win a half-full, five-gallon demijohn of Madeira that simply had an attached label that read “Old Madeira.” All of the other bottles in the collection were from around the mid-1800s, so that is likely also the age of this wine. Eric provided a sample of this wine to a well-regarded Madeira producer, who thought it was likely a blend of Verdelho and Sercial grapes.
Aromas of dried nuts, saline, and dried orange slices. This is a medium-dry style with lively acidity and good complexity. The wine has a rich flavor profile, with toasted nuts, dried figs, orange spices, and a touch of almond skin bitterness. Great long finish. This wine is surprisingly smooth for a Madeira this old – not the concentrated, reductive characteristics that are common for Madeiras with this much age. 95 points. 01/20/2023
After we grabbed some lunch, we headed over the Air BnB – a nice house in a suburb of Vegas. We opened up a couple of Tawny Ports to sip while we unpacked all of our wines and began organizing and pairing up what we thought would be good to try together
Warre Porto Otima 20 Year Old Tawny. N/R
Agri-Roncão Porto DR – 30 Year Old Tawny. N/R
In our email exchanges leading up to the weekend, a few groupings started to emerge from the wines everyone said they were considering bringing. The first of these grouping would be a trio of 2003 Late Bottled Vintage Ports.
2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port. Unfiltered. Dusty ruby in color. On the nose there are notes of peanut brittle, savory wood, “new” cardboard, and perhaps just a touch of VA. The odd nose, however, didn’t detract from the rich, full-bodied palate of luscious cranberry, red fruit, and blueberry. The approach has great structure and balance. It has a very long finish with dark fruits, chocolate, and subtle spice, but the sweetness fades on the tail end of the finish and resolves into a drier style of wine. 92 points. 01-20-2023
2003 Fonseca Late Bottle Vintage Port. Unfiltered. Aromas of blueberry and some bramble fruits. On the entry, there are smooth, rich notes of blueberry and a touch of cassis. The palate expands with more dark fruits, black cherry, and fennel. This wine has a very long, rich finish. 93 points. 01-20-2023
2003 Warre Late Bottled Vintage Port. The nose is slightly closed, but I could coax out some touches of chocolate and a bit of black fruit on the nose. It has a rich palate filled with dark fruits and rich herbal notes. The tannins are firm but well-integrated, giving the wine a good structure and a long, smooth finish. 94 points. 01-20-2023
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1970 Royal Oporto Vintage Port. The wine is a cloudy amber-brown in color. It has aromas of cinnamon, spices, red fruit, and umami notes. There are rich red fruit on the palate with strawberries, red currants, and some light herbal notes. It has wonderful complexity and balanced sweetness. The tannins are also well-balanced, and this is drinking like a rich but elegant wine right now. This might be the best bottle of Royal Oporto that I have had in some time. 92 points. 01/20/2023
1977 Taylor Vintage Port – Sadly, this was corked.
1992 Fonseca Vintage Port. Amber ruby in color. Aromas of dusty red fruits with strawberry and boysenberry. It is a full-bodied wine, with well-integrated red fruits on the palate. The tannins are noticeable on the mid-palate, but the wine retains a rich and complex flavor profile. Nice long finish. 93 points. 01/20/2023
After an afternoon of tasting and catching up, we headed over to a local restaurant, Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse, for a great dinner to end our first day.
Day 2
The second day of the weekend got started with breakfast, followed shortly afterward by Port. Shocking. I know. The morning tasting would be the second grouping of wines that we’d brought – Vintage Ports from Gould Campbell.
Gould Campbell Vintage Ports
Gould Campbell was founded in 1797 by Garret Gould, and Irishman who left his home country seeking better fortunes in Portugal. Like many producers, Gould Campbell never owned vineyard in the Douro Valley, but maintained close connects with many farmers in the Pinhão and Rio Torto Valleys where they purchased their grapes.
The Symington Family acquired Gould Campbell in 1970.
Stylistically, Gould Campbell has a reputation for being solid and reliable. Charles Symington, when asked about Gould Campbell’s lack of vineyards or a Quinta said that it gave him the opportunity to “just have some fun making interesting and satisfying wines.”
1977 Gould Campbell Vintage Port. Ruby purple in color. Cool crushed blueberries and cassis on the nose with some light herbal notes underneath. The entry has massive tannins with some spicy notes and dark fruits – blackberry and dark plum. The palate is dark and brooding and there is noticeable acidity on the very long finish. 93 points. 01-21-2023
1980 Gould Campbell Vintage Port. Dusty ruby in color. This wine has rich aromas with hints of strawberry, cranberry, and herbal notes. It has a smooth flavor profile on the entry with tannins ramping up on the mid-palate. The palate has cassis and a touch of cinnamon. There is a bit of spirit on the long finish. 93 points. 01-21-2023
1983 Gould Campbell Vintage Port. Dusty amber-brown in color. Rich red fruit and some spirit on the nose. It has a well-integrated, rich profile of boysenberry with some fine tannins. Very long finish with just a touch of spirit on the tail end of the finish. 92 points. 01-21-2023
1985 Gould Campbell Vintage Port. Light Ruby in color. Aromas of cranberry, spices, grenadine, and a touch of spirit. It has a very smooth, slightly sweet flavor profile with red fruit and some herbal notes. It is medium-bodied with balanced tannins and a nice long finish. 90 points. 01-21-2023
1983 Vintage Ports
1983 Fonseca Vintage Port. Amber in color. Red fruit notes with strawberry and red cherry on the nose. There may be some low-level TCA on the nose. However, nothing on the palette suggests TCA. There are plum, strawberry, and red hots on the palate. It is medium-bodied and seems just a touch disjointed, though it remains a nice, solid wine to sip. There is some spirit on the long finish. 89 points. 01/21/2023
1983 Warre’s Vintage Port. Aromas of red currants and cassis with some floral and herbal notes underneath. The palate is very well-balanced with rich dark fruits, boysenberry, and cassis. The tannins are also well-balanced. There is a great long finish. 93 points. 01/21/2023
1983 Graham’s Vintage Port. Red fruit and Christmas spice on the nose with a touch of spirit. The wine is warm on the palate, with plum and dusty raspberry notes. It has great complexity and well-rounded tannins. The long finish exhibits a hint of spirit, but otherwise is long and pleasant. 93 points. 01/21/2023
1983 Taylor Vintage Port. There is just a touch of oxidation on the nose, along with cranberry, red currant, and some baking spices. The palate is a pleasant, complex mix of red fruits and dried herbs, but still retains a luscious quality it. While there is good acidity and balance at the beginning of the very long finish, the sweetness starts to fade slightly, resulting in a wine that feels a little drier in style. 92 points. 01/21/2023
Dinner And Friends
After two days and some great wines, we settled in for the final dinner together. David manned the grill and prepared some great steaks, which we paired with a few sides and a couple of final bottles of wine. We chatted late into the evening, revisiting many of the wines from the weekend, and of course grabbed the obligatory “lineup” photo and the “what an amazing weekend!” selfie.
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