Andy Velebil, Moderator for our For The Love Of Port Forum and all around Port aficionado, organized an Port Tasting in Glendora, California in January 2020.
There were tastings on both Friday night and Saturday, though I was only able to fly down and attend the Saturday tasting. The theme for the Saturday tasting was Any Vintage or Colheita Port from 1970 or earlier, and the Saturday event was going to be held in the President’s Dining Room at the Glendora Country Club.
I caught an early morning flight from Seattle to the airport in Ontario, California, and caught an uber from the airport to the Country Club. I was one of the first to arrive, so I introduced myself to one of the staff of the Country Club and she let me into the President’s dining room. It wasn’t long before Andy showed up, and we started setting up the room for the tasting. The Country Club was providing Riedel stemware, decanters, and staff to ensure that we had everything we needed for a successful tasting, so we started pouring the wines into the glasses, and placing them at each seat on the table.
We had 14 people attending – many of the usual suspects from our For The Love Of Port Tours and our Sammamish Tasting Group, but it was really nice to see some old friends walking through the door.
While we were waiting for everyone to arrive, we opened a 2017 Sandeman Quinta do Seixo Vintage Port, which was quite nice.
2017 Sandeman Quinta do Seixo Vintage Port – Dark, purple center. Opaque with violet on the edges. Primary red fruits on the nose with red currants some mint. Very firm tannins on the approach with boysenberry and grippy tannins on the mid-palate. Very long finish. 90 points. 1/11/2020
Slowly, the last of the attendees arrived, we had some introductory remarks by Andy, and we settled down to begin the tasting.
1922 Martinez Vintage Port – Surprising rich orange-amber in color for a wine this old. Clear, with just a hint of sediment. Nose of strawberry, red fruit and a touch of cinnamon and spice. Warm, expansive mouthfeel with complex cinnamon, strawberry and close. Full-bodied with a very long finish of subtle spice and bight acidity. 91 points. 1/11/2020
1933 Van Zeller Vintage Port – Amber-pink in color with a noticeable clear edge. Antique wood and cocoa powder notes on the nose. Christmas spice and cherty on the very full-bodied palate. Extremely long finish with great red fruit and bright acidity. 93 points. 1/11/2020
1955 Royal Oporto Vintage Port – Light orange on the edges, with an amber-orange center. Candied sweet cherries, bacon and just a hint of vanilla on the nose. Intense approach with expansive flavors of cola and hard cherry candy rolling through the mid-palate. Great concentration of flavor rolls into the very long finish. 94 points. 1/11/2020
1963 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – Bottled by Hedges & Butler. Dark amber in color. Asian spice and cinnamon on the nose. Really nice, lush mouthfeel with red fruit and some light spice on the palate. Good acidity with red fruit and some spice on the finish. 92 points. 1/11/2020
1963 Graham’s Vintage Port – Bottled by Tanner & Shrewsbury. Amber in color with pink, then a clear edge. Cinnamon and dusty strawberry on the nose. Full-bodies with red fruit and spices on the palate. Really rich, long finish. 95 points. 1/11/2020
1970 Fonseca Vintage Port – Corked. N/R. 1/11/2020
1970 Martinez Vintage Port – Amber center with pink, then clear edge. Subdues nose of caramelized raspberry. A little dryer in style, with a touch of red currant and nice Asian spice on the palate. Well balanced tannins and acidity on the very long finish. 92 points. 1/11/2020
1970 Taylor Vintage Port – No TN
1955 Cockburn Vintage Port – Pop and pour. Some woody notes with vanilla and a touch of red fruit on the nose. Milk chocolate and balanced tannins on the palate. Lush mouthfeel with a touch of spice. Bright acidity on the very long finish. 92 points. 1/11/2020
1950 Kopke Colheita Port – Bottled in 2003. Brown center with yellow on the edges. Harsh nose – some saline. Burnt sugar, almond skins and a touch of caramel on the palate. Really long, rich finish. 92 points. 1/11/2020
1957 Kopke Colheita Port – Bottled in 2013. Light orange with a touch of amber in the center. Baked apples on the nose. Smooth, well-integrated flavors of caramel, toffee, and honey on the palate. Unctuous mouthfeel and great long finish. 94 points. 1/11/2020
1965 Barros Colheita Port – Bottled in 2015. Orange-amber in color. Something seems a little off on the nose, which a slight whiff of varnish. However, there is some great molasses notes underneath. Soy sauce and caramel on the long, rich finish. 91 points. 1/11/2020
1966 Kopke Colheita Port – Bottled in 2019. Clear, orange-amber in color. Creamsicle and some mahogany notes on the nose. Bright acidity with some orange peel on the palate. Very long finish. 92 points. 1/11/2020
1967 Taylor Fladgate Single Harvest Tawny Port – Bottled in 2016. Dark amber-orange in color. Tons of vanilla on the nose. Some bright acidity that almost comes across as too harsh or metallic. Nice warm finish. 94 points. 1/11/2020
1968 Krohn Colheita Port – Bottled in 2008. Amber-brown in color with a yellow tinge on the edges. Woody notes with molasses and caramel on the nose. Expansive flavor on the approach and mid-palate of vanilla, caramel and orange spice. Bright acidity on the long, lush finish. 93 points. 1/11/2020
After we finished the tasting, we cleared some of our glasses away in preparation for dinner. We opened a bottle of 1990 Dom Perignon Champagne and a magnum of 1977 Sterling Vineyards Merlot. Sadly, the Champagne was corked, and curiously, I couldn’t remember ever having a corked bottle of Champagne before. The Sterling Merlot (in magnum), however, did not disappoint.
1990 Dom Perignon – Corked N/R
1977 Serling Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot – N/R
We then opened up a few red wines to pair with our delicious dinner.
Gérard Mugneret Vosne-Romanée – I did not capture the vintage (N/R)
2009 Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva Douro Red (N/R)
2008 Niepoort Charme Douro Red (N/R)
2016 Swagger Cabernet Sauvignon (N/R)
Michel Arnould & Fils Grand Cru Reserve Champagne (N/R)
The menu that the Glendora Country Club put together was amazing:
Appetizer with Champagne
Displayed Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates
Tuna Tostada
1st Course:
Hamachi Collar
Grilled Lime, Black Sesame Puree
2nd Course:
Lamb Belly
Pickled Daikon, Cilantro Mint, Peanut Vietnamese Caramel
3rd Course:
Ribeye Cap Tarragon Béarnaise
4th Course:
Cheese Display on the Table
Baked Camembert Cheese with shaved Truffle
As we were finishing up our desert, chatting, sipping some of the leftover Ports and finalizing a few of our tasting notes, one of the staff members who stepped into the room mentioned that there was a University of Southern California Alumni event going on in one of the other banquet rooms, and no sooner than the words were out of his mouth we heard the unmistakable sound of a marching band coming from the hallway.
We all hopped up and went the door and indeed, member of the USC Marching Band were leading a procession into the adjacent banquet hall.
It was a very “LA” finish to this wonderful, LA Offline.
