Sometimes one has a special relationship with vintages. For me, this is 1983, the year of my birth. Though it’s not unusual that I’ve frequently tasted wines from this vintage; however, a horizontal tasting of Ports from various producers is a rare event. In September 2013, we organized a tasting in the Douro region, at Quevedo’s winery, to honour the 30th anniversary of the 1983 Vintage.

Oscar Quevedo’s son is also born in 1983, and thus also has a special relation with this year. Hence the reason I asked him to complete the following sentences:

The Vintage Ports from 1983 …

OQ: the best Vintage ever produced!!

Special about wines from this vintage is …

OQ: elegance and persistence.

My favourite wine from 1983 is …

OQ: Gould Campbell

At Quevedo was the harvest of 1983 …

OQ: My father says it was not clear that was going to be a very good vintage, only few months after the harvest, when Winter arrived, Ports started to show the complexity and richness of flavour that we can still assess nowadays.

I personally drunk wines from 1983 for the first time …

OQ: probably in the early 1990’s

The perfect occasion for drinking Vintage Ports of 1983 is …

OQ: on every birthday party.



Weather and general info: 
1983 was an unusually dry year with a very long winter and a hot summer and autumn, which resulted in extremely highly variant wines. Some producers had suffered greatly from this vintage, including Cockburn’s. Their ’83 resulted in “Beauty and the Beast” – you’re required to open the bottle to know which variant you get.

Initially, the ’83 was compact and hard, an unattractive style compared to the fruity and concentrated 85. Thus, this vintage always stood in the shadows of his “big brother”. There is, however, a pleasant side effect for consumers, the price. The price is still economical despite nearly 30 years of bottle aging. The wines are rather austere and many wines have notes of dark chocolate and coffee.

Truly outstanding ports were not produced in 1983, but a good selection of very good ports were. Not only that, but they are at a stage of maturity for drinking at an attractive price-pleasure ratio. The best Vintage Ports should continue to develop nicely over the next two to three decades.

For lovers of statistics: after the tasting, each participant, which included some experts like Maria Maia and Jorge Pintão of Poças, Claudia Quevedo and Carlos Raposo from Niepoort, were allowed to give points. Up to 3 points were given to each of their personal favourites . “Wine of the night” was awarded to Gould Campbell (22 points) followed by Niepoort (14 points), Taylor (8 points), Quarles Harris and Grahams (7 points each). The tasting was semi-blind, and my tasting notes – listed below – are in alphabetical order.

• Borges: Wide-ripened colour with distinct shades of brown. The palate is elegant and well developed. Error-free and very pleasant to drink now. 17
• Churchill – Quinta Agua Alta: The only Single Quinta Vintage Port in the tasting and only the second Vintage Port of this producer, after 1982, ever. In the colour showed a mature brick red, very restrained nose. In the mouth rather light and elegant, ripe fruit with good acidity and well integrated alcohol. Should be drunk now, very good for a SQVP. 17
• Cockburn: Did not show his true potential, but that I know only from hearsay, because so far all bottles opened by me (three) were not optimal. 16
• Dow: Only slightly aged ruby red; beautiful structure, complex and harmonious; quite a lot of chocolate tones, and drier than others, matured berry fruit. Good acidity balance. Although Dow 80 is better, the 83 will continue to develop for at least two decades. 18
• Fonseca: Beautiful mature ruby red, still closed on the palate, needs air. Relatively large amount of acid, neat, rather something elegant, good middle class. 17
• Gould Campbell: Great Port, still dark colour with many red tones. Very fruity, full body. Just beginning to mature, has a good acidity and a long finish. For me this evening just beaten by Graham. 18 +
• 
Graham: is also one of the darkest ports of this tasting. Needs a lot of time and air. Very good, full-bodied, medium sweet, fleshy and fruity. Complex with herbs and coffee notes. In my opinion certainly one of the best Graham of the 70s and 80s. Will develop further, long finish. 18 +
• Kopke: Faulty bottle. From a good bottle, as I tasted some months ago, this is an elegant, rather far-ripened vintage, with distinct sweetness. NR
• 
Messias: A pleasant surprise, since I did not remembered this Port that well. Also quite wide aged colour. Elegant palate with nice coffee notes and savoury flavours, now in a very nice stage. 17
• Niepoort: Beautiful age-appropriate colour, slightly darker than Fonseca. On the palate, slightly sweeter than other, more recent fruit flavours and light toasty notes. Beautiful structure, medium long finish. 17 +
• Quarles Harris: Beautiful mature ruby colour, pleasant bouquet. Rather light body, well-developed, impeccable port, however, it lacks something special. 17
• Ramos Pinto: Very good colour, one of the darkest ports of the sample. Bouquet still closed, needs air. On the palate, full-bodied, fleshy, good acidity, strong, many fruit flavours and medium-long finish. One of my personal favourites of this Vintage. 18
• Real Companhia Velha: Faulty. Not drinkable. NR
• 
Taylor: Beautiful mature ruby red. Good structure, very pleasant to drink now, harmonious and well balanced. Mature fruit flavours, beautifully aged. I think should be drunk within the next decade. 18
• Warre: Pretty dark, but also with light brown tones. Very closed nose. Very good Port, rather elegant and well matured, sweetness is recognizable, with coffee notes and behind dark chocolate. Alcohol is perfect involved. Medium length finish. 18 +

Many thanks again to Oscar and Claudia Quevedo for providing the great location and great barbecue!

Christopher Pfaff

• we finished harvest and started making the first blends of 2013 wines and Ports;
• we started to prepare the land to replant around 11 hectares in the lower part of our family’s Quinta da Alegria
• we have been organizing and participating in tastings around the world to make sure more people get to know our Ports;
• a new person joined us to help us with viticulture and with the DOC Douro wines – Teresa Batista – who will soon share her adventures here in the blog;
• our dog had puppies;
• and many other things.

Looking back at the these two months, there is something that stands out related with the 2013 harvest, and which will certainly last for many years, if not decades: for the first time in the known history of Port, 20 of the biggest bottlers of Port took their own grapes to a lagar and trod the grapes together with the goal of making a Vintage Port. The place where all this happened was at Niepoort‘s Port winery in the village of Vale de Mendiz, few kilometers north of Pinhão. The man with the idea and with a plan that organized the whole event was Axel Probst from the World of Port. The name that Axel gave to this event was masterly picked: O·PORT·UNIDADE being the meaning the last part, as you have certainly already realized, unity. The profit made with this event is going for charity, donated to Bagos d’Ouro, a local charity organization which takes care of children.

I know that you deserved to know from me about this great idea right on the day it happened, but only last week in Belfast, at my hotel room, I had the opportunity to write it.

A big obrigado to Axel for putting all these people together and for spreading the “Wor(l)d” of Port. Press Release can be downloaded here.

Oscar

Foto: Dirk Niepoort (Niepoort), Antánio Agrellos (Quinta do Noval), António Saraiva (Rozes), Jorge Dias (Dalva), George Sandeman (Sandeman), Charles and Martin Symington (Symington), Francisco Ferreira (Quinta do Vallado), Miguel Roquette (Quinta do Crasto), Oscar Quevedo (Quevedo), Manuel Cabral (IVDP), Carlos Flores (Andresen), Tiago Alves de Sousa (Alves de Sousa), Jorge Manuel Pintão (Poças), João Roseira (Quinta do Infantado), João Nicolau de Almeida (Ramos Pinto), Paulo Coutinho (Quinta do Portal), Pedro Sá (Vallegre), Manuel Silva (Rozes), Jorge Borges (Pintas), Sophia Bergqvist (Quinta de la Rosa), Pedro Silva Reis (Real Companhia Velha), António Amorim (Quinta Nova), Luisa Olazabal (Quinta do Vale Meão) and Luis Sottomayor (Ferreira).

The Port Wine Fest will take place at the riverside of Vila Nova de Gaia, right on the dock area and it will be a good opportunity for the Port lovers to try the recently declared 2011 Vintage Port. Few dozens of producers will be there to share opinions, ideas and to convert even more visitors into Port.

Besides Port, visitors will also have the chance to try dishes prepared by renowned Chefs, to participate in workshops about Port and Douro and to attend tastings of the producers’ Ports. To take full advantage of the Port Wine Fest I recommend you to check the full program of the Port Wine Fest.

After visiting the festival, we encourage you to visit Quevedo’s lodge in Rua de Santa Marinha 77, 200 meters away from the festival and listen to the Portuguese traditional Fado music while enjoy a last glass of Port.

See you there,

Oscar

From Portugal we took Barcelos’ rosters, maps, t-shirts and a lot of motivation. All of us already have distribution of the wines in the US, but not in the states we were visiting. A big white van was the vehicle of the invasion, packed with all our bags and wines to start a noisy invasion. All we wanted was that the Americans realize Portugal was invading them, wine invading of course. We started in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the 30th of May and finished in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 5th. During this period, we stopped also in Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Chicago. All our adventures were social documented on the blog of the Portuguese Wine Invasion. Check it out!

As the time passed, I was realizing that despite being able to generate a lot of interest in our “invasion”, people hardly remembered the name of our wines. They were going back home thinking about the experience they had meeting Portuguese people and wines, but not really having in mind a specific brand. But was our goal to promote our individual wines or to promote the country? Right, we were there to talk about Portugal, and promoting the country, we were promoting all Portuguese wine, and doing that we were in the end promoting our wines. We were trying to recruit new elements to become fans of Portugal. If some of them next time they visit a wine shop are going to ask for Portuguese wines , then we have accomplished our mission. We all the four producers want and expect to sell more wine in the US, otherwise we couldn’t finance a second invasion. But we learnt that if we join our efforts and talk about Portugal, eventually, people will ask for our wines.

Oscar

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Despite the sales of Port Wine in Germany present a negative trend over the last 5 years (-12% in value), Axel Probst from World of Port and Christopher Pfaff from Passion Port keep entertaining Port lovers, organizing tastings that bring German consumers to meet Port winemakers. Contrarily to the neighbors from Belgium where the annual consumption of Port per capita is 0.9L, or Dutch which drinks 0.7L, in Germany this figure drops to 0.04L. There is a lot to do to educate German palates for Port, which it is something that takes time and time and time.

The event that Axel and Christopher organized in November 2012 was focused on 20 Year Old Tawnies versus Vintage Port from 1991 and 1992. As you will have the opportunity to see in the video, the colours of these two styles vary from amber/orange/brownish of the 20 Year Old Tawny to cherry colour that this 20+ years old Vintage Ports currently present. I am sure you know that this colour difference is explained by the aging process of these two styles: Tawnies in pipas while Vintage ages in the bottle. End with explanations, lets grab a glass of Port and watch Christopher’s video.

Oscar

Those producers who participated at the Portvins Festival, or Port Wine Festival, which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, Monday last week, were certainly excited with the motivation and interest that the Danish people put on this event. The XX edition of this Festival, organized by Mr. Henrik Oldenburg, and solely dedicated to Port, counted with the participation of over 600 1200 people, among retailers, press, but mostly consumers, or better said, Port Wine lovers. In most of the tables there were not only the importers but also the producers that came from Portugal. We were together with our importer, Haller Vine.

Despite the rain, and it rained a lot for some minutes, nothing made those enthusiasts move away from the long lines outside. Neither even reduced the excitement they showed at the moment of the tasting, where most would show interest in Colheitas and Tawnies with indication of age. But also in Vintage Port. And all these people that were moving from table to table, from Port producer to Port producer, make us, Port producers, feel special. Special because they share the same love for Port we Portuguese have and the same excitement every time we are pouring something special in the glass. The fact that this event was held in the gorgeous Old Stock Exchange of Copenhagen, or Børsen, certainly helped to make it even more charming.

Denmark is a special market for Port, for the passion, knowledge and education that people devote to Port. But other countries could also dare to organize an event like this. And we all Port lovers would enrich with it. Devotion and knowledge is something that Port requires in generous quantities but I’m pretty sure that out there there are plenty of people spread out in many countries, ready to participate in another Port Wine Festival. And the tasting that Axel Probst from World of Port, organized in Leverkusen, Germany, on November 9th, this time dedicated to 20 Year Old, 1991 and 1992 Port, is a great example of it.

Cheers,

Oscar

• 1948 Martinez;
• 1952 Niepoort Colheita;
• 1956 Niepoort Experimental;
• 1960 Croft;
• 1964 Graham Malvedos;
• 1968 Fonseca Guimaraens;
• 1972 Offley Boa Vista;
• 1976 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas;
• 1980 Dow;
• 1984 Warre Quinta da Cavadinha;
• 1988 Quinta de la Rosa;
• 1992 Burmester;
• 1996 Quinta do Vesuvio;
• 2000 Delaforce;
• 2004 Cockburn Quinta dos Canais;
• 2008 Quevedo Quinta Vale D’Agodinho;

Not every single Port showed great. Would be hard as some of  the years in which the Olympic Games were celebrated were very rough for Port production, like 1956, 1972 or 1988. And this is where the funniest part begins. Inspired or not by my sister Claudia’s birth year, my favorite Port of the night was a 1976 Quinta de Vargellas. I really have to find another bottle  for her to try, maybe for her birthday next August 31st! When a Port was poured, Tom Archer made a short presentation of the weather and harvest conditions and also of the Portuguese performance in the Olympics, in that specific year. Great idea Tom, valuable information. Here is a video with the view of 2008 year. But the best part of the night was when The Bishop of Norwich (the one and only!) explained the story which nowadays we still use when someone does not pass the Port decanter. A video to be posted soon! More photos of the tasting here.

Oscar

We are going to join the celebration of the Port Wine day by promoting a special activities in our lodge in Rua de Santa Marinha 77, Vila Nova de Gaia. In this place, everyone will have the chance to try different styles of Port Wines and share the experience on-line, on the social media. For that, computers will be available for the public, as consumers can leverage on social media to spread out the word of Port Wine. And always using #PortDay on social media.

The Center for Wine Origins was founded in 2005 by the wine growing regions of Champagne, France, and Porto, Portugal.  These are both regulated by the European system of appellations, designed to ensure authenticity and quality for consumers. The Center represents the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), the trade association that represents all the grape growers and houses of Champagne; and the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP), the trade association that represents all the grape growers and houses in Porto and the Douro Valley. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the institution is involved in many activities aimed at educating consumers, policymakers and the media about the importance of keeping wine labels accurate.

Oscar

In these ten years, since the classification from UNESCO, several things changed in the Douro for better. The overall quality of vine growing, wine making and tourism accommodation all improved a lot in this decade. And tourism is exactly what I think is the next big challenge for the Douro. To take advantage of the potential of the region, developing it as a exclusive wine destination region is what shall occupy all of us involved in the daily business of the Douro. And for this, UNESCO’s classification is also very important.

Take a look at the ceremony program that is taking place today at Peso da Régua.

Oscar

Last month, for the first time, I visited Canada. I was in Toronto for the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo, an event in which final consumers have access to a broad range of wines, from all parts of the world. By paying some dollars, people can enjoy a glass or two of a wine that not always is available to the general public.

In the Canadian market, the LCBO, Licor Control Board of Ontario, which is a Government-owned company, is the only entity selling alcohol in public store. Having this kind of monopoly for wine retailing, LCBO is one of the most important and powerful alcohol purchasers in the world. Therefore, the wine range available in store is based on the perception of what the managers of the LCBO think the Canadian consumer prefers. However, there are a large number of wine agents, who have a large selection of wines, some available at the LCBO, but most not, which can sell directly to the public, in what is known as private order.

In the fair there was a place where thematic tasting were being held. One of those tastings, Fortified Finale, was guided by Claudius Fehr, a previous category manager specialized in Port Wine at the LCBO. I was honored to be invited by Mr. Fehr to present our Ports at the tasting. But instead of talking about our Ports, I would rather show you a video of Claudius presenting a regular Tawny Port, from Quinta da Pedra Alta, a producer in Alijó, which is available at the LCBO. And this is a nice Port.

Let me know if you have any questions about this specific and complex market. I’m not sure if I can help you out, but at least I will try. Otherwise we ask for the help of my friend Steve Santos, who lives there as has a nice understanding of the market.

Oscar