A Day in VNG - 30 Sep 07

Post your experiences of travel, especially for the Douro region. Make recommendations for places to stay and visit or ask advice from those that have already been there.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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A Day in VNG - 30 Sep 07

Post by DRT »

Here are some pictures and memories of a great day out in VNG with some good friends...

I arrived at Oporto Airport at 08:55, bang on schedule. I was very happy to find that the 6 bottles of wine/port that I had placed in the hold in a styro shipper had arrived intact. A few minutes afer I collected my luggage I saw a couple of old buddies emerge from a door at the other end of the arrivals hall. First came Stewart Todd (Web Guru and Porthead from Seattle) followed by Andy Velebil (AKA ADV, an LA Cop with a capacity for port that rivals my own). It was great to see these 2 guys again, exactly 12 months since I last spent time with them drinking more port and Douro wine than anyone is entitled to.

The rest of the group finally made it through to the arrivals hall. Conrad ( a Canadian Porthead), Brian (a retired Attorney from Denver), Sean C (one of the TPF bretherin with a passion for 1955's) and Marco (the luckiest man alive who had just picked up a free week in the Douro). They were accompanied by the gorgeous Sandra who is the USA export rep for the company which owns Burmester, Kopke and Barros. This was shaping up to be a very good day 88)

After some luggage trauma we finally made it to the river of dreams. We decided that lunch was an essential first step to provide stamina for what lay ahead. The Porto Cruz Restaurant on the Oporto side of the river, opposite the Calem lodge, was irresistable. It was steaks all round with a few beers and a bottle of Cruz 20 Yr Old Tawny between 7 to wash it down. The Cruz lived up to expectation but couldn't be faulted at 30 Euros for the bottle in a restaurant.

We then set off to cross the bridge and hit some of those lodges. It was somewhere between 1 and 2pm so we only had a couple of hours before they closed. We will get 3 in if Stewart stops taking pictures, I thought as we crossed the bridge.

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Andy does his best to look cool whilst Stewart takes yet another picture of VNG :lol:

First stop was the Noval shop, no more than 100 yards from the bridge. This is where the plan started to re-write itself. For those who haven't been to VNG before it is worth pointing out that, unusually, Noval do not have a lodge there. They now store and age all of their ports in a temperature controlled cellar in the Douro and have a small shop with a tasting area in VNG. We all sat down and were presented with 4 glasses at each of 2 tables. The glasses were filled with Ruby, Tawny, LBV and a white port. We all tasted these but within a few minutes it became clear that cheap port (even if supplied for free) was not going to satisfy this group.

Sean was the first to crack, ordering 2 half bottles of Colhieta to be served. More glasses appeared from behind the counter and by the time the 2 halves were poured I cracked and ordered a third. The pattern repeated itself and before long we each had 7 Colhieta's in front of us ranging from 1937 to 1986. Tasting notes will appear elsewhere on this site but suffice to say that this was an extremely pleasurable experience. The 1937 in particular was a stunning wine and many thatnks to Brian for his generosity in buying and sharing it with us.

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From left to right, Conrad, Sean and Brian with all those lovely Colhieta's

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From left to right, Marco, Andy and Stewart with my Blackberry in the foreground

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The Colhietas

Not content to stop there I persuaded the group that it would be interesting to try the Noval Aged Tawnys against the Colhietas. So, 20 Euro each into the kitty and the 10, 20 and 40 yr olds were procured. To be honest, by this time it was difficult to tell how these were showing. I don't drink much Colhieta or Tawny and these were all starting to blend into one big nutty, sticky mess in my mouth. Only one thing to do, so I ordered a 1997 Noval Silval VP to provide a fruit explosion 88) I hadn't had this before and was impressed with it as a "drink now" VP.

...and so our time at Noval came to an end, around 1 and a half hours after all the other lodges closed :shock: Our plan to tour around the cellars has been ripped up and thrown away and had been replaced by a really fun tasting that no-one had planned. This was a very enjoyable afternoon and one that I will remember for a very long time.

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Always the gentleman, Stewart offers to help out behind the bar. The fact that there was an attractive young lady there was pure coincidence :wink:

Next stop was Vinalogia where we met Gustavo and his father who served us some very unusual and rare ports from small producers that are not well known outside Portugal. This was a great experience although I have to confess that my memory of this part of the evening is rather hazy :roll:

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Strangely, Stewart manages to find yet more attractive women to talk to about port. You can tell that they're impressed :?

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This is what the ceiling of Vinalogia looks like when you are lying on the floor

Next we were off to Vinalogia's new restaurant for some typical Portuguese grub and more drinks. After that we all went back to the hotel for some well earned sleep.

As the guys drifted off to bed I took one look at Andy and saw a glint in his eye that I have witnessed before. I can always tell when a man wants something so desperately that he can hardly contain himself. So, with great excitement, anticipation and expectation I invited Andy to join me in my bedroom for...







...a bottle of Berry Brothers & Rudd Vintage Character, believed to be around 30 years old :lol: :lol:

What a great day 88)

Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Andy Velebil
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Post by Andy Velebil »

It was an AWSOME day indeed and a great way to spend time with some very good friends, old and new. Talk about starting a week by jumping in the pond feet first. Most of the other guys had never been to Portugal and it was quite the memorial first day.

I will add that while Brian and I were talking at the airport in New Jersey, waiting for the TAP flight into Oporto I see a very good looking woman come round the corner. "I know that face" I say to Brian and I yell Sandra. Turns out she was flying home to lead us on a tour and tasting on Tuesday at Burmester. She ended up meeting us at Noval for some drinks then spending the rest of the night with us at Vinalogia and buying us drunkards dinner about 12 hours after we started drinking....THANK YOU SANDRA!!

I just got home from work, but here is what we drank at Vinologia that Derek is so hazy about..the lightweight drinker that he his :wink: :lol:

Quinta Santa Eufemia Old Reserve White (this is a single year white colheita from 1973 my birthyear. This is one of two ports that I've ever heard of existing from that infamous year.

1970 Quinta do Romaneira Colheita (b.2000)

Andresen 10 year old white port (b. 2007)

2005 Quinta Seara D'Ordens V.P.


2000 Rozes V.P.

1997 Turga V.P.

Casal dos Jordes 10 year tawny (organic)

S. Leonardo 30 year tawny

2000 Domingos Soares Franco Moscatel de Setubal

And that last bottle Derek and I shared was quite tasty for a port not intended to be stored for 30+ years...oh and I think we polished off about 3/4 of the bottle between us. I may be a skinny little runt and Derek may sleep in kitchens, but the two of us sure can drink port 88)

Derek,

Thank you so much for making the trip out to see us. It had been too long and we'll have to figure out a way to get the gang together a little more often.
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DRT
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Post by DRT »

Here are the links to my TN's on the Colhietas listed in the order I rated them on the night:
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
Conky
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Post by Conky »

Lads,

Great read. Hope there's more. If you did a fair bit of laughing, and I'm sure you did, it sounds a perfect day. (Obviously United would have also had to have be stuffing the Dippers in the background on the Big Screen!)
I'm also envious of your newly found knowledge of Colheita. It's made me realise I havn't got a clue. I think I've had it twice and concluded it was tawny-ish. :roll:

Alan
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DRT
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Post by DRT »

Alan,

Despite your limited experience I am happy to confirm that your description of Colhieta is entirely accurate :smile:

I've had more Colhieta in the last two weeks than I did in the previous 42 years. Although I have enjoyed them I'm still not persuaded to swap any of my VP for Colhieta.

Derek
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Alex Bridgeman
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Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Having had a fair few colheitas in the last year or so, I can say that I enjoy them occasionally - but will always buy a vintage port over a colheita when offered a straight choice.

But that's just my choice and I know others whose preference might be the other way round.

Alex
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
Jay P
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Post by Jay P »

I'm very glad I brought home a bottle of the 37 Colheita from Noval last year, especially after your note Derek!

I find an old Colheita a fine counterpoint to VP, usually priced less (per age), with excellent complexity.

Anyways, I'm surely sorry I did not attend this year, maybe next year for the harvest trip!

Jay
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