La Matriarca Club - Dinner at The Factory House, and a visit to Malvedos & Bomfim

[rich_n]

Around this time last year, I received an intriguing Whatsapp message from a certain Mr Alex Bridgeman, who I'd been in discussions with over a trip to Porto in October (both for advice and to try and coordinate being there at the same time). The message read:

"OK Rich, standby to be knocked off your feet with your trip to Portugal.

Question 1: Can you be in Porto from 19.00 on the evening of Friday 11th October to 18.00 on Saturday 12th October.

Let me know if the answer is yes…"

I confirmed that, subject to ensuring I could get flights and accommodation confirmed, I thought that was absolutely possible. Alex then proceeded to explain that while he was planning to be in Portugal, he had business that would take him to the other end of the Douro that weekend.

He also informed me that as a member of the Symington's Matriarca club (a somewhat exclusive membership that is split between Portuguese and British members, limited to fewer than 100 of each) he was invited to dinner at The Factory House in Porto on that Friday evening, followed by a trip up to the Douro for a tour and drinks at Malvedos, a boat trip down the river, and then lunch and drinks at Bomfim.

Unfortunately for him the aforementioned business meant he couldn't attend. Fortunately for me, he had been in touch with the Symingtons, who had confirmed he could indeed still invite a plus 1 in his absence; a spot which he was very kindly offering to me.

I confirmed my flights and accommodation with all possible haste!
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I arrived in Porto after spending a couple of days relaxing in the Algarve, and a few days exploring Lisbon, including dinner with an old friend on my birthday. Excited for the weekend to come I had a pleasant dinner and then turned in for an early night.

The following evening I arrived in suit and tie for a formal dinner hosted by the Symingtons at the legendary Factory House in Porto. I arrived alongside a couple of other guests and we were shown to an elegant reception room where we were provided with drinks and canapes, along with an opportunity to discuss how we'd come to be in such delightful surroundings.

We were soon ushered through for dinner, entering a very impressive dining space with a magnificent singular long table ready for the guests, with the Portuguese and British members intermingled, leading to some fascinating and meandering discussions. For those unaware of the Factory House's history, Harry kindly introduced us to both its history and also the story of the Symington family through to the modern day.

Dinner was very classic Portuguese fare, delicious and high quality without being pretentious, and accompanied by a fine selection of Symington Family still and port wines:

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The first of the still wines accompanied our starter. The Contacto Alvarinho 2023, an elegant white was introduced (as with all the wines) by Rob Symington, who explained that it is a product of the Symington's 2022 partnership with Anselmo Mendes, and if I recall correctly the first vinho verde that has been produced under the Symingtons umbrella.

This was followed by another white, to bring the best from the cod and this time from vineyards located on the slopes of the São Mamede Natural Park near Portalegre. The Quinta da Fonte Souto 2022 was rather intriguing, this time the fruit accompanied by vanilla notes and a touch of butter.

The first and only still red wine of the night was the Quinta do Vesuvio 2015 tinto, which was brought to us along with the veal. I found it to be robust and full of fruit with a strong tannic backbone, an excellent expression of the classic Douro grapes.

With dessert and cheese, we were treated to a delightful tawny port, the fantastic Grahams 1997 Single Harvest. I will post my tasting notes for this (and the other ports mentioned here) elsewhere.

With the evening winding to an enjoyable end, we were about to be treated to one of the rather unexpected delights of The Factory House. The entire party was invited to stand and move next door, where we were to find an identical dining space to the one we had just left, with several decanters of vintage port laid out for the guests!

This was explained by our hosts to be a long standing tradition designed so that the room was untainted by the smells of our meal and previous wines, allowing the vintage port to be the sole focus for our senses.

We're now in a darker room, with only candlelight to try and see the colour of the vintage port that's been set in front of us. It appears transparent, maybe brick red. Fades heavily to the rim. There is red fruit on the nose - sweet, strawberry. Maybe a touch of caramel. A little eucalyptus.

On the palate - sweet strawberries and caramel. A little milk chocolate. Eucalyptus in the mid palate. Plenty of peppery tannins. I guessed Dow 70, it's Dow 66 so I'll take that!

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The evening closes with an invitation to nose around the Factory House, which is an impressive and well maintained building, and in particular to check out the cellars, which contain a multitude of impressive vintage ports - it is apparently tradition for new members of the house to provide some vintage port of their own, and of course no one would want their offering to be sniffed at...
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The following morning was an early start, meeting to take a ride out to the Douro. The dour early morning weather broke as we wound our way up the valley, much to Harry's relief! I was fortunate enough to have his company on the trip up and picked his brains about much of the port world from his perspective.

We arrived at Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos in the Douro Valley, and were welcomed with appetizers and a local classic of a glass of porto tonico. I had not been much of a fan of previous versions of this Portuguese cocktail that mixes white port and tonic, but didn't want to be rude and was delighted when I found that it was a rather refreshing and welcome beverage! We were then taken on a tour of the winery before heading onto a picturesque boat ride that would take us down the Douro to Dow’s Quinta do Bomfim, nestling in the banks of the river on the edge of Pinhao.

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We were welcomed at Bomfim by our hosts, and led through to lunch, which was at the relatively new Bomfim 1896 (referring to the year that the Quinta became home to Dow's), which is a grand and impressive room with dining space laid out in a wide horseshoe surrounding an open kitchen area that gives a good view of the wood fired ovens and stoves on which our food was to be cooked.

The food once again was delicious, and a step above much that I've found in the Douro. I was a particular fan of the dessert; a tonka bean brulee with carrot and ginger, that was accompanied by a delicious glass of Graham's 30 year old tawny.

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The finale was the highlight here however, as we were treated to the spectacle of one of our waiters opening a bottle of Graham's 2003 vintage port using tongs. I've heard about this approach before, but despite attending quite a few port tastings and associated events had never seen it in person, which it turned out was the case for a number of others at my table.

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The Graham's '03 was a very enjoyable young port. While I found something of a muted nose, with only a little red fruit and some minerality, it was lush on the palate. Red cherries on entry, with an immediate tannic grip and eucalyptus note. Rich caramel in the mid palate. Maybe touch of mint on the finish? A baby but very enjoyable even at this young age.

We finished up dinner and had a little more time to explore, but the delightfully relaxed pace of the day meant we were soon needing to head to our transport to head back to Porto, full of delicious food and drink, and some memories that will last a lifetime.

I chatted with a number of different Matriarca members on the way home, a number of whom had been into wine for a long time but had joined the club to try and understand port better - they raved about the experience and were keen to pick my brains for more information on port generally. Of course I tried to point them to the far more knowledgable folk on here, to whom I owe my own understanding of port.

And so a thank you, along with an apology to Alex - I very much appreciate the thought to include me in this wonderful little adventure, and I am sorry it's taken me quite so long to write up! I'm sure I've forgotten some details so please do ask away and I'll try to dredge them up from my memories.

[Glenn E.]

What a wonderful trip! Thank you for sharing!

[Alex Bridgeman]

Thanks for posting, Rich. That was such a good read.

I was gutted that I couldn’t make the trip but I’m so glad you were able to make it despite my absence.

[rich_n]

Thanks for posting, Rich. That was such a good read.

I was gutted that I couldn’t make the trip but I’m so glad you were able to make it despite my absence.

I was glad to be offered and able to take that spot! And it did sound like your alternative plans weren't exactly boring...

[nac]

Also gutted that I couldn't make this, but was too close to the CEM pre-wedding festivities in Porto.

[winesecretary]

What a delightful write up of a clearly lovely trip!

[Andy Velebil]

Lovely write up, thank you it was a good read.

[rich_n]

Thanks for the kind words, gents!