As promised in my previous, distant post…… I promised to talk about Portuguese fortified wine (Port) after my trip to Porto and so here we are!
Now before we get started I have to admit that I haven’t tried much port before, my experience with this particular tipple is minimal. In fact I have just checked my Vivino (the only way I can remember anything, god knows what I would do without it…) and I’ve only had 6 different bottles in total.
Note to self – Must drink more Port.
So after planning on a trip to Porto we knew a trip to a Port Cellar was definitely on the cards. Upon arriving I asked for a cellar recommendation from our guy in the accommodation.
He advised Sandeman as it was his personal favorite, so off we went.
Sandeman Cellars is located just over the other side of the Douro river in Gaia facing Porto. The building itself whilst impressive, is much bigger on the inside that it appears from the front.
We talked to reception and decided to go for the Premium Tour. This entitled us to a guided tour through the cellars with a tasting at the end of three different Ports, a White, Ruby and Tawny.
We waited for the next English tour, passing the time by having a beer in the sun.
The group was rounded up by one of the Sandeman tour guides. He was dressed up in the black cloak and hat, the same as their famous logo.
The tour weaves it way through the cellar among all the various barrels stopping every so often for the guide speak.
He went into to go into detail about the the various ports, where the grapes had come from, storage, aging the wine and different bottle styles. I can’t remember is all the facts now but it was all interesting and informative. Especially when you are a novice like me!
A couple were quite surprising and stood out. I was shocked to learn that all port is blended from a huge variety of grapes! I think this can be over 100 different types. It made me wonder how they maintain the quality consistency with such a huge variety to choose from. Many of these were native Portuguese grapes which I’ve never heard of.
Another fact that stuck with me was that the Ruby ports do not generally improve with age as they are stored in stainless steel, where as Tawny do. These are stored in wooden barrels so oxidation occurs (told you I was a novice!)
After the tour was complete it was time to get down to business in their tasting room which was nicely done and set out. Ideal for large groups.
Sandeman Fine white Port was the first we tried. This was my first ever white port. It was a little sweet, but light and had a little taste of vanilla.
Next up was the Late Bottled Vintage from 2013 which had a deep bold, ruby red colour. It was quite bold and strong. I could taste red and black fruits in it.
Finally it was the turn of the 10 Year Old Tawny Port. This one wasn’t as bright bold in colour as the previous one (see picture above). It was a little lighter a bit “rusty” coloured, reminded me a bit of a Barolo/Nebbiolo wine from Northern Italy. It tasted like vanilla and raisins.
I was expecting to prefer the 10 Year Old Tawny Port initially but at the time I preferred the Late Bottled Vintage but I would like to try them again.
The tasting concluded the tour. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was pitched at just the right level for a Port novice. The tour was well run and the guide was good fun and informative. It definitely got me interested in this particular drink. I highly recommend the tour if you visit Porto. I would love to go back and try some of the other cellars.
Maybe a return trip is on the cards later in 2019….
About the Grape 