The world of wine becomes more and more interesting with each trip. Travel may broaden the mind, but wine travel broadens the palette.  A recent trip to Porto was no exception.

It’s no secret that I love sweet wine, Sauternes was my ticket to Bordeaux, and I haven’t looked back since. It was about time I discovered Porto. Preconceptions around sweet wine are as complex as the wines themselves. They have a fascinating history, amazing complexity, extraordinary versatility and are very food friendly. The Ports we discovered were exactly that, I found so many similarities and contrasts with Sauternes. 

Rich from my recent experience visiting Napa with wine maker Jen Higgins, I took a winemaker with me – or perhaps she took me? I travelled with Nicola Allison of Château de Seuil in Graves who just happens to produce a few bottles of that rare, sweet wine Cérons. 

Two for the price of one – city and vineyards  

One of the joys of discovering Port is you get to visit two completely different regions. The contrast was stunning, geographical, climatic in fact the whole atmosphere. We started in the city of Porto (Oporto) where the wines are traditionally aged and then went to the Douro where the grapes are grown, and the wines are made. 

Maritime, historical Porto 

Oporto is divided into two by the Douro river, the old town with ancient and slightly crumbling neoclassical and baroque stone buildings covered with gorgeous tiles. Across the river lies Vila Novo de Gaia where the labyrinth of ancient wine lodges (cellars run up the hill).  

The Atlantic Ocean has a huge influence in Porto, giving its maritime climate, (a characteristic shared with Bordeaux). On our first morning we walked through eerie morning mists across from the centre of the old town up to the port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia. 

Porto plage   

On our last night we stayed on the waterfront of the Foz area of the city, a short wood-panelled tram ride from the centre along the Douro River to the beach. We saw an impressive band of evening fog come in and then waited for it to rise as we had coffee on the beach the next morning. 

We found many parallels with Bordeaux, both cities are on the banks of major rivers, giving historical access to international markets, responsible in large part for the success of their wines. Close to the mouth of the Douro River, Porto is the second largest city of Portugal. The historical centre is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, (as is Bordeaux). Then there’s the historic involvement of British shippers.

Ageing 

This cool maritime climate made Porto the ideal place to age the wines from the hotter Douro, giving its name to the wines.  Ageing Port Wines here in the city was a legal obligation until 1987, now air conditioned warehouses in the Douro means the wines are increasing aged where they are grown and made. Avoiding cars in the narrow lanes of Vila Nova de Gaia, you can see why moving storage and ageing outside the city makes logistical sense. 

Building on history 

Founded in 1692, Taylor’s is one of the oldest Port houses, dedicated uniquely to the production of fortified Port wine. They still age port wine in their original historical ‘Lodges’ in Villa Nova de Gaia.  These impressive cellars were the perfect place to learn the history of the city and its wines. 

Close links between Porto and Britain date from 1386 with the Treaty of Windsor, a royal marriage and alliance favouring trade as well as peace. In 1654, the Anglo-Portuguese commercial treaty, gave special commercial privileges to Scots and Brits with the first recorded shipments of Port wine dating from 1678. But it was wars between the French and English that accelerated sales. In 1667, the French blockaded English goods, England retaliated, banning French wine and thirsty Brits turned to Port. When  Wellington defeated the invading French army at Oporto in 1808, it further cemented good relations  

By 1820, shipping fortified wines was common practice, adding distilled spirit to the wines helped them survive transport to the UK. Taylor’s were originally Port wine shippers, buying wine from producers in the Douro, sending it down the river to Porto to age and ship. They bought their first vineyards in 1744. Today 30% of production comes from their own vineyards and they work with 72 other producers for the remaining 70%. 

Tasting complexity 

Thanks to Ana Margarida Morgado, a spectacular tasting of some of the house styles was a revelation to just how little I knew about Port wine, it was a fascinating eye opener. That’s why we travel to wine regions right? 

Champions of the blend 

Port wines are made from a blend of grapes, another similarity with Bordeaux, but also a blend of vintages and vineyards, a process that continues during ageing.

The grapes are mainly indigenous varieties, the best known are Touriga Francesa, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Amarela and Tinto Cão but there are over thirty to choose from. Grapes are small and thick-skinned perfect for the dense, coloured, concentrated and tannin rich juice needed for Port. Even if planted in separate plots, something pioneered by Taylors, the varieties are often harvested and fermented together. 

Put your foot in it

When the balance of sweetness and all-important acidity is deemed perfect, the grapes are hand-picked and selected. Fermentation traditionally takes place in shallow, open tanks called lagares and lasts days rather than weeks. The juice doesn’t hang around on the skins, there’s no time for pumping over or maceration. The slow extraction and fermentation takes about six days.

This is where the famous foot stomping comes in, teams line up arm in arm to march across the lagares crushing the berries. Soft feet don’t damage the pips that might release aggressive tannins but the traditional granite or concrete lagares are abrasive which helps extraction. After a day or two of regimented marching they let go and it’s more ‘free range’, the ‘liberdade’. There might even be music and, if you time it right, you can join in.

There are mechanized alternatives now, with piston plungers making their way across the lagares punching down the cap, with most Quintas using a combination of the two.

Fortification

When the wines reach 5-9°, a neutral wine spirit of up to 77° is added. This kills yeast and stops fermentation giving that heady combination of sugar, alcohol and acidity. This brings the alcohol percentage up to 20°, not for the faint hearted but we’re talking quality not quantity and it gives Porto it’s amazing ageing potential.

Spirited

Taylors source their spirit from Cognac house Bernard, another family business. This is not barrel aged Cognac, but a clear, white neutral spirit. There is currently discussion around limiting the origin of the alcohol used for fortification. Perhaps only from Portugal? With opposing arguments of ‘terroir’, sourcing locally (also to help the region economically) against quality, tradition and longstanding business relationships.  

Ageing for Surprising Diversity 

The final style of Port wine and it’s amazing variety lies in what happens next – the ageing. Traditionally this happened in the City of Porto, but getting the wines there was a challenge.

 A river runs through it

 In the 1970s the Douro river was dammed, providing sustainable electricity for the region and making it navigable. Before this, brave sailors waited for the river to be swollen with spring rains, navigating the rushing currents in their flat-bottomed ‘barcos rebelos’ to take barrels of wine down the Douro River before the heat of the summer. We saw terrifying pictures of these ancient shallow bottomed boats, riding the white waters of the Douro. 

Today road transport has taken over and there are ageing warehouses in the Douro that, thanks to climate control, can replicate ideal conditions for long ageing. The river now hosts Cruise boats and canoes – that was us! 

Ageing 

The fortified wines are tasted on arrival in the cellars and their ageing journey decided. In small casks or large oak vats? No new oak here, large ancient vats and thousands of old barrels fill the cellars.

Port wines come in two major styles, Ruby and Tawny. As the names suggest, they are defined by the colour, a result of more or less  oxidation, which also changes the style. The bigger the ageing vessel, the less oxygen reaches the wine and the more ruby red the wine remains. The longer time in smaller oak the greater oxidation. 

In the Red 

Ruby Ports are aged in large old oak vats, for just a few years, limiting the contact with oxygen, retaining their ruby red colour and fruit aromas. 

Vintage/non-vintage The UK market loves vintage Port, that represents just 2% of production. After a short ageing in large oak or stainless steel vats, the wines are bottled no later than the third year after harvest. Unfined and unfiltered, they are concentrated and tannic and can age beautifully in bottle for decades, throwing off sediment that requires decanting and all the tradition around serving. These the ones you forget about in the cellar and dust off 20 plus years later. They are the flagship wines of Port Houses, made from a blend of the finest wines and declared perhaps three times a decade. You can find single Quinta Vintage wines sourced from and carrying the name of a specific estate or quinta.

A Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) is also a Ruby, from a single vintage but aged longer, for four to six years before bottling, making them easier to drink young and lasting a little once opened. 

A Tawny revelation 

The Tawnies surprised and delighted me. Taylors has one of the largest reserves of aged tawny port maturing in those lodges. The tasting room high on the hill above the cellars was a fabulous place to discover them.

Tawny Ports, enjoy a long ageing in small barrels of 550-600 litres called pipes or pipa. These allow more oxygen to come in contact with the wine, accelerating the ageing, turning the wines tawny. As the fruit fades and they gain in beautiful complexity. As the ageing has been done, they are ready to drink, sold with a ‘T cork’ like a bottle of spirit – easy to serve. 

These are multi-vintage blends, made over years of racking and blending  in the cellars. Since 1973 the age can be mention on labels, 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old and since this year 50! These represent an average age of the blend. A 40 year old tawny will have lost about 50% of its volume through evaporation. There are also Colheita Tawny, sourced from a single vintage. 

They are exceptionally complex and concentrated. We tasted a 20 year Old Tawny, a 50 year old Golden Age and the mysterious Very Old Port with an average of 80 years! They were absolutely stunning. Still fresh, layered and complex with aromas of dried figs and caramel. You can tell my favourite from the photo !  We also discovered Chip Dry white Port (see below) and the delicious LBV 2019. 

Two flights of spectacular Vintage ports, 2007 and 2017 and the Quinta de Vargellas, uniquely from their own Quinta, also 10 years apart, 2005 and 2015 was a fascinating comparison of the complexity 10 years of bottle ageing brings.  A really eye opening and educational experience, thank you  Ana Margarida.

Longevity or immediacy

This diversity of style serves Port well. France remains the largest market for port wine, consuming even more than the Portuguese, mainly Ruby wines served as an aperitif.  Brits prefer their Vintage Ports served towards the end of the meal with cheese, as a dessert wine or an after dinner drink.

Constant innovation 

If all this sounds steeped in tradition and history, it is, it takes a long history of ageing to create these wines, perhaps something only a family company can do? But don’t be fooled. They are constantly innovating, attracting new fans but keeping the established ones close.

In 1934 Taylors created Chip Dry, the first dry white Port, now found in cans as a ‘Chip ’n Tonic’. it was Taylors who launched LBV in 1970 with the 1965 vintage to produce a single vintage Port wine drinkable as soon as it was bottled. It met with raised eyebrows at the time, but it’s been a huge success in making port much more accessible to a larger market. 

In 2008, they introduced Croft Pink rosé (Croft is part of the Taylor Fladgate group)  and in 2006 Terra Prima, their 1st organic port. 

The Scion Taylor 2010 is a unique bottling, from ungrafted 1855 vines . The only 100 point wine from Porto!

Sustainability

Their innovations also cover viticulture (more in an upcoming post). They pioneered single block planting rather than field blends in their estates and are founders and mentors of the Porto Protocol. This global wine community was launched in 2018, to share solutions for tackling climate change. It has reached far beyond Port and the Douro, now with over 300 members from over 25 countries, encouraging collaboration and innovation in sustainable practices across the wine sector.

Steeped in complexity from past to future.  We’re fans!

A big thank you to Sue Glasgow for organising our visit to Taylor’s.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to follow our Porto adventure up river, please   sign up here  to receive future blog posts. You can learn more about Bordeaux with the new Green Edition of Bordeaux Bootcamp, and explore Wine and Wellness, with  The Drinking Woman’s Diet  or just say hi  here.

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