Tag Archives: port

Visiting Graham’s in Porto

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Graham’s was founded in 1820 by the brothers William and John Graham.

In 1890 they made a far sighted move and as one of the first port producers, they bought their own wine yard. The now famous Quinta dos Malvedos. It was the same year they built their lodge at its current location in Vila Nova de Gaia.

In 1912 they switched from transporting the pipes of port by boat to have it driven down by train on the newly constructed rail roads.

In 1970 Graham’s was bought by the Symington family and is at present day still in their possession.

The main entrance to the Graham’s wine cellars.
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The almost obligatory wine bottle collection that can be found at all the port cellars.
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The tour leads through the casks and vats to the vintage cellar.
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This is the private collection of Graham’s own vintage wines, owned by the Symington family.
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This is the private collection of Graham’s own vintage wines, owned by the Symington family.
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This is the private collection of Graham’s own vintage wines, owned by the Symington family.
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The newly released 1952 single harvest tawny. A celebration to the jubilee of Queen Elisabeth II.
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The large vats with LBV wines.
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Casks with colheita and tawny port wines.
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Casks with colheita port wines.
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The Churchill VIP tasting room is worth the visit, actually I must say that it is a shame to miss this room full of all the original cellar tracking records and the very good wines you get to taste here.
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Visiting Ferreira in Porto

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Ferreira was founded in 1751, five years before the demarcation of the Douro Valley. Dona Antónia Adelaide Ferreira was an example in the nineteenth-century of good business, social engagement for the weak and keeper of a high quality port wine production.

Ferreira was from the start a Portuguese company and is it still today.

GS6A1620Outside the cellars

GS6A1621A series of tanks for the freshly pressed wine before it is distributed out in fats and casks.

GS6A1622Some of the big fats used for Ruby production.

GS6A1623Casks and fats in long rows, notice the wooden floor made to minimize damage to casks when being rolled around.

GS6A1624A display of empty vintage port wines, the real treasure of company vintage wines was not on display to the public.

Visiting Calem in Porto

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Porto Cálem was founded in 1859 by António Alves Cálem. In 1859 Cálem was dedicated to export wine to Brazil and importing exotic wood from Brazil using its own fleet. Porto Cálem stayed a family business for four generations before it became a part of Sogevinus in 1998, a group of port wine producers, Kopke, Barros, Burmester and Cálem.

GS6A1787Cálem is located just across the street from the Douro river in Vila de Nova Gaia.

GS6A1788The big vats used for ruby and the smaller casks for tawnys.

GS6A1789Vats containing Colheita wines, in front a year 2009.

 

Ramos Pinto – RP30

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To learn more about Ramos Pinto, read my article from visiting the wine producer: http://www.disorder.dk/2013/09/11/visiting-ramos-pinto-in-porto/

I tasted this 30 years old tawny at Ramos Pinto in Porto, Portugal.

The colour is brown with a few red notes, much darker than the RP20 and not lighter in colour as expected.

The aroma is a lovely scent of dried fruits.

The taste starts out with a soft tannin and alcohol, a very sweet taste of dried fruits. A good and long after taste of dried fruits, sweetness and it fades out with oak in the end.

Overall rating 92 / 100

Ramos Pinto – RP20

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To learn more about Ramos Pinto, read my article from visiting the wine producer: http://www.disorder.dk/2013/09/11/visiting-ramos-pinto-in-porto/

I tasted this 20 years old tawny at Ramos Pinto in Porto, Portugal.

The colour is where brown and red meets for a beutiful composition.

The aroma is dominated by caramel.

A sharp tannin in the start goes right into a lovely dried fruits taste and with a after taste that not only last longer than the RP10 but is also a bit more complex.

Overall rating 90 / 100

Ramos Pinto – RP10

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To learn more about Ramos Pinto, read my article from visiting the wine producer: http://www.disorder.dk/2013/09/11/visiting-ramos-pinto-in-porto/

I tasted this 10 year old tawny at Ramos Pinto in Porto, Portugal.

The colour is best described as chestnut, a deep brown with red notes to it.

The aroma is dominated by alcohol and caramel.

The taste comes off with a sharp tannin in the start, a faint note of oak and a soft dried fruit in the after taste, which fades quickly.

Overall rating 88 / 100

Ramos Pinto – Vintage 2000

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GS6A1819GS6A1820Ruby port on the left, vintage 2000 on the right.

To learn more about Ramos Pinto, read my article from visiting the wine producer: http://www.disorder.dk/2013/09/26/visiting-ramos-pinto-in-porto/

The colour is no longer the deep red/purple going into black, the ageing have left it as a red wine with a brown hint to it when swirled.

The aroma comes off with a good fruit and a hint of oak.

Tasting it comes with a rough start from the tannin, with a soft switch to the fruit and a fresh grape. The taste is not as complex after only 11 years on the bottle. There are really no certain taste standing out for itself.

A good wine that needs to be aged for many more years to obtain a softer tannin and develop a more complex taste.

Overall rating is 89 / 100

Visiting Ramos Pinto in Porto

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GS6A1669Casa Ramos Pinto was founded in 1880 by Adriano Ramos Pinto. Ramos Pinto had their biggest market in Brazil and was in the 20th century responsible for half of the wine export to South America. Ramos Pinto have since 1990 been a part of the Roederer Group. 

GS6A1808A few vintage bottles on display in the lobby.

GS6A1809The lobby room where the wine tasting also takes place.

GS6A1811Behind the customer counter of the old offices that are still standing with the original interior.

GS6A1814A for the time modern lift was used instead of rolling the casks up and down to the cellar.

GS6A1816A cask with the Ramos Pinto logo

GS6A1817A small selection of their vintage collection, this is mostly bottles from the 80’s and is a part of a corking experiment where different types of corks and methods are tested over a long period.

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A view down along the casks full of port wine.