www.infoportwine.com
News archives 2005.
All articles older
than 1 to 3 months are entered in
News archives. We start with a title list with accompanying
dates. You will find the full articles by linking the titles.
31/12/05.
Next publication in March.
31/12/05. Demarcation Port region 250
years.
31/12/05. New sales organization of
AVEPOD.
31/12/05. Link of the months January and
February.
31/12/05. Museu do Douro definitive
now.
31/12/05. Lodges on agenda UNESCO.
31/12/05. Tourism award for Cálem.
31/12/05. Sales numbers January - October 2005.
31/12/05. Vintage 2003 in Wine
Enthusiast.
31/12/05. Interview with Sandeman in Palm Beach Post.
31/12/05. Vintage (2003) in the SF
Chronicle.
31/12/05. Travel reports Frédérick
Blais.
31/12/05. Richard Mayson again about the Vintage 2003.
31/12/05. Robin Garr about Portugal.
31/12/05. IVDP events calender as of January 2006.
31/12/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 193, December 2005.
03/12/05.
Interviews
with two Shippers and a survey.
03/12/05. Bid
for stocks Casa do Douro.
03/12/05. Construction
hotel in Mesão Frio blocked.
03/12/05. Link of the month December 2005.
03/12/05. Enthusiastic article on
Tawnies in Forbes.
03/12/05. Martinez also to Fortune Brands.
03/12/05. Q. do Portal
inaugurates Winery Guest House.
03/12/05. Interview with
Bartholomew Broadbent at Catavino.
03/12/05. IVDP
events calender as of December 2005.
03/12/05. MUNDUSvini 2005.
03/12/05. Revista
de Vinhos no. 192, November 2005.
05/11/05.
Auction stocks CdoD failed.
05/11/05.
Harvest 2005 (4).
05/11/05.
Heike
Breidenich: Douro -
The New Generation.
05/11/05.
Vintage 2003 declaration in Lisbon.
05/11/05.
Portuguese Wine Fair in the
Netherlands.
05/11/05.
Bad agreement about trade
names.
05/11/05.
Jancis Robinson
about the Symingtons.
05/11/05.
Link of the month
November 2005.
05/11/05.
New management
for Q. da Pacheca.
05/11/05.
Linkspage:
changes from February to September 2005.
05/11/05.
New shop IVDP in
Oporto.
05/11/05.
IVDP events calender as of November
2005.
05/11/05.
Miami Wine Fair
2005.
05/11/05.
Decanter World
Wine Awards 2005 (2).
05/11/05.
Revista de Vinhos
no. 191, October 2005.
01/10/05.
Harvest 2005 (2).
01/10/05. Harvest 2005 (3). (Symington
group)
01/10/05. Sale abroad by small producers.
01/10/05. Link of the month October 2005.
01/10/05. IVDP events calender as of October 2005.
01/10/05. Top 100 Wine & Spirits.
01/10/05. Decanter World Wine Awards 2005 (1).
01/10/05. Linkspage: additions in October 2005.
01/10/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 190 September 2005.
03/09/05.
Fladgate purchases
properties Osborne in Gaia.
03/09/05.
Expectations
for harvest 2005.
03/09/05.
Link of the month September 2005.
03/09/05.
Sales figures first half year
2005.
03/09/05.
IWC 2005 – Wine International.
03/09/05.
IVDP events
calendar as of September 2005.
03/09/05.
Decanter September 2005.
03/09/05.
Revista
de Vinhos nr. 189 August 2005.
08/08/05.
Roy
Hersh publishes website.
08/08/05. IVDP events
calendar as of August 2005.
05/08/05. New owners for
Cockburn's and Martinez.
05/08/05. Benefício 5% down.
05/08/05. Link of the month August 2005.
05/08/05.
Commemoration
250 years Douro demarcation.
05/08/05.
International
Wine and Spirit Competition 2005 – Harpers.
05/08/05.
San Francisco
International Wine Competition 2005.
05/08/05.
Wine International August 2005.
05/08/05.
Decanter August 2005.
05/08/05.
Revista
de Vinhos no. 188 July 2005.
02/07/05.
Castelinho Vinhos bought by CCVP.
02/07/05. Sale Burmester/Gilbert's
confirmed.
02/07/05. Amorim/Natureza continues.
02/07/05. Link of the month July 2005.
02/07/05. Auction stocks Casa do Douro.
02/07/05. Several tourist news July 2005.
02/07/05. Fonseca advertises with
combination.
02/07/05. Travel report Frédérick
Blais.
02/07/05. Only volume Special Categories
up.
02/07/05. Les Citadelles du Vin 2005.
02/07/05. IVDP events calendar as
of July 2005.
02/07/05. Wine International July 2005.
02/07/05. Decanter July 2005.
02/07/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 187 June 2005.
04/06/05.
Forty Port companies in danger.
04/06/05. Top tasting 1963 - 2003 in Bordeaux.
04/06/05. Sale Burmester not yet
confirmed.
04/06/05. Vintages 2003: generally.
04/06/05. Port houses judge Vintages 2003.
04/06/05. Richard Mayson: Vintages 2003.
04/06/05. Column Robinson: Vintages 2003.
04/06/05. Link of the month June 2005.
04/06/05. Vinhos Borges increases
Port production.
04/06/05. Packaging award for
Solene/Wine Cluster.
04/06/05. Vinalies Internationales - Paris.
04/06/05. IVDP events calendar as of
June 2005.
04/06/05. Wine
Spectator May 31st, 2005: Vintages 1991 and 1992.
04/06/05. Wine International June 2005.
04/06/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 186 May 2005.
07/05/05.
Excitement about Vintage 2003.
07/05/05. Burmester sold to owner
Cálem.
07/05/05. New rock engravings in Côa
valley.
07/05/05. Link of the month May 2005.
07/05/05. Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2005.
07/05/05. Vinitaly 2005 - Verona, Italy.
07/05/05. IVDP events calendar as of May 2005.
07/05/05. Decanter May 2005.
07/05/05. Decanter June 2005.
07/05/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 185 April 2005.
07/05/05. The Fladgate Partnership: Press release Vintage 2003.
02/04/05.
Profile Port consumer in Portugal.
02/04/05. Rich, Rare & Red by Ben Howkins.
02/04/05. Link of the month April 2005.
02/04/05. IVDP events calendar as of April 2005.
02/04/05. Decanter April 2005.
02/04/05. Wine International May 2005.
02/04/05. Wine Spectator April 31, 2005: 100-points
wines.
02/04/05. Wine Spectator Auction Index April 31, 2005.
02/04/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 184 March 2005.
05/03/05.
Graham's
Trophy 2005 - the contest as seen by the jury.
05/03/05. Returns Quinta do Portal
increase quickly.
05/03/05. Differences with fifty years ago.
05/03/05. Link of the month March 2005.
05/03/05. Sales figures 2004.
05/03/05. New start for Casa do Douro?
05/03/05. Sandeman changes of
distributor in UK.
05/03/05. William Pitters sold.
05/03/05. IVDP events calendar as of
March 2005.
05/03/05. Revista de Vinhos: the
"Best of the Year 2004".
05/03/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 183 February
2005.
12/02/05.
Profile of the Port drinker and the future of Port.
12/02/05. Exhibition Museu do Douro
reopened.
12/02/05. IVDP book: Port Wine.
12/02/05. Solar do Vinho do Porto also
abroad?
12/02/05. Wine Tourism Awards 2005.
12/02/05. Winner Dutch Graham's Trophy 2005.
12/02/05. Link of the month February 2005.
12/02/05. IVDP events calender as of February 2005.
12/02/05. Wine International February 2005.
12/02/05. Wine International March 2005.
12/02/05. Decanter February and March 2005.
12/02/05. Wine Spectator February 2005.
12/02/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 182 January 2005.
01/01/05.
New owners for Quinta da
Romaneira.
01/01/05. Finalists Graham's Trophy.
01/01/05. Port sales decrease again.
01/01/05. Renewal of our article Round
trip.
01/01/05. Gérard Depardieu
interested in the Douro.
01/01/05. Link of the month January 2005.
01/01/05. New "Port and
the Douro" by Mayson.
01/01/05. Links page: additions in
January 2005.
01/01/05. Striking red bottle of Rozès.
01/01/05. IVDP events calender as of
January 2005.
01/01/05. Decanter January 2005.
01/01/05. Wine International January 2005.
01/01/05. Wine Spectator December 31, 2004 - January
15, 2005.
01/01/05. Revista de Vinhos no. 181 December 2004.
Next
publication in March.
31/12/05. Our next publication will not be in the first weekend of February, but
on March 4th or 5th.
Demarcation Port
region 250 years.
31/12/05. In 2006 the
250th anniversary of the demarcated Douro/Port region will be
commemorated (see also our News item of
05/08/05). The complete programm will be determined in a meeting on January
21st.
The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) will organize six
conferences about viniculture, wine making, marketing, sale, wine tourisme and
regional development from June 21st to 23rd. The IVDP will
also organize visits and tastings for foreign journalists.
The climax of the commemoration has to take place on September 10th
with a video conference which has to connect towns in the most (?) important
Port markets, especially Madrid, Paris, London, New York, Montreal and Rio de
Janeiro.
The IVDP will also publish a book with photographs of the famous granite mark
stones which were used for the demarcation.
(Source: Comércio of 21/12/05.)
So, a lot will be published about the Port region this year. Very often the
region will be mentioned as the oldest demarcated wine region in the world. This
is however not correct. The authoritative Portuguese historian and director of
the Museu do Douro Gaspar Martins Pereira says on page 47 of the IVDP book Port
Wine of 2004 that two regions were earlier: Chianti in Tuscany in 1716 and Tokay
in Hungary in 1737.
New sales
organization of AVEPOD.
31/12/05. The AVEPOD (see:
http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=91&codSeccao=6&idioma=0),
an organization of small producers, has announced the founding of a new sales
organization.
The AVEPOD has an office and a showroom in Peso da Régua (see:
Files/Round trip 9c). The membership list contains over thirty names
including well-known ones like: Lemos & Van Zeller, Montez Champalinaud,
Quinta do Infantado, Q. do Valado, Q. Seara D’Ordens, Q. de Santa Eufémia en
Q. da Rede.
The new organization has to create enough magnitude and wants to offer technical
and financial support to its members. The company will have an independent and
professional management.
(Source: Comércio of 19 and 23/11/05.)
Link of the months
January and February.
31/12/05. For the next
two months we have chosen a distinct site of a distinct Port house: www.quintadonoval.com
Q. do Noval is owned by the French insurer AXA Millesimes. Christian Seely is in
charge on behalf of this concern. Seely also manages Q. da Romaneira as a
private project (see our News item of 01/01/05).
Q. do Noval is specialized in top Ports. The company already became world famous
with its Q. do Noval Nacional Vintage 1931 of which a bottle was sold for U$
5,900 in 1988. According to Noval this was the highest price ever paid for a
bottle of Port.
The website of Q. do Noval is available in English and French. The site is
lightcoloured and offers very much information. What’s more, the product
information is extraordinarily good and extensive.
Museu do Douro
definitive now.
31/12/05. After years
of delay the Portuguese government has approved the statutes of the Museu do
Douro in Peso da Régua. Hopefully the rebuilding of the definitive museum (see
Files/Round trip 9c) will now also be realized soon. Untill then, the
temporary exposition Hanging Gardens can be found in a hall behind the Solar do
Vinho do Porto at the Rua de Ferreirinha 43.
Lodges on agenda
UNESCO.
31/12/05. The UNESCO
might already put the area with Port cellars/lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia on its
World Heritage list as of late 2006.
The municipality wants to finish the presentation and request halfway through
that year. The planners want to combine the triangle of the Port industry (production,
storage and sales) with the historic centre of Gaia.
All parties concerned hope the registration to World Heritage will be an impulse
for the tourism. In 2005, 550 to 600 thousands visitors were expected in Gaia.
(Source: O Primeiro de Janeiro of 7/11/05.)
Tourism award for Cálem.
31/12/05. Cálem has
received the tourism award for Oporto of the “Great Wine Capitals Global
Network”.
The capitals, which are part of the group, are: Bilbao-Rioja, Bordeaux, Cape
Town, Florence, Melbourne, Mendoza, Oporto and San Francisco-Napa Valley. The
prize was granted for the eminent architectonic renovation of the Cálem complex
in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Sales numbers
January – October 2005.
31/12/05. For the
first time in four years all the most important sale figures have increased.
This is shown by the information of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do
Porto. The trend break is attributed to the launch of the Vintage 2003. All
figures used are compared to the same period last year.
-
the volume of
all Port sold increased by 1%.
-
the revenue of
all Port sold increased by 0,4%.
-
the volume of
the Special Categories sold increased by 9,2%.
-
the revenue of
the Special Categories sold increased by 7,9%.
The
top 6 in volume were:
The
top 6 in revenue were:
The
top 6 in volume for the Special Categories were:
The
top 6 in revenue for the Special Categories were:
The
complete information can be found at: http://www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?idioma=0&codPag=73&codSeccao=6&
Vintage 2003 in
Wine Enthusiast.
31/12/05. On November 15th Roger Voss published an article in Wine
Enthusiast on the launch of the Vintage 2003. He tasted 64 of them, gives
general impressions and a top 10.
The article can be found at: http://www.winemag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=8DF1C7F3B9094D1B827317C740B4D223
Interview with
Sandeman in Palm Beach Post.
31/12/05. On December
8th Jan Norris published an article entitled “Centuries-old Port
wines tries to defy stuffy image” in the PalmBeachPost. An interview with
George Sandeman has been included in this article.
Sandeman says among other things: “Port has this rather stuffy and traditional
image. We think it’s time that changed.”
He also emphasizes again that his company makes its special style Vau Vintage,
suitable for drinking when young.
Though he was insulted for this for years, he now gets much support. So Paul
Symington said in May in London:”We’re not making the wines in a different
way, to drink young – we’re making better wines which will age fabulously
too.” (See our News item of 04/06/05.)
The full article of Jan Norris can be found at:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/food/content/food_dining/epaper/2005/12/08/a1fn_port1_1208.html
Vintage (2003) in
the SF Chronicle.
31/12/05. On December
15th Richard Carleton Hacker published an extensive article in the
San Francisco Chronicle. Its title is: “A wine for ages. Vintage Ports may be
the longest-lived wines, and the just-released 2003’s may set a new benchmark.”
The article can be found at:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/12/15/WIGC5G512J1.DTL
Travel reports Frédérick
Blais.
31/12/05. The complete
French and English versions of the first travel report of the French-Canadian
Port fan Frédérick Blais can be found at:
http://portugal.evilloopcom/index.html
http://portugal.evilloop.com/index_en.html
The photographs of his second trip this fall are available at:
www.frederickblais.com/pics
We will let you know here when he publishes his report on this second trip.
Richard Mayson
again about the Vintage 2003.
31/12/05. On May 13th
Mayson published a first impression of the Vintage 2003 on Decanter Online (see
our News item of 04/06/05).
Now he again reviews and judges this harvest in an article in the magazine Fine
Expressions that is put on the web by Wine Pages. Mayson presents his top
thirteen in alphabetical order.
The article can be found at:
www.wine-pages.com/features/port-2003.htm
Robin Garr about
Portugal.
31/12/05. In December
Robin Garr of the WineLovers Page visited Portugal. His website is: “The
oldest, largest and most popular independent wine-appreciation site on the World
Wide Web.”
Robin extensively reports on his trip, on table wines and Port. The top Ports
are reviewed in the subscriber-only “Wine Advisor Premium Edition”. On
December 26th he published his article: “Natural cork fights back:
My report on extensive interviews with cork-industry leaders.”
See: www.wineloverspage.com
IVDP events
calender as of January 2006.
31/12/05. On December
31st no activities have been planned. For the next two months see:
http://www.ivdp.pt/index.asp
Revista de Vinhos
no. 193, December 2005.
31/12/05. The December
issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the following
information on Port Wine:
New products:
Judgement by the editorial staff. Score chart from 0 to 20.
-
Agrironcão (Agostinho
Amável Costa) D.R. 40 Years Old Tawny 17 points.
-
Agrironcão
D.R.Vintage 2002 16 points.
-
Quinta do
Estanho Tawny (Reserve) 14.5 points.
Cálem,
Burmester, Gilberts:
João Afonso reviews this combination, which has recently been joined in
Sogevinus of the Spanish Caixanova. Eight tasting notes of Burmester, eight of Cálem
and three of Gilberts Ports have been printed along with the article.
Port
Wine history:
Marc Barros wrote an extensive article on the crises in the Douro around the
turn of the 19th to the 20th
century.
Quinta
de S. José :
Fernando Melo reviews the tourist activities at this quinta of Ruy Brito e Cunha
in Ervedosa do Douro.
Tasting
Kopke:
Fernando Melo describes the tasting “three centuries Kopke” which Barros
Almeida organized at Quinta de S. Luiz on the occasion of the presentation of
the new Kopke distributor Vinho & Coisas.
Interviews with two Shippers and a survey.
03/12/05. On October 15th the Portuguese newspaper Expresso published
interviews with representatives of The Fladgate Partnership and The Symington
Family and a survey of the Port industry. We quote some statements and data:
Adrian
Bridge, general director of The Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft
and Delaforce):
-
“The
concentration (in the Port sector) is inevitable and his group will actively
participate in this process.”
-
“At this
moment two middle sized companies are for sale.” (According to Semanário Económico
of 21/10/05 this would be Barros Almeida and Messias.)
-
“There is
only room for those that are large enough and for those specialized in niche
markets.”
-
“We talk
about 30,000 winegrowers, but the large majority have other professions and do
the viniculture in their spare time.”
Expresso closes this interview with:
“The group is present in 53 markets, sells 11.3 million litres of Port Wine a
year, has a preponderance in the Special Categories and has recently
strengthened its stocks with the acquisition of 4,500 pipas (of 550 litres) from
Osborne.”
Paul Symington of the Symington Family (Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, Smith
Woodhouse, Gould Campbell, Quarles Harris and Quinta do Vesúvio):
-
“In Lisbon
they still think that the product sells itself and that customers are standing
in queues before our gates … but the reality is that there are signals of
decline and indications that Port Wine is falling out of fashion in its most
important markets.”
-
“The Douro is
paying for the unrestrained planting in the eighties and nineties.”
Expresso says about the Symington group:
“The Symington Family is the largest owner in the Douro, with 600 hectares of
vineyards divided in 19 quintas. Anually 15.3 million litres are sold of the
brands of Symington.”
Expresso
says in the survey article:
-
“Gran Cruz is
the leader in volume of the Port sector with a share of about 16.5%. The
Symington Family is the leader in trade. The four largest companies (also
Sogrape and The Fladgate Partnership) together represent 60% of the 92.7 million
litres of Port Wine sold annually.”
-
“CCVP (Vasconcellos
and Castelinho Vinhos) and Cockburn’s are fifth and sixth.”
-
“The French
supermarket group Carrefour is perhaps the most important customer for Port Wine
in the world.”
-
“A bottle
Standard Port can be exported for less than two Euros.”
Bid for stocks Casa
do Douro.
03/12/05. After the first failed auction of stocks of the Casa do Douro (see
our News item of 05/11/05) Sogrape, The Symington Family and Gran Cruz have
jointly made an offer for a part of these stocks. It concerns the 18,000 pipas
with Port Wine from 2000 and 2001 that the Banco Português de Negócios took
possession of. The three giants offer 19.6 million Euros or about 1,075 Euros a
pipa on average.
Sogrape is the holding of Sandeman, Ferreira and Forrester/Offley. For The
Symington Family and Gran Cruz see our article “Interviews with two Shippers
and a survey.”
(Source: Comércio of 14/10/05.)
On
November 18th Vida Económica wrote:
The Port exporters are surprised that the bank systematically refuses the offers
(earlier also one by The Fladgate Partnership/Taylor’s). The CdoD does not pay
its debts and the bank does not execute the attachment. It is thought by the
Port sector that the bank wants to stalemate the governement by this.
Construction hotel
in Mesão Frio blocked.
03/12/05. The construction of the Douro Marina Hotel in Mesão Frio by the group
Douro Azul (see Files/Round trip 7) will not go
through, at least for the time being. Several authorities have technical and
environmental objections against the large complex at the Douro bank.
The hotel should have 158 rooms, should cost 33 million Euros and should provide
for 140 jobs. The plans were supported by a governmental investment authority (see
our News item “Two new tourist projects” of 06/12/03).
(Source: Jornal de Notícias of 14/10/05).
Link of the month
December 2005.
03/12/05. For this month we have chosen: www.cavesmessias.pt
This site was designed in an attractive personal style. The texts are available
in Portuguese and English. The information at the site is extensive. The product
information is excellent, the many available years of Colheitas and LBV’s are
outstanding.
The News items part is up to date. Unfortunately this is an exception. Many
companies start a section as such but completely neglect it afterwards.
Enthusiastic
article on Tawnies in Forbes.
03/12/05. On October 31st Richard Nalley published the article “Home Porto -
The age-old pleasures of tawny port” in the magazine Forbes. He says: ”Aged
tawny ports … are among the easiest to love, most drinker-friendly luxury
wines ever bottled.”
The article can be found at: www.forbes.com/execpicks/fyi/2005/1031/043.html
Martinez also to
Fortune Brands.
03/12/05. In July we were not able to get confirmation about the position of
Port house Martinez Gassiot after the take-over of Allied Domecq by a
combination of Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands (see
our News item of 05/08/05).
However, Miguel Côrte-Real now informs us that Martinez is part of Cockburn
Smithes & Cia SA and as such will be integrated in Jim Beam Brands of
Fortune Brands.
Q. do Portal
inaugurates Winery Guest House.
03/12/05. On January 7th, 2006 Quinta do Portal will inaugurate its
tourist accommodation the Winery Guest House Casa das Pipas. The house is
situated in Celeiros in the Concelho de Sabrosa alongside the road from Vila
Real to Pinão. The first guests will be greeted in the middle of December.
The accommodation contains thirteen rooms, three for the family of the owners,
ten for guests. Besides a living room on the first floor with a panoramic view,
the complex offers an excellent swimming pool, a small fitness room and a
restaurant with a traditional Portuguese kitchen.
Guests can participate in wine courses, tastings, guided tours through the
winery and the warehouses and the work in the vineyards including all facets of
the harvest.
Prices for the standard rooms are 85 - 100 Euros, for the top suites 100 - 120
Euros (low - high season), breakfast included.
More information can be found at: www.quintadoportal.pt
Interview with
Bartholomew Broadbent at Catavino.
03/12/05. On November 9th and 11th Ryan Opaz published an
extensive interview with Bartholomew Broadbent (the son of !) at his weblog
Catavino. Bartholomew is the man behind Broadbent Selections in San Francisco.
He was of great importance for the introduction of Port and Madeira on the
American market.
The interview can be found at: www.catavino.net/archives/182/2005/11/09
IVDP events
calender as of December 2005.
03/12/05. The
Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in
Belgium, France, the UK and the USA:
- Activities in Belgium:
. December 5th - Hotelschool Piva Antwerp.
- Activities in France:
Education for waiters and teachers hotel sector:
. December 12th - Lycée de Talence - Bordeaux - from 16.00.
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=87
- Activities in the UK:
. December 8th - Port Seminar - University of Huddersfield.
- Activities in the USA:
. December 3rd - For consumers - New York.
MUNDUSvini 2005.
03/12/05. For the fifth Great International Wine Prize MUNDUSvini of Meiniger
Verlag in Germany most top awards were granted to Spanish and Portuguese wines.
The Port Wines which received a Grand Gold Medal were the:
-
Sandeman 40
Years Old Tawny.
-
Casal dos Jordões
10 Years Old Tawny.
-
(Gran) Cruz LBV
1996.
The twenty gold and seven silver medals can be found at www.mundusvini.de
Revista de
Vinhos no. 192, November 2005.
03/12/05. The November issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos
contains the following information on Port Wine:
New
products:
Judgement by the editorial staff. Score chart from 0 to 20.
-
Niepoort LBV
2000 16,5 points.
-
Agrironcão (Agostinho
Amável Costa) D.R. Vintage 2001 15
points.
-
Agrironcão D.R.
20 Years Old Tawny 16,5 points.
Harvest
report:
António Falcão wrote an article about the last harvest. He reviews from the
Port region:
-
Quinta da
Pacheca where winemaker Maria Serpa Pimentel mentions the quality of the harvest
as very good. The quantity was much smaller. Normally 750 kilograms of grapes
are necessary for a pipa (550 litres) of wine, this year it was 930 kilograms.
-
Caves
Santa Marta (Adega Cooperativa de Santa Marta de Peneguião) where quality
director Euclides Lázaro tells quality is much above average. He also says that
the quality of both the coloured and the white grapes was very good, something
he had never seen before.
Auction stocks CdoD
failed.
05/11/05. On September 29th Aad van der Werf interviewed Paul Symington for the
Flying Wine Writer. This joint managing director of The Symington Family (Graham’s,
Dow’s, Warre’s, Smith Woodhouse,
Gould Campbell, Quarles Harris en Quinta do Vesúvio) states in this interview
the almost complete failure of the first auction of the stocks of the Casa do
Douro (see our Newsitem of 02/07/05).
Only Rozès bought 40 pipas (of 550 litres) of six years old White and the
Symington group bought 50 pipas of 20 Years Old Tawny.
Paul Symington says about this: “We wanted to make it clear that there is no
boycot by the companies. We believe that there are solutions.”
The interview can be found at: www.flyingwinewriter.com/interviewpaulsymington.php
Harvest 2005 (4).
05/11/05.
The reports on this year’s harvest are still confusing. On October 22nd
we could satisfyingly ask Jorge Serôdio Borges for more clarity.
Borges is winemaker at Quinta do Passadouro. However, he and his wife Sandra
Tavares also run the private project Wine & Soul where they make their much
praised Douro table wine Pintas. Under the same name they have now also launched
their first Vintage Port, the Pintas 2003. In her daily life Sandra Tavares is
winemaker at Quinta do Vale Dona Maria of Cristiano van Zeller. Borges was in
Holland for a tasting of “De Gouden Ton” in Nijmegen.
He told us that the yields in the Douro Superior were 30% down, in the Cima
Corgo 0 to 5% up and in the Baixo Corgo 10 to 15% up (see:
Files/What’s
Port?).
Generally the quality was deficient everywhere in the period up to the rainfall
of September 6th and 9th. However, quality was very, very
good some time later.
Borges compared 2005 to the year 1995.
Heike Breidenich:
Douro - The New Generation.
05/11/05.
In 2003 the German Heike Breidenich realized a dream. For half a year she worked
in vineyards, cellars, bottling plants and wineries in the Port area.
She wrote a fascinating book about it in two parts, part one contains the report
of her experiences with Dirk van der Niepoort and Jorge Borges in leading roles,
part two consists of a review of the “Douro boys”and “Girls”, the
new generation of wine makers.
Though it is a book on Douro table wines, it is a “must” for every Port
lover because it is about people, quinta’s and companies from the Port
industry.
Breidenich is not a professional writer or wine expert but her book is highly
successful.
The chapters about her stay in the Douro region especially read like an exciting
story and are moreover extraordinary informative.
The book is trilingual (Portuguese, German and English), in the first part
always in three columns on two facing pages, in the second part in three boxes a
page. The English version contains quite a lot of inaccuracies but remains
acceptable.
The wine makers reviewed in the second part are:
Two
important people in the book, Jorge Borges and Dirk van der Niepoort, separated
shortly after the period described which totally changed the situation at Q. do
Passodouro (see our News item of 04/09/04). However, Breidenich decided to
restrict herself to the relevant period and not to write an epilogue to it.
For more information about Heike Breidenich see: http://douro-new-generation.de/zs.htm
See also our item
in Files/Library.
Vintage 2003
declaration in Lisbon.
05/11/05.
On October 25th the Confraria do Vinho do Porto declared the year
2003 a general Vintage year. Such a declaration only happens if a majority of
the Port houses has been approved by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do
Porto and this is the case with the number of 43.
The ceremony took place in Lisbon in the presence of , amongst others, the
president of parliament and several
ministers. This was the first time that the ceremony was organized outside
Oporto or Vila Nova de Gaia. With this the organizers wanted to emphasize the
importance of a general declaration and also get extra publicity.
Simultaneously the Confraria presented an own Vintage. This Vintage is a blend
of Vintages of Port houses.
The festivities came to an end with a tasting of some 40 vintages 2003.
Portuguese Wine
Fair in the Netherlands.
05/11/05.
On November 14th the Portuguese Wine Fair 2005 will be organized in
Utrecht - The Netherlands. The event is organized by ICEP Portugal/Portuguese
embassy, Economic department and is accessible to trade, catering industry,
sommeliers and press.
The fair offers a
continuous tasting from 11.00 to 17.00 with over twenty specialized importers, a
lunch buffet and a raffle of a four days trip for two persons to Quinta do
Passadouro. More information can be obtained from the embassy: Haagsche Bluf 63, 2511 CP Den Haag, tel:
070-311 10 06, e-mail: icep.haia@icep.pt
Bad
agreement about trade names.
05/11/05.
After 20 years of negotiation, the EU and the USA have made an agreement that
has to help to protect names like Champagne, Sherry and Port. The EU declared
that under this agreement the use of these names by producers in the USA will be
limited.
Champagne producer Bruno Paillard and Port producer George Sandeman have voiced
scathing criticism especially on the so-called “Grandfather Clause”. In this
clause it is said that the protected names will no longer be used for new
products or labels. That means that companies are able to continue their current
activities.
Paillard said: “It is an absurdity on a moral point of view… It’s sad that
the USA, now a great wine country, continues to protect a few producers who are
abusing the identity of others instead of using honest labelling for true
consumer information.”
George Sandeman of Sandeman’s Port said that they had been “seriously let
down“ by EU negotiators in the 1990’s.
American reply: “You have to remember that these names didn’t arise as a
result of any mendacious grab by the New World. These were 19th
century people who came over from Europe and tried to approximate the wines and
foods they knew from home.”
(Source: Decanter Online of 19/09/05.)
Jancis Robinson
about the Symingtons.
05/11/05.
The renowned English wine writer Jancis Robinson dedicated her column in the
Financial Times of October 8th to this English/Portuguese Port family.
She describes the company, the present generation and their market position.
The article can be found at:
www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/winenews051008
Link of the month
November 2005.
05/11/05.
For this month we have chosen
www.porto-barros.pt
Barros is one of the brands of the Barros, Almeida group of which Kopke,
Hutcheson, Feuerheerd, Feist and Souza are also a part. Barros is especially
good at wood matured Ports and very active with Colheitas.
In 2005 the Barros website was renewed. The site is available in English and
Portuguese, has a simple design and offers excellent information.
New management for
Q. da Pacheca.
05/11/05.
A new generation of the Serpa Pimentel family has taken over the management of
this magnificent quinta that scores very high with 12,000 visitors a year.
Maria Serpa Pimentel is in charge of viniculture. Catarina is responsible for
the wine tourism and José runs the commercial department.
Recently the company has launched its website www.quintadapacheca.com
which is only available in Portuguese for the time being.
A luxury hotel with fourteen rooms will be built on the site of the former
winery and the former warehouse. A good photo presentation of it can be found at
the website.
Links page: changes
from February to September 2005:
05/11/05. We added to
Port links:
-
www.fladgatepartnership.com
Portal for all sites of The Fladgate Partnership.
-
www.cavesmessias.pt
-
www.portsparadise.fotopic.net
Extensive site with photographs of and about the Port industry.
-
www.sairrao.com
Quinta do Sairrão.
-
www.wonderfulland.com/vallado
Quinta do Vallado.
-
www.sogrape.pt Holding of Ferreira, Offley, Robertson’s and Sandeman.
-
www.sogrape.pt/marcas/8/historia
Ferreira.
-
www.sogrape.pt/marcas/9/historia
Offley.
-
www.sogrape.pt/marcas/10/gama
Robertson’s.
-
www.sogrape.pt/marcas/11/gama
Sandeman.
We
removed from Port links, because they were already not available for some time:
-
www.gricha.com
Churchill’s Quinta da Gricha.
-
www.logaviva.pt/cgi-bin/oportowines.storefront
Extensive Portuguese web shop with all Port Wine types, books and
accessories.
-
www.revistadevinhos.iol.pt
Site of the Portuguese wine magazine RdeV.
We
added to Port tourism links:
-
www.hotelburmester.com
Wine hotel at Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo.
-
www.piscosnet.com/casa-das-freiras/index.html
-
www.ramospinto.pt/qervamoira_ing.htm
Quinta da Ervamoira with museum and archaeological site.
New shop IVDP in
Oporto.
05/11/05.
On October 15th the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto opened
its new shop in the new departure hall of Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro, the
airport of Oporto. Douro table wines will also be offered now in addition to
Port Wine, books and accessories in this shop with a area of 62 square metres.
For more information see: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=98
and www.ivdp.pt/pagina.asp?codPag=84&codSeccao=5&idioma=1
IVDP events calender as of November 2005.
05/11/05. The
Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Austria,
Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the USA:
- Tasting in Austria:
. November 11th - Port Wine Fair - Grand Hotel Wien.
- Activities in Belgium:
. November 21st - Hotelschool Leuven.
. December 1st - Hotelschool Ter Groene Poort.
. December 5th - Hotelschool Piva Antwerp.
- Activities in Brazil:
. November 7th-10th - Acções de Formação com Assoc. Brasileira Sommeliers
- Curitiba, São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro.
. November 8th - Acção Vinhos do Douro e do Porto - Consulado Geral de São
Paulo.
- Activities in Canada:
. November 4th-6th - Ottawa Food and Wine Show.
- Tasting in Denmark:
. November 7th - Port tasting - Palácio da Bolsa - Copenhagen.
- Tasting in Finland:
. November 16th - Port tasting - Kansallissali - Helsinki.
- Activities in France:
Education for waiters and teachers hotel sector:
. November 14th - Hotel School René Auffray - Clichy - from 16.00.
. November 14th - Hotel School Joseph Strock - Strasbourg - from 16.00.
. November 14th - Le Jardi des Sens - Montpellier - from 16.00.
. November 21st - Lycée René Auffray - Clichy - from 16.30 to 17.30.
. November 21st - Lycée de Dardilly - Lyon - from 14.30.
. November 28th - Lycée René Auffray - Clichy - from 16.30 to 17.30.
. December 2nd - Aubagne - Marseille - from 15.00.
. December 12th - Lycée de Talence - Bordeaux - from 16.00.
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=87
- Tastings in Norway:
. November 8th - Port tasting - Oslo Militaere Samfund.
.
November 14th - Douro Wine tasting - Hotel Grand - Oslo.
. November 15th - Port tasting - Vinkallaren Grappa - Stockholm.
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=106
- Activities in Portugal:
. November 5th-7th -
Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores - Centro de Congressos de Lisboa.
- Activities in Spain.
. November 7th - Formação de Escanções - El Celler Can Roca - Girona - from
17.30.
. November 8th - Formação de Escanções - Celler de Gelida - Barcelona - from
17.30.
. November 9th - Formação de Escanções - Restaurante Celler de L'Aspic
- Tarragona - from 17.30.
. November 17th - Formação de Escanções - Restaurante Plazaola - Pamplona -
Navarra.
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=89
- Activities in the UK:
. November 10th - Tasting in the Magestic Wines Shops - in several cities.
. November 28th - Port Seminar - University of Gales - Cardiff.
. December 8th - Port Seminar - University of Huddersfield.
- Activities in the USA:
. December 2nd - Seminar Wine and Cheese - New York.
. December 3rd - For cosumers - New York.
Miami Wine Fair
2005.
05/11/05.
During the fourth Miami International Wine Fair (MIWF) from October 1st
to 3rd the following Awards were granted to Ports:
-
Wines Approved
From MIWF Exhibitors: the Warre’s Tercentenary 1970 Vintage.
-
FIWC (Florida
International Wine Challenge) Gold Medal: the Casal dos Jordões 10 Years Old
Tawny.
-
FIWC Silver
Medal: the Casal dos Jordões Majara Tawny.
-
FIWC Bronze
Medal: the Casal dos Jordões Vintage 2000.
For more information see: www.miamiwinefair.com
and choose FIWC 2005 winners.
Decanter World Wine
Awards 2005 (2).
05/11/05.
During the World Wine Awards 2005 of the English magazine Decanter the following
Awards were granted to Port in the category under 10 English pounds (14.85 Euros):
the Regional Non-Vintage Port Under 10 pounds Trophy and a gold medal to the
Mark & Spencer Reserve.
On
October 1st we published the results of the wines over 10 English
pounds.
For more information see: www.decanter.com/worldwineawards/2005/results.php
(choose Portugal and Port).
Revista de Vinhos
no. 191, October 2005.
05/11/05.
The October issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the
following information on Port Wine:
New
product:
The (Wiese &) Krohn LBV 2001 gets 16 points from the editorial staff on a
score chart of 0 to 20.
Quinta
da Veiga Moura:
João Afonso writes about this quinta owned by Maria do Céu Esteves near the
Ferrão station next to Q. do Crasto. The company sells its Ports to Taylor’s.
The quinta has plans for a country hotel with eight rooms. The hotel will be
situated between the vines with a view at the Douro.
Vintage
2003:
A tasting panel reports on the judging of 62 different brands. João Paulo
Martins uses phrases like: ”a glorious year, an exceptional Port (and) a
historic year” in an accompanying article. The very best, with 19 points, are
Dow’s, Fonseca, Q. do Noval Nacional and Taylor’s. At the bottom of the list
we find Q. de Baldias and Romariz with 15 points.
Harvast 2005 (2).
01/10/05. Halfway August a 4 to 6% down yield was still expected (see our
Newsitem of 03/09/05). Immediately after the start of the early harvest this
proved to be much too optimistic. Then was already quickly spoken of a decrease
of 20 to 22% compared to 2004. However, quality would not have to suffer from
it.
Harvest 2005 (3).
01/10/05.
Press release of The Symington Family Group.
(Graham's, Dow's, Warre's, Smith Woodhouse, Gould Campbell, Quarles Harris
en Quinta do Vesúvio.)
The 2005 Vintage in the Douro.
While there are still grapes coming into the wineries, it is already clear that some very good wines have been made at the 2005 harvest in the Douro.
With only 6 millimetres of rain in June and none at all in July and August, the vines were showing signs of severe stress at the end of August. Last winter was extremely dry; to the extent that the measured rainfall at Quinta do Bomfim from November 2004 to end September 2005 was just 220.98 mm. The 15-year average on this estate for these 11 months is 584 mm, so the region has suffered a drop in rainfall of an astonishing 62%. Hence the plague of forest fires all over Portugal this last summer. The fire risk was not helped by the fact that nearly every town and village continued to send off endless fireworks during their ‘festas’.
It is not surprising therefore that there was very real concern about the forthcoming harvest as August drew to a close with no sign of any rain. We took the decision to start picking the younger vines very early, for example at Quinta do Vesuvio we started on the 30th August. The young vines, i.e. those that are less than 5 years old, have a poorly developed root system and therefore struggled to obtain enough moisture in such difficult conditions.
On the 6th September the weather changed and a steady rain fell for several hours. We measured 19.05 mm at Quinta do Bomfim. On the 9th a further 5.08 mm fell. The decision was taken to stop picking on several of our key estates in order to allow the much-needed rain to have its beneficial effect. The rain was followed by clear skies. Since then there has been absolutely perfect weather with cool nights and some heavy dew. The harvesting weather could not have been better.
The sugar graduations dipped for a few days after the rain before climbing steadily back to very satisfactory levels. The grapes filled out and the skins softened. The musts have very good deep purple-black colours and are giving very attractive aromas.
The yields are still to be fully analysed but it appears that in the Douro Superior they are only slightly down on the normal low weight of fruit per vine for the region. Roriz appears to be giving smaller yields, while the Barroca, Touriga Franca and the Nacional have resisted well. There is no doubt that the good flowering and fruit-set earlier this year has played a key role in maintaining yields despite the drought. There are plenty of bunches even if the berries themselves are small.
Our five ‘specialist’ wineries at Quinta dos Malvedos, Cavadinha, Senhora de Ribeira, Vesuvio and Quinta de Roriz (jointly owned with Joao van Zeller) all performed superbly well with their small productions. The two larger wineries at Bomfim and Sol have seen a lot of fruit delivered in first class condition.
In summary and with picking still taking place at our higher vineyards such as Quinta de Cavadinha, 2005 has proved once again the amazing ability of the vine to overcome very tough conditions. It was astonishing to see the small green berries fill out, turn dark red and ripen with such limited moisture in the soil. Nature was very kind to us with rain on the 6th and 9th, followed by a succession of beautiful sunny days.
We are confident that some very interesting and very good Ports and DOC wines will have been made in the Douro this year.
Pinhao,
September 30th 2005.
Sale
abroad by small producers.
01/10/05.
Small
independent producers in the Douro region are successful with the home sale of
their products. However, nationwide distribution or export is often impossible
because of economies of scale and pricing.
The Dutch couple Mieke Möls (54) and Hans Veldhuizen (47) from Apeldoorn, both
with a fulltime job, has through friendship and with much enthusiasm build an
interesting alternative sale channel as a hobby. They organize tastings for
private individuals and there they sell the Douro wines of Quinta do Monte
Travesso and the Ports of Quinta de Baldias. Their presentation of the wines is
carefully arranged and stylish and they bring homemade accompanying appetizers.
It proves to be very attractive for their clients to be able to present often
surprisingly good products with a personal story at home not easily found
elsewhere.
Mieke lived in Oporto from 1983 to 1992. She worked in the Ferreira lodges and
knows the Port industry well. In 1985 she got acquainted to the Nápoles de
Carvalho family of Q. do Monte Travesso. Late 2003 she and Hans seriously
started the import and sale of the Monte Travesso wines and later on the Ports
of Baldias. Even as a hobby company they also have to comply with many
formalities. A bitter disappointment was and is that the wine duty has to be
paid within some days after import no matter if not a single bottle was sold. In
2005 they will sell over 2,000 bottles and their firm Travesso hits break-even.
Q.
do Monte Travesso is situated in Barcos-TabuaVo
(see: Files/Round trip 14.1e).
The company is 16 hectares in size. The grapes with Port rights are supplied to
a large shipper. The rest is self-processed to Douro table wine.
Q. de Baldias, of the Barros de Viseu family, is located in Valdigem-Lamego
alongside the Douro. The company is 30 hectares in size and produces the most
Port types.
For more information: Travesso, Apeldoorn, m.mols@chello.nl
01/10/05.
For
this month we have choosen www.quinta-do-cotto.pt
This quinta, managed by Miguel Champalimaud, is 50 hectares in size. Quinta PaVo
Teixeiro with 12 hectares is also part of the company Montez Champalimaud.
Miguel Champalimaud is a controversial figure in the Douro. Richard Mayson
writes in his book Port and the Douro: “Champalimaud’s principal bugbear is
that the official system of vineyard classification rates the Cima Corgo and
Douro Superior (see: Files/What’s Port) higher
than the Baixo Corgo, where his own family’s properties happen to be situated.
With some justification, he likes to remind visitors that the Baixa Corgo was
the part of the Douro where the Port trade began, but he loses respect with his
perpetual tirade against today’s Port establishment.”
The Quinta do Côtto website is available in
Portuguese and English. The site has a splendid design and offers excellent
information.
IVDP events
calendar as of October 2005.
01/10/05.
The
Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto has planned the following events in Belgium,
Brazil,
Canada, Denmark, France, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the UK:
- Activities in Belgium:
. September 22nd - October 30th - Combinations Port Wine and chocolate
Pierre Marcolini - Tasting and sale in five shops "Pierre Marcolini".
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=92
. October 20th - General annual tasting.
. November 21st - Hotelschool Leuven.
. December 1st - Hotelschool Ter Groene Poort.
. December 5th - Hotelschool Piva Antwerp.
- Activities in Brazil:
. November 7th-10th - Acções de Formação com Assoc. Brasileira Sommeliers
- Curitiba, São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro.
. November 8th - Acção Vinhos do Douro e do Porto - Consulado Geral de São
Paulo.
- Activities in Canada:
. October 24th - Toronto Port and Douro Mini Salon - Le Meridien King Edward
Hotel.
. October 26th - Montreal Mini Salon - Hyatt Regency Hotel.
. November 4th-6th - Ottawa Food and Wine Show.
- Tasting in Denmark:
. November 7th - Port tasting - Palácio da Bolsa - Copenhagen.
- Activities in France:
Education for waiters and teachers hotel sector:
. October 24th - Marseille - Aubagne - from 16.00 to 18.00.
. November 14th - Lycée René Auffray - Clichy - from 16.30 to 17.30.
. November 14th - Lycée Joseph Strock - Strasbourg - from 16.00 to 18.00.
. November 21st - Lycée René Auffray - Clichy - from 16.30 to 17.30.
. November 21st - Lycée de Dardilly - Lyon - from 11.00 to 12.00.
. November 28th - Lycée René Auffray - Clichy - from 16.30 to 17.30.
. November 28th - Lycée de Talence - Bordeaux - from 16.00 to 18.00.
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=87
- Tastings in Norway:
. November 8th - Port tasting - Oslo Militaere Samfund.
.
November 14th - Douro Wine tasting - Hotel Grand - Oslo.
- Activities in Portugal:
. October 10th-28th - Concurso de Gastronomia com Vinho do Porto
- Período de avaliação dos restaurantes. See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=80
. November 5th-7th -
Encontro com o Vinho e Sabores - Centro de Congressos de Lisboa.
- Activities in Spain.
. October 3rd - Prova de VP e almoço Harmonias e Sabores - Museu de Belas
Artes de Bilbao - for specialized press. See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=97
. October 17th - Formação de Escanções - Restaurante La Casona - Santander.
. October 25th - Formação de Escanções - Restaurante Plazaola - Pamplona -
Navarra.
. November 7th - Formação de Escanções - Girona.
. November 8th - Formação de Escanções - Tarragona.
. November 9th - Formação de Escanções - Barcelona.
See also: www.ivdp.pt/noticia.asp?cod=89
- Activities in the UK:
. October 5th - Port Seminar - University of Derby.
. October 12th - Port Seminar - Colchester Institute.
. November 10th - Tasting in the Magestic Wines Shops - in several cities.
. November 28th - Port Seminar - University of Gales - Cardiff.
. December 8th - Port Seminar - University of Huddersfield.
Top 100 Wine &
Spirits.
01/10/05.
At
the top 100 list of best wines from 2005 in the American magazine Wine &
Spirits the Taylor Fladgate Vintage 2000 Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha is the
only Port. The list is made out of over 8,820 wines.
Four wines of Taylor Fladgate were tasted of which three were recommended.
-
Vintage 2000 Quinta
de Vargellas Vinha Velha 95 punt.
-
Vintage 1995 Quinta
de Vargellas Vinha Velha 89 punt.
-
Tawny Special
83 punt.
Fifteen wines of Quinta do Ventozelo were tasted of which ten were recommende
including the following Ports:
-
Reserva 87 punt.
-
LBV 1998 85 punt.
Decanter
World Wine Awards 2005 (1).
01/10/05.
During
the World Wine Awards 2005 of the English magazine Decanter the following Awards
were granted to Ports in the category over 10 English pounds (14.85 Euros):
-
Regional Non
Vintage Port Trophy: Graham’s 20 Years Old Tawny.
-
Regional
Vintage Port Trophy: Quinta do Vesuvio Vintage 2000.
-
Gold medals:
. Ramos Pinto 20 Years Old Tawny Bom Retiro.
. Delaforce 20 Years Old Tawny Curious & Ancient.
. Graham’s Malvedos Vintage 1996.
. José Maria da Fonseca & van Zeller LBV 2000.
. Quinta de Roriz Vintage 2002.
The other results in this price range can be found at: www.decanter.com/worldwineawards/2005/results.php
(choose Portugal and Port).
The results of wines under 10 English pounds will be published on October 5th.
Chairman of the regional jury for Portugal, Port and Madeira was again Richard
Mayson, author of Port and the Douro.
Linkspage:
additions in October 2005.
01/10/05.
We
have added to Portlinks:
-
www.portoheredias.com
Also Quinta do Convento.
-
www.quintadapacheca.com
-
www.globalwinespirits.com/wx/en-VENTOZELO/PORTAL.INDEX
Revista de Vinhos no. 190
September 2005.
01/10/05.
The
September issue of the Portuguese magazine Revista de Vinhos contains the
following information on Port:
New
product:
The Rozès White Reserve of SPR Vinhos gets 15.5 points from the editorial staff
on a score chart of 0 to 20.
The
Fladgate Partnership:
Fernando Melo mainly reviews the viniculture activities of this group with the
brands Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft, Delaforce and Romariz. An important
conclusion drawn by the recent years group management is the necessity to
continue to mix the different grape types for Port and not to change to
vinification of single types.
Fladgate
purchases properties Osborne in Gaia.
03/09/05. The
Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Fonseca, Croft and Delaforce) has bought the
stocks, the premises and the installations in Vila Nova de Gaia of the Spanish
Osborne. The lodges of the brand of the bull, Osborne, are located close to
those of Croft. However, Osborne continues to sell Port under its own name. The
Quinta and Vineyards Bottlers, part of The Fladgate Partnership, will take care
of the production. The bottle line of Osborne will be decommissioned.
The purchase price amounts 7 million Euros, of which 5 million Euros for the
stocks of 5,400 pipas young and old Port (casks of 550 litres). With this
take-over the concentration in the Port industry continues, and particularly the
medium-sized companies are disappearing. Osborne, in the midst of reorganization,
acquires the necessary cash. The Fladgate Partnership enlarges its capacity with
guaranteed sales.
Osborne was the first Spanish company that was active in the Port industry in
the sixties. The group never had quintas of its own in the Douro region. The
Ports of Osborne are exported to thirty countries.
A
spokesman of The Fladgate Partnership stated that the group wants to show its
confidence in the Port trade with this “small transaction” in contrast to
many other Port houses that have started to produce table wines as well. However,
one can also say that the production of table wines by Port farmers and shippers
is a healthy form of diversification.
(Source:
Expresso of 20/08/05.)
Expectations
for harvest 2005.
03/09/05.
The
Port region also suffers from the drought, though less than many other wine
areas in Portugal and Spain. It is expected that yields will be 4 to 6% down on
the annual average, but quality does not have to suffer from it.
However, locally there are large differences. In the driest area, the Douro
Superior against the Spanish border, the vine leafs have withered sometimes 80%.
Link of the month
September 2005.
03/09/05.
For
this month we have choosen www.fortheloveofport.com
FTLOP is the website of Roy Hersh, the American lover, expert and promotor, who
is especially engaged with top
Ports and top Madeira wines. All articles and Newsletters of Hersh have been
admitted to the site. Hersh also started a database for the many tasting notes
he made in the course of years. The last series of it concern 47 Vintages 2003
and can be found at http://www.fortheloveofport.com/articles/2003_vintage_port_forecast.htm (see also the many other tasting notes of this Vintage
in our News items from June 2005 and from
this month).
An important part of the site is the section with seven discussion forums about
Port, Madeira and Travel among other things.
The information on the new business activity of Hersh and his partner Mário
Ferreira, organizing Port trips, is temporarily published at FTLOP too. These
are not tours of travel agents offering again a new destination. These are trips
of two people with very much love for and knowledge of Port Wine who want and
are able to offer the very best in the Port field. The tours start in Oporto, so
interested people from the USA, Europe and the rest of the world are able to
participate. See http://www.fortheloveofport.com/travel.htm
Sales figures first
half year 2005.
03/09/05.
Figures
of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto from the first half of this year
show that:
-
the volume of
all Port sold increased by 0.5%.
-
the revenue of
all Port sold decreased by 2.8%.
-
the volume of
the Special Categories sold decreased by 1.5%.
-
the revenue of
the Special Categories sold decreased by 7.1%.
The
top 6 in volume were:
The
top 6 in revenue were: