That Francesinha could be a future star in a b movie horror film 
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If you look closely, you can see other smaller grilled cheeses orbiting around the event horizon.
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Impressive stuff, looks delicious, educational, scenic, and all sorts of other good things.
Although, I’m also impressed at your stamina! At this point, I don’t plan more than 2 days of wine visits/eating in such a manner, before I need a break!
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The restaurant at Grahams is pretty good and worth a fancier night out. In the main tasting room, they have a vintage Port of the day, a generous glass for 10 euros. The last time I was there, it was a young 2015, but once it was the 1994 Dows. At that price, I got multiple glasses!
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The one good restaurant on the river is Taberna do Manel, next to Kopke. They have a killer francesinha, both in taste and size.
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Thanks for the notes Otto. I am sitting on the 1994, 2000, and 2016 Graham’s, so these are extremely useful data points.
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Sounds like just lack of exercise!
On some occasions I’ve visited 2-3 wineries per day for a whole week, so this tour wasn’t particularly hard an effort for me. However, a few others in our group didn’t have that much previous experience on visiting wineries day after day - yet it didn’t seem to me that they had any troubles with this at any point!
Yes, it does sound like you are well exercised on the matter!
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Visited Graham’s about ten years ago, just timely as the 2011 vintage had recently been released. Enjoyed both the vintage ports and tawnies there. For us, there was a noticeable step up in quality for the price going from 20 to 30 year old Tawny at Graham’s whereas that same step at Taylor’s was going from 10 to 20. Anyway, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, including the restaurant overlooking that fantastic view down the river.
And a seconding for the Wine Quay Bar noted above, really enjoyed this spot, and at the time we visited, it had quite a few older vintages of red wine from all around the country served with cold platters of bread, meat and cheese.
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Those photos from Graham’s brought back some great memories of a visit my wife and I had there in 2017. It was a one-day stop on a cruise, and we also went to visit Taylor Fladgate and Cockburn. We eventually bought some bottles of the 2017 Graham’s and Taylor after they came out, to commemorate our visit. Nice notes and photos, Otto!
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Just finished a tour of Porto and the Douro. Over 10 days we had 111 Ports, 40 table wines, and one lone Madeira. Resting now drinking beer mainly!
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A wafer thin mint? It’s only waaaaaafer thin!
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Day 5, part two: a quick trip to Taylor’s!
So after we had finished our light and refreshing francesinha lunch, we had to choose which lodge we’d go to next. We didn’t have any other visits scheduled beforehand, so the world (well, Vila Nova de Gaia) was our oyster!
Perhaps a bit predictably, of the multiple lodges located relatively nearby, we chose to go to Taylor’s. After all, it’s considered to be among the best Port shippers - and their lodge was less than a five-minute walk away - so the choice was pretty easy.
Founded already in 1692, Taylor’s (well, actually Taylor Fladgate, as Taylor’s is just one of their many brand names) is among some of the oldest extant Port shippers.
The company was originally founded by Job Bearsley, a British merchant, who traveled to Portugal to trade Portuguese the lean and austere red wines from the Minho region (now the region encompassing Vinho Verde). The company started to become more successful after Bearsley’s eldest son, Peter Bearsley, joined the company and started to trade the heftier red wines from the Douro valley.
In 1744, Peter Bearsley’s son Bartholomew Bearsley purchased a property - Lugar das Lages - in Douro to gain upper hand in the competition for the best wines between the British Port shippers. This old property still belongs to the Taylor’s Port company.
In the early 1800’s the company run out of suitable Bearsleys to lead the company, so it was run as a joint venture between business partners under the name Webb, Campbell, Gray & Camo. When the forces of Napoleon arrived in Porto in 1809, all the British merchants had fled Portugal. However, Joseph Camo - an American man of Turkish descent - was not considered an enemy by the French forces, so he could continue to run the company uninterrupted over the Peninsular War. While the British merchants stayed in England for more than two years, Camo run the company (now exporting not only wine but also dry goods) single-handedly from 1808 to 1811. However, he resigned from the company in 1812 and died a few years afterwards.
Once mr. Camo left and another partner, Francis Gray, died in 1814, Joseph Taylor - a manager at the London office - was made a partner in the company. In 1826 he became the sole owner in the firm and quite immediately afterwards he returned the focus from dry goods to Port wine exclusively.
After Taylor’s health begun to fail, he took in two partners - Morgan Yeatman and John Fladgate - to keep the company running. At this point the company was renamed to Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman. In 1844 Fladgate bought a new Douro estate - Quinta da Roêda - for the firm and focused on improving viticulture and winemaking, whereas Yeatman stayed in Porto focusing on the business side. In 1862 Fladgate bought Quinta da Roêda from the company for himself, but the estate was ultimately sold to the house of Croft in 1889.
As the Taylor Fladgate company was now in dire need of a new estate for making wine. Back then Quinta das Vargellas was known for the exceptional quality of its vineyards, but had been badly ravaged by the arrival of phylloxera. Taylor Fladgate acquired the run-down estate and its vineyards between 1893 and 1896. It was slowly but steadily nursed back to health by Harry Yeatman, who was also the first member of the family to live and work permanently in Douro. By his retirement in 1949, Yeatman had been responsible of more than 50 harvests.
In 1949 the company also acquired another respect Port company, Fonseca; however, despite being under the Taylor Fladgate ownership, Fonseca was allowed to operate as a separate entity. However, the business during the post-war years was pretty poor, so it was during this period the company accumulated their extensive stocks of aged Port; when in 1973 the Instituto do Vinho do Porto created new rules allowing the producers to state the age of their Tawnies on the label, Taylor’s could immediately take full benefit of the law, launching a range of 10, 20, 30 and 40-yo Tawnies.
In the 1970’s things were looking good once again, so the company expanded their facilities in Vila Nova de Gaia, expanded the Lugar das Lages property (purchased in the 1700’s) into a well-equipped winery and purchased another estate - Quinta de Terra Feita - which had been a source of very high-quality fruit to Taylor’s for a very long time. In 1997 Taylor’s expanded their holdings with yet another estate, Quinta do Junco, the vineyards of which belonged to the best “A” category - the same as with Quinta das Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita.
The more recent producer acquisitions by Taylor Fladgate are Croft in 2001 and Krohn in 2013. Although the estate of Quinta da Roêda still remains a part of Croft operations, technically the ownership of this old quinta returned back to its owners!
The wines of Taylor’s are made in the same way as with many other traditionalist Port shippers: the grapes are fully destemmed, then foot-trodden in granite lagares. After a few days of fermentation, the wines are fortified with aguardente and moved into large vats and tanks at the quintas in Douro. After the first winter the wines are shipped either to the lodge at Vila Nova de Gaia, or, more recently, to the new lodge located in Douro. Once the wines arrive at the lodges, they are categorized by their potential for different styles and moved to age in different aging vessels accordingly.
Since we had just visited the Graham’s lodge and thought that the visit in the Taylor’s lodge would be more or less a similar experience, we decided against paying a fee just to hear the same tourist stories and see some more old oak barrels. We simply headed for the tasting room and ordered some wines to taste! So sorry about the lack of photos from this visit.
- 2005 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Terra Feita - Portugal, Douro, Porto (25.4.2024)
A Single-Quinta Vintage Port made with fruit sourced from the vineyards of Quinta de Terra Feita, located on the western banks of river Pinhão, a tributary of Douro river. First vinified by foot-treading, then followed by additional extraction by robotic plungers. Fortified with 77% aguardente, aged in large oak vats for 1½ to 2 years, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20% alcohol.
Somewhat translucent and moderately evolved cherry-red color with a somewhat maroon hue - looks slightly lighter and more evolved than the 2005 Vargellas. The nose feels somewhat evolved with sweet, dark-toned aromas of wizened cherries, some raisiny and pruney tones, a little bit of savory meaty character, light spirituous notes of aguardente, a hint of dried flowers and a touch of cooked strawberry. The wine feels sweet, soft and somewhat resolved on the palate with a full body and moderately evolved flavors of strawberries, some dark-toned notes of prunes and raisins, a little bit of ripe black cherry, light perfumed notes of dried flowers, a boozy hint of aguardente and a touch of blueberry jam. The somewhat modest medium acidity only accentuates the overall roundness of the wine, although the somewhat grippy medium-plus tannins bring some welcome firmness to the palate. The finish is rich, somewhat grippy and moderately warm with a sweet, quite long aftertaste of raisins, some wizened black cherries, a little bit of strawberry jam, light pruney tones, a hint of sun-baked earth and a savory touch of meaty umami.
A rich, somewhat soft and moderately evolved Single Quinta Vintage Port. Pleasant, but nothing particularly impressive - I was actually quite surprised how evolved the wine seemed. While still far from falling apart, this wine was still noticeably much more developed and closer to its plateau of maturity compared to the 2005 Vargellas that we tasted at the same time. I doubt the wine is going to improve much with additional aging, so there is no harm done by popping a bottle open now. Feels somewhat expensive for the quality at 30€ for a half bottle.
(89 points) - 2005 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Vargellas - Portugal, Douro, Porto (25.4.2024)
A Single-Quinta Vintage Port made with fruit sourced from the vineyards of Quinta de Terra Feita, located in the hot Douro Superior. First vinified by foot-treading, then followed by additional extraction by robotic plungers. Fortified with 77% aguardente, aged in large oak vats for 1½ to 2 years, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20,5% alcohol, 93,5 g/l residual sugar, 4,7 g/l acidity and pH 3,57.
Deep, slightly opaque and rather dark red cherry color with a slightly evolved maroon hue. The somewhat brooding nose feels dark-toned, deep and fruity with aromas of dark plums, some licorice tones, a little bit of blackberry marmalade and cranberry jelly, light pruney tones, a hint of tobacco, a spirituous touch of aguardente and a lifted floral whiff of violets. The wine feels vibrant, sweet and relatively youthful on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of dark plums, ripe bilberries and wizened figs, some balsamic tones, a little bit of tobacco, light raisiny and pruney tones, a hint of boysenberry marmalade and a touch of licorice. The moderately high acidity and firm medium tannins keep the overall feel harmonious and not too heavy. The finish is rich, vibrant and somewhat grippy with a long, dark-toned aftertaste of ripe boysenberries and bilberries, some floral notes of violets, a little bit of licorice and peppery spice, light raisiny nuances, a hint of tobacco and a touch of balsamic richness.
An impressive, harmonious and vibrant Single Quinta Vintage Port that feels relatively youthful at almost 20 years of age, still going on an upward trajectory. The difference between this SQVP and the softer, more evolved 2005 Taylor's Terra Feita SQVP was surprisingly big. While enjoyable, Terra Feita felt like a mellow Vintage Port close to its plateau of maturity, whereas this Vargellas was more vibrant and structure-driven, showing good potential for additional aging. A lovely wine that is priced more or less according to its quality at 30€ for a half bottle.
(91 points) - 2003 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (25.4.2024)
Made with the best fruit sourced from the Quinta de Vargellas, Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco estates. First vinified by foot-treading, then followed by additional extraction by robotic plungers. Fortified with 77% aguardente, aged in large oak vats for 1½ to 2 years, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20,5% alcohol, 93 g/l residual sugar and 4,7 g/l acidity.
Deep, slightly evolved blood-red color with a light brick-red rim. The nose feels dark-toned and a bit restrained with aromas of blackberry jam, some aguardente notes, a little bit of ripe black cherry, light raisiny nuances, a hint of dried dates, a touch of earthy spices and a fragrant whiff of dried flowers. The wine feels sweet, rich and somewhat voluptuous on the palate with a full body and very juicy flavors of blackberry jam, some bilberry tones, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and dried figs, a little bit of overripe black cherry, hints of tobacco and earthy spices and a touch of aguardente. The overall feel is getting quite resolved and a bit soft with the medium acidity and ample yet very ripe and quite gentle tannins that slowly pile up on the gums. The finish is rich, long and somewhat grippy with a bold, sweet aftertaste of bilberries, some raisiny tones, a little bit of wizened figs, light blackberry jam notes, a hint of earthy spice and a touch of overripe black cherry.
A quite big, lush and unctuous Vintage Port that might've been mighty impressive in its youth, but has started to turn a bit flabby with age. The wine shows impressive richness of fruit and intensity of flavors, but the hot vintage really does show: the structure feels a bit inadequate in relation to the rich, sunny fruit that has started to develop into the direction of dried fruits. Although there is still room for additional evolution, I feel there won't be much development in a qualitative sense - the wine will only develop tertiary complexity as it ages, but it won't necessarily get any better from here. Drink or keep. Feels somewhat pricey for the quality at 158€.
(92 points) - 2009 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (25.4.2024)
Made with the best fruit sourced from the Quinta de Vargellas, Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco estates. First vinified by foot-treading, then followed by additional extraction by robotic plungers. Fortified with 77% aguardente, aged in large oak vats for 1½ to 2 years, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20% alcohol, 99 g/l residual sugar and 4,7 g/l acidity.
Very dark, slightly translucent and subtly evolved black cherry color with a faint pomegranate hue. At first the nose feels somewhat vague and understated with a somewhat rubbery note, then slowly opens up to reveal characterful, dark-toned aromas of blackberries and other dark berries, some black cherries, a little bit of elderberry juice, light bilberry tones, a hint of dried figs, a floral touch of violets and a whiff of cacao nibs. The wine feels juicy, sweet and quite ripe on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of juicy blackberries and overripe bilberries, some sweet plummy tones, a little bit of elderberry juice, light floral notes of violets, a hint of licorice and a touch of wizened black cherries. The overall feel is medium-to-moderately high in acidity, but the structure relies more on the quite grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is ripe, juicy and moderately grippy with a long, sweet aftertaste of blackberry jam and overripe bilberries, some floral notes of violets, a little bit of licorice, light elderberry juice tones, dried-fruit hints of wizened black cherries and dried figs and a touch of cacao nibs.
A firm, intense and still very youthful Vintage Port. The overall feel is quite noticeably ripe and perhaps a bit sweeter, more fruit-driven than I expected from a Taylor's VP. However, the overall feel is still pretty balanced and there is enough tannic backbone to keep things from coming across as too soft. Tasting this next to the 2003 Taylor's VP, this wine was more to my liking - the wine not only packed more structure, but the overall feel was still relatively vibrant and youthful compared to the much more softer and somewhat more pruney 2003. I feel this is still going to be on an upward trajectory for quite some time. While I doubt this is going to be a particularly memorable Taylor's VP in the long run, I can still see this wine aging and improving gracefully for years - most likely even decades - more. Feels a bit pricey for its quality at 135€, though.
(93 points) - NV Taylor (Fladgate) Porto 50 Year Old Tawny Golden Age - Portugal, Douro, Porto (25.4.2024)
A blend of oxidatively aged Port wines which have been aging mainly in smaller oak pipes. The final blend is composed of different vintages resulting in an average age of 50 years. 20% alcohol, 158 g/l residual sugar and 5,9 g/l acidity.
Rather dark maple syrup or Cognac appearance. The rich, layered nose feels ridiculously complex with intense aromas of caramel and dusty wood, some arrack tones, a little bit of vanilla custard, light concentrated raw chocolate tones, a hint of freshly ground coffee, a touch of maple syrup and a whiff of fragrant Indian spices. The wine feels concentrated, moderately viscous and very complex on the palate with a full body and intense flavors of dried figs and dark raisins, some nutty notes of oxidation, light nuances of arrack and sweet floral spice, a little bit of fruity coffee, a hint of maple syrup and a toasty touch of custard pastry. The overall feel is substantial, yet not heavy - thanks to the surprisingly high acidity that lends great sense of structure to the wine. The finish is sweet, rich and juicy with a complex, extremely long aftertaste of arrack and caramel, some oxidative nutty tones, a little bit of mocha coffee, light dried-fruit notes of raisins and dried dates, a hint of sweet exotic spices and a touch of dusty wood.
Even if I'm more of a Vintage Port guy, this was still hands down the best Port we tasted on our trip to Portugal. And not just to my taste - this was a consensus shared by all four of us! The level of depth, complexity, intensity, concentration and - surprisingly enough - freshness is on a completely different level here. An absolutely singular Tawny with tons of everything and nothing in excess. At almost 160 g/l residual sugar, this wine is noticeably sweeter and more concentrated than your typical Port wines, yet it didn't seem as sweet in comparison. Impeccable balance. Not really an affordable wine at 298,50€ (or even at 270,99€ - the price at which it retails where I live) but this is still really something. Very highly recommended.
(97 points)
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I’m in Porto for one more day and plan on heading to that side of the river tomorrow (seeing as how I have a lunch at Vinum). Was it easy to just walk in and taste?
I’m completely with you on not wanting/needing to hear some tourist story, so I’d like to just cut straight to the chase
I assume it’s ok to do that with basically every shipper’s lodge! You can just walk to the desk and ask where’s the wine bar if you want to just taste the wines without going the full tour.
Btw, if you’re looking for something special, a Port geek friend of mine said that even though Sandeman might not be in the top tier list of Port shippers, Sandeman’s 30 yo Tawny is supposedly one of the best in its genre and definitely worth seeking out!
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So the upshot of this whole story is buying Port at the houses is a really bad idea!
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Indeed! We didn’t buy much as basically all the Port shippers in Douro and Vila Nova de Gaia were selling at rather aggressive tourist prices. Some wine shops in Portugal also had somewhat steep prices as well, but even they weren’t as pricey as the winery / lodge cellar door shops.
Of course you can’t know whether a wine in a wine shop has come directly from the producer or a collector, or what the provenance of the bottle is (unless it’s a recently released vintage), whereas you’ll know a bottle has come straight from the cellar if you buy it from the winery or the lodge - but I’m not willing to pay 50-100% extra for this kind of piece of mind.
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I’d go to a couple of my favorite wine bars, both on the Porto side by the river. Bacchus Vini and Lado. They specialize in small, family producers. Stupendous wood aged Ports especially. Just put yourself in their hands. Lado has some 70+ old stuff. Also, you’ll be surprised at the value at both places.
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(Un)Fortunately I’m in Coimbra now, but I saved those for when I’m next in Porto!!
I’m in the Dao. Will spend several days here.
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