Wine Sampling With Porthos

Many Andrew Harper members are happily familiar with Porthos. Named after the jovial, drink-loving Musketeer in the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, this California-based wine concierge service specializes in securing boutique, small-production bottles for its clients.

Andrew Harper's official wine concierge for several years, Porthos has recently broadened its portfolio from trophy bottlings of California Cabernet  such as Duckhorn and Silver Oak to equally compelling discoveries from Chile, Italy and France. Porthos President Hal Oates originally came to Northern California to work for George Lucas, but wine sampling proved more distracting than marketing the "Star Wars" film franchise. Today, his company's busy office and warehouse sit roughly equidistant between Napa and Sonoma. Much like Andrew Harper, Porthos bases its recommendations on a rigorous vetting process.

The group samples more than 5,000 wines annually, and recommends the highest scoring 1 percent to its clients. We recently had a chance to witness this process firsthand. Several times a week, Mr. Oates and a half-dozen of his colleagues, professionally known as the "Wine Insiders," assemble at a long conference table sprinkled with masked bottles, sterile beakers, wine glasses and spit buckets to conduct blind tastings. A bread and cheese tray is present, as well as a stack of scoring forms. The atmosphere is cordial but professional, with occasional banter and long silences devoted to sampling and scoring. Anywhere from a dozen to two dozen wines are sampled. They include crisp Chardonnays, spicy Malbecs, earthy Pinots and big, plummy Cabernets. Some are wonderful and complex, filling the palate with discrete flavors, and some are tannic, vegetal and generally unpleasant. The former tend to inspire silence, while the latter provoke lighthearted jokes. The scores are then read and averaged, and the wines are revealed. Invariably there are surprises: New entries dazzle; old favorites underwhelm. Last week, a small vineyard from Grass Valley, in the foothills of the Sierras, made a big impression.

This seemingly straightforward process is informed by keen professional insight and decades of experience. Another reason Andrew Harper and Porthos make an excellent fit.