Eight decades of Kopke Colheita ports

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Eight decades of Kopke Colheita ports

kopkecolheita

After judging at the IWC on Thursday there was a chance to try some more wine. Normally after a busy day tasting hungreds of wines, the last thing I feel like is more wine. But these wines were different: eight Kopke Colheita Ports from 2007 back until 1937.

A Colheita is a tawny port from a single vintage, and they are kept in cask until bottling – generally, they don’t improve much with time in bottle. These had just been bottled from the cask a couple of weeks earlier, and all are currently available for sale.

Each of the Colheitas was quite special, and there was a clear progression in terms of complexity and concentration with age.

Kopke Colheita 2007 Douro, Portugal
Newly released: the earliest a Colheita can be relased is at 7 years old, but Kopke wait until the wines are 10. This is wam, spicy and raisiny. It’s sweet and already smooth and quite complex, giving a glimpse of what is to come. 92/100

Kopke Colheita 1999 Douro, Portugal
Complex, spicy and raising with an appealing saline edge. Some lovely savoury notes developing here. Has warmth and complexity. 94/100

Kopke Colheita 1981 Douro, Portugal
This is quite special. Wonderfully spicy and raisiny with some fresher citrus and mineral characters, as well as cedary notes. Direct, thrilling and intense. 96/100

Kopke Colheita 1978 Douro, Portugal
Lovely spicy depth here with some fudge and herb notes. Warm and cedary with attractive softness, and hints of damp earth, but in a very nice way. 95/100

Kopke Colheita 1967 Douro, Portugal
Light and elegant with orange peel, lemons and some subtle raisin characters. This is a fresh, lighter style and it’s really beautiful. 95/10

Kopke Colheita 1957 Douro, Portugal
There’s a hint of treacle here. It’s rich and dense with old furniture notes and lovely concentration and intensity. Nice depth. 96/100

Kopke Colheita 1941 Douro, Portugal
Such a complex note: spice, earth and raisins. Very rich with treacle and cedar as well as a lively spiciness. Has the concentration of age. Thrilling wine. 97/100

Kopke Colheita 1937 Douro, Portugal
Not often you get to drink an 80 year old wine. Very cedary wuth some treacle and spice notes, candied citrus fruits, spice and herbs. Has a strong saltana character with some Christmas cake richness. Lovely, intense wine. 97/100

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com

3 Comments on Eight decades of Kopke Colheita portsTagged , ,
wine journalist and flavour obsessive

3 thoughts on “Eight decades of Kopke Colheita ports

  1. I had the good fortune to also taste a lineup of these wines and you have done such a great job recapping how special they are. Cheers.

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