Colheitas are single vintage Tawny Ports (that is, Ports that have been aged for a long time in large oak barrels, rather than bottled after a few years and aged in bottle), and Kopke are specialists with this style of Port. They have good stocks of old Colheitas which they bottle on order, and the good news for those with significant birthdays coming up is that they are planning to begin bottling magnums. We had a chance to try few a few older examples.
Kopke Colheita 1979 Douro, Portugal
Spicy, warm and quite complex with raisins, nuts and some citrus peel notes. Very sweet and easy but with nice complexity and finesse. 93/100
Kopke Colheita 1976 Douro, Portugal
Spirity, powerful and quite complex, combining citrus fruit, wood spice and some burnt sugar and treacle notes. Fresh acidity and plenty of woody, spicy notes. 92/100
Kopke Colheita 1966 Douro, Portugal
Complex, earthy and spicy with sweet raisin notes and some lemony acidity. Powerful and extremely long with a fresh core to the sweet, casky, fruity notes. Superb. 95/100
Kopke Colheita 1957 Douro, Portugal
Raisiny, spicy and nutty, this is very rich but has a nice savoury edge. Lovely, refined treacle and raisin notes. Casky and complex with a long finish. Fabulous stuff. 95/100
Kopke Colheita 1941 Douro, Portugal
Complex, warm and cedary with notes of iodine and a hint of earth. Very savoury as well as being sweet with keen lemony acidity and tangy citrus peel notes. So lovely, and amazingly detailed and complex. 96/100
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1 Comment on Kopke Colheita Ports back to 1941
Some amazing wines indeed – unfortunately after a day’s tasting I didn’t manage to make notes anywhere near as detailed as yours. For my taste I actually found the 1957 just beat both the ’66 and the ’41, though it was a close-run thing.