Single Harvest Port vs Colheita

[Thomas V]

So as I understand Colheita means "harvest" and is vintage Tawny from a single year. It is as a minimum requirement stored in oak for 7 years and can be bottled from here on out.

So it is at least not obvious to me what the difference is between a Single Harvest Port and a Colheita as I feel the meaning of the names are redundant and both are tawnies stored in oak.

Could anyone explain the difference which I presume exists cause of the different naming convention.

[Rob C.]

The use of the phrase "single harvest tawny" to refer to what you might call a "colheita" is something that i have seen develop over the last few years as the UK market has been targeted with various special / anniversary release wood-aged ports. I'm not sure i've seen the phrase used by anyone other than the Symingtons and the Fladgate Partnership, though i haven't been following closely.

My take is that since the UK consumer is less familiar with the phrase "colheita" (and at least some producers - e.g. Portal - also label their dry red and white wines as "colheitas"), i suspect "single harvest tawny" is favoured as being more obvious to the consumer in its meaning. Perhaps (outside this forum) it is also a similar story for the average US consumer?

Interestingly, for the Warre 1972 Jubileum Port (which was a special release predominantly aimed at the Danish market to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Margrethe II's accession), the use of "colheita" is more prominent in contrast to other recent Symington releases that i have seen (e.g. the Graham 1982 to commemorate Prince George's birth). However, the writing on the back label covers all bases by referring to it as "Warre's Colheita 1972 Single Harvest Tawny Port", so go figure....!

[Glenn E.]

There is no difference - they are one and the same. In fact if you look closely you will find the term Colheita somewhere on the label of the Single Harvest Tawnies because that is the proper name of the category of Port.

As Rob explained, the primary reason for the alternate labeling appears to be the fact that UK purchasers can't seem to wrap their brains around a Portuguese word on the label. In the US we are used to seeing strange words from different languages so I doubt the US market had anything to do with it. (Further supported by the fact that the first several "Single Harvest Tawny" Ports that were released were exclusive to the UK market.)

Personally I don't like the alternate naming. I greatly prefer the use of Colheita because it reflects the fact that (in very broad, general terms) Tawny Port is more Portuguese while Ruby Port is more British. I wish that the producers would stop confusing people by introducing new names for old things.

[Thomas V]

Thank you the both of you for explaining things.

Like you Glenn I would prefer if suppliers didn't dumb things down and kept the real authentic names. They shouldn't think so little of the consumers ability to comprehend varieties of port or other things for that matter.

[Stewart T.]

I think it is a similar thing with Madeira (malvasia vs malmsey, bual vs boal). British spin on naming vs Portuguese one.

[Rob C.]

Like you Glenn I would prefer if suppliers didn't dumb things down and kept the real authentic names. They shouldn't think so little of the consumers ability to comprehend varieties of port or other things for that matter.

I think there's a danger here of looking at thing through too narrow a lens of historical perspective.

In the snippets of old UK merchant lists from the 1920s to the 1960s that I have seen, i don't think I've ever seen wood-aged port sold as "colheita". And as the original (and for many decades the largest) export market in an export-driven trade, I fail to see why that is dumbing down or not "authentic" for that terminology to be avoided in the UK market in favour of something that resonates more with consumers (the term "tawny" being much better understood and authentic/traditional in the UK market).

[John Trombley]

Actually, what I was used to seeing on old labels was 'Port of the Vintage 19XX'. Especially from English houses, though not exclusively. This seems to have been discontinued because it confused people into thinking it was Vintage Porto. I have more than once seen these old labels at auction called 'Vintage Port', which I believe they're not.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Actually, what I was used to seeing on old labels was 'Port of the Vintage 19XX'. Especially from English houses, though not exclusively. This seems to have been discontinued because it confused people into thinking it was Vintage Porto. I have more than once seen these old labels at auction called 'Vintage Port', which I believe they're not.

It's true, they get called VP at auction regularly.


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[Roy Hersh]

I wanted to clarify the quote that is copied below:

Stewart wrote:

I think it is a similar thing with Madeira (malvasia vs malmsey, bual vs boal). British spin on naming vs Portuguese one.

Yes, "similar" is correct, but it is not the "exact" same thing. Malvasia is a grape spelled as it appears in the proper Portuguese spelling and by Portuguese owned family producers in the present and especially the past. The English as used by British companies that were involved in the Madeira trade, often spelled that grape Malvazia. Malmsey is a connotation that denotes the "sweetest" style of Madeira and historically speaking, had less to do with the grape than that particular style. In more modern times it is the British influence in Madeira companies, for example: Blandy's which was originally part of the Madeira Wine Association which later became the Madeira Wine Company and in 1811 onwards has been owned by the Blandy's family, (except for a few decades in v. recent times where the Symington family had purchased a controlling interest in the firm, which it sold back to the Blandys in early 2011 as the family commemorated its 200th anniversary.

But more to the point, Madeira Wine Company which not only included Blandy's, but also Leacock's, Miles, and Cossart-Gordon, used Malmsey on their labels, not always, but for their sweetest wines, and often did not include the name of the grape at all. Malmsey originated in the latter part of the 15th century in Greece, named after a local Greek village of that name, that was a major wine growing area within the southern part of the country; and therefore had nothing to do with Madeira originally. In fact, the term Malmsey also appeared on Hungarian wines that were Furmint based (as is Tokaji ... but I don't believer that Malmsey ever appeared on Tokaji labels ... but it did appear on Spanish wine labels too, representing two or three other grapes in that country as well.

Malvasia on the other hand, originated as an Italian grape long ago and spread to other parts of Europe, and even to the USA and several other countries. There are at least a dozen Malvasia grape varieties throughout Portugal and there is no specific evidence, (that I am aware of) that it is genetically linked to that of the original Italian version. Stewart is technically correct that Malmsey and Malvasia can be used interchangeably for Madeira, but again Malmsey always denoted a very sweet wine from Madeira, while not having to originate from Malvasia, (it could be from other grapes too, most often Tinta Negra, but not exclusively that one) although it usually was. In 1986, when Portugal became an EU member, Malmsey then had to follow EU regulations requiring a minimum of 85% Malvasia included in the wine blend to be bottled. Since new IVBAM regulations went into effect in 2014, Malvasia can refer both to the Fortified Madeira version of the grape OR that used for table wine production.

Then we get into the complexity of "Malmsey" usage on labels, depending on whether it was a vintage dated vs. non-vintage-dated Madeira. A story for another day.

[Roy Hersh]

Now to the crux of this thread: Single Harvest Tawny Port vs. Special Reserve vs. Garrafeira Particular vs. Reserve (or Reserva) Port vs. Port of the Vintage vs. Colheita.

I've seen all of the above terms appear on Port bottles which ultimately denote what most of us here refer to simply, as Colheita.

Portuguese Port winemakers and others in the trade have mentioned the resistance of their British counterparts to use the term Colheita on their labels. It began in the 19th century, preferring not to use the Portuguese term on their labels. Without getting too politically incorrect here, as this is not a "popular" question to bring up ... I've asked key players from British companies if this was true and they explained that was not the reason. Knowing about some of the acrimony between both growers and shippers (specifically in the heart of the mid-18th century) one can see how both sides view this sticky wicket differently.

The British firms chose substitute names to call Colheita even after the IVP / IVDP regulations defined nomenclature for Port categories. In recent decades: with consolidations, new categories popping up in both bottle and wood aged Ports, allowances have been made. Today, the word Colheita is used by all but a few remaining companies who prefer the alternative nomenclature. Whether that's truly because their clients in the UK markets were more familiar with these other terms, or the shippers feel the other names are easier to understand/and pronounce by consumers, is a matter for marketing departments to decide.

[John Trombley]

yeahhhh, and how do you pronounce 'Colheita'? Like Coal Heater?

[Mike Meehan]

yeahhhh, and how do you pronounce 'Colheita'? Like Coal Heater?

I say call yay ta.

[John Trombley]

ah, more like Coal Hater. The green drink. Not cheap Madiera, by a long shot!

[Glenn E.]

yeahhhh, and how do you pronounce 'Colheita'? Like Coal Heater?

It's tricky to get it exactly right.

"coal YAY ta" is a reasonable approximation for English speakers. But to really nail it, you need to partially drop the leading "Y" in the "YAY" part. And, of course, slur it all together.

[John Trombley]

Can't slur it yet, haven't drunk enough of it. But will try, will try.

[Roy Hersh]

Come with us to Portugal and I'll guarantee you get enough to drink so that you won't want to look at a coal-yay-ta for at least two weeks!

[Michael T]

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[Eric Ifune]

There are at least a dozen Malvasia grape varieties throughout Portugal and there is no specific evidence, (that I am aware of) that it is genetically linked to that of the original Italian version.

I believe the genetic testing on the last original Malvasia Candida vine on the Faja dos Padres showed that it is genetically the same as the Malvasia di Lipari from the Mediterranean. This was the vine found by Mario Fernandes and who's cutting were used to repropagate the variety on the Island.

[Andy Velebil]

Very interesting thread, can you all with more knowledge than I have clear up something for me? When we say a tawny is not meant for aging does that mean we shouldn't keep it more than a year or two, or are we saying you shouldn't keep it for 10 years?

IMO, for those producers who don't have a track record of tawny's built for aging I tend to prefer them with no more than about 3-5 years of age after bottling date. That is a general rule of thumb for me and not a hard line in the sand. As it depends on type, vintage and bottling date after harvest. Though I typically find much past 4-5 years the lose of freshness becomes very pronounced.

[Eric Ifune]

IMO, for those producers who don't have a track record of tawny's built for aging I tend to prefer them with no more than about 3-5 years of age after bottling date. That is a general rule of thumb for me and not a hard line in the sand. As it depends on type, vintage and bottling date after harvest. Though I typically find much past 4-5 years the lose of freshness becomes very pronounced.

Wasn't it Dirk Niepoort who said that it was filtration that prevented wood aged Ports from improving in bottle?