Tasting: 1906 Brunheda Colheita Port

[Roy Hersh]

I bet 20 bottles of Port were opened by FTLOP posters ... but since so few of you are choosing to put their tasting notes here, I thought I might as well have a go at it. :devil:

One of just two bottles I've owned and definitely the only one ever opened on this continent, from a single barrel most of which still remains concentrating in cask. These were bottled and handed off in October and I shared one in London and managed to bring this one back home for a VERY special occasion.

Dark mahogany color with a greenish meniscus. An ancient beauty like watching Greta Garbo in her prime. The aromatics here are pretty much in line with the flavors which are intricate and haunting. It is impossible to not take notice and keep your nose in the glass literally for minutes at a time. Ethereal and exotic. The palate starts off with golden raisins and follows through with off dry nuances of dates and figs and later on, finishes off with a sublime toffee element with a hint at citrus. I don't know what I loved more about this Brunheda, the nose, the intensity of flavors or the stunning textural effect. Loads of focused acidity here and this will be great to revisit tomorrow. One of the finest Colheita experiences I've ever experienced. Amazing to see how the concentration and body weight have just grown by leaps and bounds since I first sipped this eight hours ago, which was after 10 hours of decanting. The mouthfeel is as viscous as any PX and velvety and smooth as a fabulous La Tache. This bottle was opened to share with Stewart to thank him for his awesome work on our recent launch of the "new" FTLOP. It is such a different experience than the first bottle and I can only chalk that up to extended air time and possibly bottle shock from hand-carrying it over from Portugal to the UK a couple of days earlier. 98+ points (4-20-08)

[Glenn E.]

Wow, what a Port!

Congratulations again, Stewart, for the successful transition to the new FTLOP. Sounds to me like it was well worth it for this Port!

[Erik Wiechers]

Excellent Roy ! I love to read about the ancient ports. Now if only you manage to get some pics up it would be flawless !

[David Spriggs]

Wow! What a great TN. Thanks for the note!
-Dave-

[Heather Hathwell]

Clearly I know nothing of this producer, but Roy, I have to say that your TN leaves me deeply impressed. Sounds absolutely wonderful. I thank you for sharing, and keeping my attention coming back to certain ports. BTW, I tried one of the 1934 Niepoort Colheitas...... more on that later, maybe. Style-wise, I think it may be that colheita is my thing. Like I said at the port tasting. The example may not have been the best (even in the lineup against VP), but there was something about it that perhaps said to me that that is the kind of port I would prefer overall.

Thanks again. I will keep my eyes peeled for the 2nd bottle (apart from yours) in the U.S.

[Roy Hersh]

Thank you all.

I just had FTLOP Forumite and "practically a neighbor" Glenn E. over this evening to introduce him to the oldest wine he has ever put in his mouth. I think he liked it too. My only requirement was that he place his own TN of the 1906.

I then opened a So. African, late harvest Chenin Blanc non-chalantly as I wanted to have his palate fresh for what came next.

He also got to finish off the 40 Year or more, Verdelho Madeira by The Fernandes Brothers. Again, a TN was requested.

It is always fun to share things with folks to see their reaction to the aromas and flavors. Heather herself will be in for lots of that while in Gaia and the Douro. In fact, if it is Colheitas that she tends towards ... she is in luck. I've arranged an exceptional lineup at one of our stops. Additionally, I have a feeling that along the way, Heather will get to try a couple of Vintage Ports too.

Anyway, it was great seeing Glenn's enthusiasm and sharing is what Port and Madeira are all about!

Now I want to hear what Stewart felt about his BIG glass of the '06 that was left for tonight.

[Stewart T.]

I wanted to see how this Port faired about a day and half after it was originally decanted. The wine was stunning last night, but I think it might have been even a little better tonight. Dark amber in color. A stunning nose, with wafting aromas of prune, toffee and slight notes of caramel. The nose seems to drift in and out of the various aromas, which is quite simply amazing to smell. This is a viscious wine, with an coating mouthfeel. The approach has hints of honey, and then the mid palate just smacks you over the head with great balanced acidity and some amazing prune and fig notes. The finish on this wine is unbelievably long - I'm having difficulty thinking of a wine that I've had that has had a longer finish. It just continues to stick with you, and give, and give, and give.... A really amazing wine, and I was honored that Roy opened this beauty to celebrate the launch of the new site! 99 points (4/21/08)

[Andy Velebil]

Great notes guys...Stewart thanks again for a job well done

[Glenn E.]

I'll reply here with my TN so that it's all together in one place.

I had 3 emails waiting for me at home last night. Because of the way I have my home email set up - it automatically downloads from the server - I can't check it from work. Once in a while that causes some delayed responses... such as last night.

Roy had been trying to get ahold of me, and I finally called him about 7:30 when I found the emails. He said he had a glass of this port left that he'd like to share and asked if I could stop by at about 8:30. Naturally I wasn't going to pass up a chance like that!

Roy's tasting room is almost as impressive as his wine cellar. His "trophy wall" really sets the atmosphere with bottles dating well back well into the 1800's.

But on to the good stuff...

The port has a dark caramel color with a red blush to it. I'd go with cherry wood, but it's not that dark. It fades toward yellow near the rim but doesn't quite make it all the way, then has a green tint right at the rim.

The nose is extremely pleasant. Not a trace of alcohol that I noticed. I had a difficult time separating out the scents because they were so well blended and integrated. There is, of course, the "normal" dried apricot and raisin, but there's also something citrus and there's a sour note. I don't like using words like "sour" because they sound bad... this isn't bad in any way, it's just the only word I can come up with to describe the smell. It is "sour" in the same sense that a dried apricot can smell sour. There was also a faint whiff of something grain-like. At first I thought it was oats - the steel cut variety - but then I realized that it wasn't a grain at all... it was oak. Not woody, though, just a faint brush across the back of the roof of your mouth.

Then there's the flavor. WOW! It's perfect. There is none of the bite that I always detect in wines. It's just completely not there. I'll bet that if I went back to the only other wine I've said that about - the 1977 Porto Rocha Colheita - that I would now find a bite in it because this was perfection. This port is absolutely, perfectly smooth. The flavors are intense but so well integrated that it took me several minutes to be able to separate any of them out. The first two that I was finally able to settle on were molasses and honey. The molasses played with the senses. It was only there for that first swish in your mouth after taking a sip, floating through that small amount of air and then disappearing until the next sip. The honey was more of a mouth feel than an actual flavor. The consistency made me think of heated honey. It wasn't syrupy. I was eventually able to decide that I could also taste raisins, possibly dates, and possibly apricots. But the flavors were so well integrated and so smooth that it was a struggle to pull out any single taste to write down. This is the standard bearer for me now.

Finally,the finish was long and sublime. I noted that, unlike most other ports I have tasted, the finish here was continuous, mellow, slow and smooth. I feel like the finishes on most ports race from one flavor to the next, sometimes wildy changing over time before they abruptly end. Sometimes they're then followed by an aftertaste. But not here... the citrus, honey and molasses simply glided off into the ether leaving behind nothing but a haunting memory. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that the port left a thin residue of fat behind on my lips much like a good Daube de Boeuf will leave behind. I kept licking my lips to retrieve every last molecule.

This is by far the most impressive Port that I have tasted, and could very well never be surpassed. I don't rate Ports because I don't know enough about them yet, but if this isn't 100 points I don't know what possibly could be.

Thank you again, Roy, for such a wonderful opportunity!

[Shawn Denkler]

The 1906 Brunheda Colheita Port sounds fantastic. Roy you metioned a single barrel aging. To be as fantastic as you describe I would assume it has been freshened with a younger vintage at this point. But you describe the color as "dark mahogany color with a greenish meniscus". This is often the sign of a very old wine and some madeira has the greenish edge.

I would be curious to know more about the wine and Brunheda in general.

[Roy Hersh]

I had reason to check back on this TN and noticed I never answered Shawn's question.

I am positive that the cask this was held in, had never been refreshed by any younger Port.

[Frederick Blais]

I had reason to check back on this TN and noticed I never answered Shawn's question.

I am positive that the cask this was held in, had never been refreshed by any younger Port.

Very interesting then, do you know how many cask there was at the beginning?

[Roy Hersh]

From memory, there was only one or possibly two and supposedly not a single bottle has been, or will ever be sold.

[Andy Velebil]

I had reason to check back on this TN and noticed I never answered Shawn's question.

.

So does that mean you drank another bottle of this?

[Frederick Blais]

From memory, there was only one or possibly two and supposedly not a single bottle has been, or will ever be sold.

I ask that because if there was only one barrel of this at the beginning, it would mean that with evaporation and baking in the Douro, not much would be left after 100 yo. If the barrel was still looking like you could take liquid with a pipette, there was either other barrels or it was refreshed.

[Roy Hersh]

Andy,

Yes, the other bottle was consumed in London with Tom, Derek & Nicos and did not show as well. I assume part of that was bottle shock as I had just carried it from Portugal to the UK. I'd love to try it again at least one more time in my life.

[Andy Velebil]

Andy,

Unfortunately that was not the case. I'd love to try it again at least one more time in my life.

Thats too bad But if you ever cross paths with it again, do me a favor and save me a taste

[Glenn E.]

I had reason to try to find my earliest ever tasting notes today, and while looking that up in the TNDB I also saw my TN for this Port. Re-reading this thread has me smiling... I can still remember that night and that first taste.

There is once again a bottle in the US - very likely the only bottle outside of the Quinta itself. On the 2019 Port Harvest Tour, we visited a very special old warehouse in a very small town where we got to taste Port from very old Brunheda tonéis. The oldest - Tonel #4 - was last topped off in the 1930s and it was already a very old Port at that time. The Port within was magnificent, but even so couldn't compare to this beauty.

Roy had arranged for our hosts to let me acquire a bottle from my birth year, 1964, and also one bottle of this 1906 Colheita. It is now slumbering peacefully in my cellar awaiting the right tasting. It is no longer the only Port I have awarded 100 points - the Mourao "60" and Mourao "100" (original blend) received the same score back-to-back at the Quinta in 2014, which were then followed by the Mourao "100" (new blend) and Mourao "CL" on later visits, but it is still exclusive company and I will always remember this first taste.