Colheitas, the least understood Port?

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:53 pm

Of course Crusted and Garrafeiras are even more rare and less well known. But neither of those is really a factor, as you can't find Garrafeiras without huge effort and expense and Crusted in the North America is ridiculously scarce.

So, sticking to Colheita for the moment ...

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?

Jay Woodruff · Post by **Jay Woodruff** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:59 pm

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

Really have to shop. Do not see many in my area. Last Colheita I saw was actually a 96 Colheita Madeira rather than a port.[/color]

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?

As much as on VP.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

Yes.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

Yes. Youngest I have had was a 94 Krohn about a month ago, but it was worth the money and was nice.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Kopke, Krohn, Niepoort.

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

1963 Kopke. Delicious.

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

Same as above.

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?[/color]

Drank both bottles of the 94 I recently purchased and since it was not locally purchased, may make it a bit more difficult.

I really enjoy Colheita Porto and find it just as complex and wonderful as VP though obviously different.
Makes me want to open a bottle of 63 Rocha but will actually open the 96 Colheita Madeira strangely enough.

Jay.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:01 am

Sorry for being gone for a bit, the darn DSL went down.

Here is my

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them? A few here and there, almost all are Krohn's

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita? Depends, but probably no more than $100 - 150 depending on age and how good it is.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas? Yes, the ones I've had, I've really enjoyed.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas? Having finally had some really good ones on the trip, I discovered how I really liked them and have now been keeping an eye out for some.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port? Have not had enough to give a definitive one, but Krohn's and Niepoort are very good. (oh, and Dalva too)

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried? Ramos Pinto 1937 (Engarrafado 2000) and from a sample bottle, 1890 Ramos Pinto

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed? See above question

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita? Post my note there soon

Jan-Tore Egge · Post by **Jan-Tore Egge** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:32 pm

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

At the moment, 17 different products are listed in this country.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?

I would expect to pay between NOK 500 and 600 (currently USD 75 to 90) for a Niepoort 1979 (or the Quinta do Noval 1974). The Niepoort 1937 was available a couple of years ago, and I regret not asking a couple of friends to split the costs of a bottle. In other words, I didn't buy it.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

Yes, it's a very interesting category of wine.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

I don't find the few I've tried that interesting. I'd rather buy a 10YO Tawny or a 20YO Tawny.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Niepoort!

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

1934

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

Niepoort 1937 (at a tasting, though)

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?

No. Maybe I should.

John Conwell · Post by **John Conwell** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:45 pm

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them? Living in Seattle, I see a ton of Kopka and Rocha Colheita at most shops that carry ports. The only other brand I've seen here is Royal Oporto, but only at one shop. If I want to try any thing else, I have to order it.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita? For every day drinking up to $40 for a half. On special ocations I'd go as high as $150 probably

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas? I think they should. But if they do, they should also do something about the common knowledge of Colheita. Almost no one that I know, even port drinkers, knows what a Colheita is.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas? Yes, I've had several good young Colheitas. But for every day drinkin I prefer late 70's to mid 80's

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port? I've only tried Kopka, Rocha, and Royal. I've had really good from both Kopka and Rocha, but I thought Royal was fairly plain.

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried? Kopka 1963

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed? Probably '78 or '80 Kopka

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita? Yup[/b]

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 11:23 am

Jay,

I am in full agreement about the 1963 Kopke. Besides their really old ones from the latter half of the 1930s, I am a huge fan of the '63 as well as 1952 & 1957.

Andy,

I know a bunch of folks that will never forget the 1952 Dalva Colheita. I am one of 'em!

Jan,

Grab a bottle of the Noval '74 if you can! I have a few producers' Colheitas from 1937 and the Niepoort and Noval are the best two that I have opened so far. Any plans to visit the USA?
Like you, I am not all that crazy about young Colheita as they show little of the characteristics that intrigue me in older bottlings. I prefer young VP to young Colheitas in terms of enjoying youthfulness.

John C.

Have you been to the Spanish Table? They have had some Niepoort Colheitas there too. Did you have the '63 Kopke from Redmond Fine Wine and Cigars or at the Purple Cafe & Wine Bar in Kirkland? I will be arranging a wine dinner offline in early 2007 with a few bottles of Colheita. Get one of yours ready for slaughter.

Frederick Blais · Post by **Frederick Blais** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 11:47 am

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

Right now the SAQ in Quebec is not offering lots of choices, we have some Warre's, Dow's, Feist, Barros, Krhon and I'm passing the Messias. We are certainly missing the Kopke and Niepoort along with the Noval that are offered in small quantities(32 bottles) every 2 years.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?
I don't mind going up to 100$ for a good quality Colheita from a good producer. Right now it seems that there is a gap in prices. Either you pay under 100$ for the 30 year old and less stuff or over 300$ for the older stuff.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?
As long as the increase doesn't affect the quality of the colheita. But it is always a question of demand, if the demand increase I'm sure that they will raise the production pretty soon!

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

Yes I do :)

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Especially Niepoort and Noval

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

1950 Quinta do Castelinho, was ok but nothing to write to your mother about.

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?
I'd say the 1978 Niepoort, my birth year and indeed it was really good. Ones of Dirk favorite he told me.

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?

Well, of course!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out of the gossip of the trip, it seems that this category could dissapear in a near future. It is hard to understand for the customer what is a colheita, or maybe it is not well explained to them. Also it is a pain in the ass as the way the IVDP can validate the quality of this category. So many things are tolerated now, some refresh, some don't, some refresh with old blends. In the end, a lot of people in the port trade are not satisfied with this category and the regulation is not really respected but only tolerated!

Paul_B · Post by **Paul_B** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:13 pm

Hi all,

my best Colheita experience was when I opened a very rare box set of 5 200ml Noval Colheitas (64,71,74,76,84) which I think I bought in Sweden and where bottle in 1997.

Tasting one after the other was a wonderful moment. Unfortunately I didn't take notes but I recall the 71 or 74 being much better than the others. And since Roy mentioned 74, I'm guessing that's the one.

I'd love to see more choice of Colheitas, I think these small size box sets would be great hits. And then they should offer the same bottle in normal 750 size.

They could have themes like
adding the years to some round number
or 5 consecutive years
or every 5 years
or 1 per decade
or you pick 5 from the lot

I also had bought an old Calem's too from the 60's not to exciting, alchool was too dominant.

The SAQ had a good one from Santa Barbara some years ago too.

cheers
paba

Jay Powers · Post by **Jay Powers** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:12 pm

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them? Lots of Kopke around the Bay Area, and Niepoort is available at one shop near me.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita? I would spend as much as on anything, including old VP or Madeira.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas? Yes

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas? Not nearly so much as the older ones. I have not thought that Colheita I have had from the 90's were as good as VP from the same period, particularly 94. But the older ones can be better than the best VP

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port? Niepoort, Ramos Pinto. Looking to expand that list.

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried? 1890 (but that was not from a bottling so perhaps it does not count?) The next oldest was 1937 Ramos Pinto, followed by the 1952 Dalva Golden White.

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed? The three above were all fantastic, some of the best wines I have ever had.

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita? Yes, but the 94 Niepoort I was saving for it has been reported several times already, plus we had it on the trip as well so I dont feel a strong need to open it now given, the excellent notes already posted, and I cannot find another producer in that year near me.

The recent FTLOP trip to Portugal was a real eye opener for me on the topic of Colheita, and now I'm a huge fan. I brought a couple of bottles of the 52 Dalva and one of the 37 Noval home with me, and now need to greatly expand me collection.

Jay

Ronald Wortel · Post by **Ronald Wortel** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:39 pm

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?
The Netherlands are a typical tawny market (as opposed to, for instance, the UK), so we see a lot of colheitas on the shelves. Kopke is everywhere, but also Krohn, Niepoort and Noval can be found pretty easily.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?
Depends. Very good colheitas can be found between €40 and €50 (I regularly buy Noval '74 for €35 ex VAT), so if I'm going to spend more it has to be something special, with preferably a recent bottling date.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?
They will if demand increases.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?
No, I prefer a 10YOT to a young colheita.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?
Noval, Niepoort, Kopke.

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?
1871 Quinta do Loureiro

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?
Oof, difficult. IMHO the Noval 1974 is absolute top level. The 1952 Presidential White was great as well. Not technically a colheita, and not the best, but very enjoyable, and certainly special was the 1963 Casa do Douro (bottled when the Casa do Douro decided to sell parts of its stock).

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?
No, I think '94 is still too young for a colheita.

John Conwell · Post by **John Conwell** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:20 am

Roy Hersh wrote:John C.

Have you been to the Spanish Table? They have had some Niepoort Colheitas there too. Did you have the '63 Kopke from Redmond Fine Wine and Cigars or at the Purple Cafe & Wine Bar in Kirkland? I will be arranging a wine dinner offline in early 2007 with a few bottles of Colheita. Get one of yours ready for slaughter.

Been to the Spanish Table? Ha! I'm there so often I think they are getting sick of me

The ST is about 10 minute walk from work, so its very very convienient. I was just there last Friday checking out their new storefront. Very spacious and nice. Unfortunatly, their supply of Colheita is really low right now, so the pickings were really sparse. I havent seen any Niepoort Colheita there, but I'll keep checking back in there.

I got the '63 Kopke from the Spanish Table. I've only been to Redmond Fine Wine and Cigars once, and they seems to pretty much have the exact same select as the ST does.

Eric Duprey · Post by **Eric Duprey** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:13 pm

I was very pleased to have an opportunity to try some amazing colheitas on the harvest trip, especially since I'd had little experience with them previously.

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

I only really see them in very well-stocked wine shops in Manhattan.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?

$100-$200

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

I think they should make more of an effort to promote them first. Most people understand what vintage means but colheita is a bit of a confusing concept. Since a colheita usually costs a bit less than a vintage of the same year, some people might assume that they are inferior to the vintage, and shy away from them.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

I found the Niepoort 94 and 95 colheitas to be very enjoyable.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Niepoort, Ramos-Pinto

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

Ramos-Pinto 1890

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

Dalva 1952 Golden White

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?[/quote]

Let me go check that out.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:38 pm

Eric,
Glad to see you back in the fold, posting again. I was getting ready to call out Search and Rescue to find ya

Derek T. · Post by **Derek T.** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 7:15 am

Andy V. wrote:Eric,
Glad to see you back in the fold, posting again. I was getting ready to call out Search and Rescue to find ya

Perhaps Eric has just sobbered-up from that fabulous night at Noval

Derek

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:14 pm

I figured that anybody interested in posting here would have done so by now, so it is safe to put my toe in the water, so to speak. I considered not answering my own questions, but what the heck ... it is Monday, I have not had any Port in days and this is the closest I will come to it, until a 40 year old Tawny Port, (FINALLY!) later this evening.

Without further ado ...

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

As the Rocha/Kopke importer is based a few miles from me, the entire Seattle area is loaded with these two brands of Colheitas as well as some Niepoort and a small quantity of other producers.

* What is the most that you are willing to spend on a Colheita?

$300-400 for something in good condition from the 19th century

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

Absolutely, while also finding a better way to educate restaurants, retailers and consumers about this fantastic category of Port wine.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

Not particularly. Then again, I don't buy 10 year old Tawny Ports either. I prefer the aged Tawny characteristics of an older Colheita and by that I mean from the 1970s or older.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Quinta do Noval, Niepoort, Burmester, Kopke, Dalva all make consistently excellent Colheitas.

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

The very oldest was a bottle of 1853 Whitwham’s Millennium Port, King Pedro V Royal Reserve Port, followed by 1863 Ferreira and 1863 Niepoort. However, I expect this condition to change in 2007!

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

I don't think it possible to pick just one, as so many stand out in my mind.

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?

Yes, I placed my TN there already.

Al B. · Post by **Al B.** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:58 am

Coming back to the forum after a 10 day enforced break, I realised that this was a thread that I have not responded to. So here are my answers:

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

They are not easy to find in the UK, although with a bit of work you can find them on the stock lists of a fair number of on-line wine retailers. I also saw the QdN 1974 Colheita in Oddbins Fine Wine shop in Farringdon the other day.

* What is the most that you are willing to spend on a Colheita?

That would depend on whether it was for "everyday" drinking or was a rare / unique piece. For "everyday" drinking my taste is more for a bottle aged style so I would probably look to pay no more than £20-30. For a rare and unique wine it would very much depend on my particular financial situation at the time - "everyday" wine is a necessity but unique wine is a luxury.

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

Not while there is a lack of knowledge and understanding in the market for these wines. Better, rather, to squirrel away the odd barrel or two and leave them in an obscure and damp part of the cellar for 60 years.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

Yes. I had a glass of the 1994 Portal colheita in a restaurant on Monday and it was a lovely end to the meal - so much so that two of the guests I was with decided to stay and have another after I had to leave!

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Burmester is probably my favourite, QdN next but my experience is VERY limited.

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

My first, and for a long time, only colheita experience was a bottle of Burmester 1937 that was bought at Lisbon airport approximately 15 years ago. To date, that is still the oldest wine (of any kind) that I have ever drunk.

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

It would be the Burmester 1937.

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?

I did consider participating but did not have the time or the opportunity to do so. Perhaps later I'll come back to it.

Eric Duprey · Post by **Eric Duprey** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:06 pm

Derek Turnbull wrote:
Andy V. wrote:Eric,
Glad to see you back in the fold, posting again. I was getting ready to call out Search and Rescue to find ya
Perhaps Eric has just sobbered-up from that fabulous night at Noval

Derek

Eric is alive and well. He just gets distracted from time to time.

That night at Noval was pretty intense, wasn't it?

Speaking of colheitas, My brother just gave me a bottle of Feist 1963 Colheita as an early Christmas present. From the reviews of Feist VP's I've seen I'm not expecting much, but I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with their colheitas?

Derek T. · Post by **Derek T.** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 6:11 pm

Eric,

I have had a few bottles of the Feist 1965 Colheita this year. They were unspectacular and a bit too thick and toffee-like for my taste. That said, I bought them for 12 Euro per bottle so I didn't complain 8)

Let us know how you find the 1963

Derek

Post by **Roy Hersh** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 2:02 am

A fabulous read on Colheitas that is very educational:

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/sho ... Rocha+port

Nikolaj Winther · Post by **Nikolaj Winther** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 6:18 am

* Do you see many of them on the shelves or do you really have to shop for them?

I really have to shop for them.

* What is the most that you willing to spend on a Colheita?

100$US

* Should the Port trade increase their production of Colheitas?

Yes - or the retailers in Denmark should increase their stock.

* Do you enjoy drinking young Colheitas?

Very much so. Mainly because they are cheap and thus available. Old Colheita is a rarity in Denmark.

* What are your favorite producers of this type of Port?

Burmester and Calem

* What is the oldest Colheita you have ever tried?

1982 Seppelt Para Tawny (don't hit me) or 1985 Burmester.

* What is the best Colheita you have consumed?

1987 Burmester

* Have you had a look at or considered participating in the FTLOP (Oct.) VIRTUAL TASTING of any 1994 Colheita?

No

As you can see, there's not much to choose from in Denmark. Calem, Porto Pocas (who's doing better BTW), Burmester and, to a lesser degree, Kopke are the only ones really there. And then there's only one or two vintages available. Recently it was the 1994 Calem and the 1990 Pocas and they are both lovely. But they don't get much older than that, and the really cool wine stores rarely have colheita. They tend to go for vintage and 10/20yo's.

For The Love Of Port

Colheitas, the least understood Port?

Colheitas, the least understood Port?

Re: Colheitas, the least understood Port?

Re: Colheitas, the least understood Port?