For The Love Of Port

I was wondering about the bottling date of colheita's. Is it very important to look at? I mean: How long can you store a bottle colheita port after is has been bottled?
For example: suppose I had two bottles of Kopke 1952, one bottled in the eighties and the other bottled a few years ago (I don't know if these really exist).
But would there be a huge difference? Would the bottle from the eighties still be enjoyable?

Would be fun to try and find out!

I don't know about 1952 Kopke, but I bet there were plenty of 1950s colheitas bottled in the 1980s. The closest I've come was a 1955 Burmester, bottled in 1985. While slightly hazy, that bottle had an incredibly complex aroma; nice tang, acid, and tannins; and a long finish. So such a bottle can certainly be enjoyable. Will it be as crisp and fresh as a recent bottling? Probably not. Will it have other developed flavors, possibly so. Will it be better? Majority answer around here probably is no, but there will be some dissension in that vote.

It would be very fun to compare

As they are generally intended to be consumed in a reasonable time after bottling, say within 5-10 years, older bottlings of colheitas should be cheaper than more recent bottlings.

Monique Heinemans. wrote:I was wondering about the bottling date of colheita's. Is it very important to look at? I mean: How long can you store a bottle colheita port after is has been bottled?
For example: suppose I had two bottles of Kopke 1952, one bottled in the eighties and the other bottled a few years ago (I don't know if these really exist).
But would there be a huge difference? Would the bottle from the eighties still be enjoyable?

Yes, the bottling date of Colheitas is important, if for no other reason than it tells you how many years the Port spent in wood. Another side effect of the bottling date is that it tells you how long the Port has been in the bottle since it was bottled. Both of those bits of information matter, but for different reasons.

The longer a Colheita spends in wood, the richer and more complex it gets. Consider the difference between a 10-yr old Tawny, a 20-yr old Tawny, and a 40-yr old Tawny. The same applies to a Colheita. Generally speaking, you want your Colheitas to have been in wood for as long as possible. (Generally. No, it's not always 100% the case.)

The longer a Colheita spends in the bottle after it has been bottled, the rounder and more subtle the flavors become. The perceived acidity can start to fade, and some Colheitas may start to seem flabby. This isn't always the case - Niepoort Colheitas are the perfect counter-example - but in general you want to drink a Colheita within 5-8 years after it has been bottled. Some producers (such as Kopke) will hold longer than that, but others might not even hold that long.

I've had several Colheitas and TWAIOA that have 20+ years of bottle age, and they're always interesting and fun. I've never had one that was completely dead or flawed. I would say that a bottle from the 80s would still be very enjoyable, but it might not show at its best.

The two Ports you used for your example - 1952 Kopkes, one bottled in the 1980s and one bottled a few years ago - would be very different Ports. The recent bottling would have had nearly 60 years in wood, which is a very different Tawny than one with only 30 years in wood. And that's not even considering the 30 years in bottle that the 1980s bottling would have in addition.

Thanks for sharing your insight. It makes sense and I will keep it in mind when purchasing new bottles.
And yes, it would be fun to try and find out some day.