Cloudy Colheita

[Ben Lair]

Hello All,

This is my first post. I have been "lurking" for quite a while and have learned so much. I did a search for this topic and have a question as I could not find a similar thread. I just opened a 1986 Colheita and poured a glass. It is extremely cloudy with much sediment. It was bottled in 2006. Taste and smell are similar to older tawnies I have had in the past.

I have to admit it is not very attractive to look at. Any suggestions and thoughts?

[Andy Velebil]

Who is the producer?


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[Edward J]

Who is the producer?

I'm going to say Rocha, because that is exactly what I got when I opened my 375ml bottle. Quite a bit of sediment in the neck, from being on it's side for 10 years?
I haven't done a TN yet because I'm waiting to finish the bottle.

[Ben Lair]

Edward nailed it. It is a Rocha. This is just not something I have seen with a tawny (colheita) at all. At the same time I poured a Taylor 20 year and the clarity comparison was stunning. I will be posting a TN as well. Should I double decant it and take it from there?

[Andy Velebil]

Edward nailed it. It is a Rocha. This is just not something I have seen with a tawny (colheita) at all. At the same time I poured a Taylor 20 year and the clarity comparison was stunning. I will be posting a TN as well. Should I double decant it and take it from there?

If the bottling date was some time ago this is normal. Often an older-bottled tawny will throw a very fine sediment that stirs up very easily and takes a long time to settle out again. Looks funky but the Port should be fine.

[Glenn E.]

Edward nailed it. It is a Rocha. This is just not something I have seen with a tawny (colheita) at all. At the same time I poured a Taylor 20 year and the clarity comparison was stunning. I will be posting a TN as well. Should I double decant it and take it from there?

If the bottling date was some time ago this is normal. Often an older-bottled tawny will throw a very fine sediment that stirs up very easily and takes a long time to settle out again. Looks funky but the Port should be fine.

As Andy said, this is pretty normal.

Sogevinus (the parent company of Porto Rocha as well as Kopke, Burmester, Calem, and a couple of others) uses a light hand when filtering their Colheitas. This means that they will generally hold well in bottle for several years, but it also means that they may throw the fine sediment that Andy is talking about. It doesn't hurt the Port in any way other than making it look cloudy. The last glass from the bottle might feel very slightly gritty, too, unless you're careful when pouring.

[Thomas V]

Great insight Glenn.

I have seen this cloudy appearance in a 1999 Barros colheita as well, which makes sense since it it produced by the Sogevinus group.

[Will W.]

Whilst still very much a novice when it comes to port, I was taken aback by the cloudiness of the Pocas Junior 1994 Colheita (bottled 2014), which I opened this weekend. The bottle was decanted and consumed over two days, though the cloudiness persisted. I must confess that I found the haze somehow unappealling, insofar as the cloudiness was a first in my limited experience, but the wine was otherwise perfectly enjoyable - and I suppose reasonably priced at about Euro 20 per bottle.

[Andy Velebil]

Whilst still very much a novice when it comes to port, I was taken aback by the cloudiness of the Pocas Junior 1994 Colheita (bottled 2014), which I opened this weekend. The bottle was decanted and consumed over two days, though the cloudiness persisted. I must confess that I found the haze somehow unappealling, insofar as the cloudiness was a first in my limited experience, but the wine was otherwise perfectly enjoyable - and I suppose reasonably priced at about Euro 20 per bottle.

Wow a really good price. This type of cloudiness from colheitas tend to take a really long time to settle back out, as in weeks or months. It's a very different type of sediment (exceedingly fine) than what is seen your typical VP.


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[Eric Menchen]

Here's an empty hazy bottle, 1997 Barros Colheita.

[Al B.]

I have only ever been able to come up with two ways to remove this kind of haze from a port:
(1) Stand it upright for a week or two before you open it, then open and decant it as gingerly as possible
(2) Use an unbleached coffee filter paper

But as others have said, it tends to affect the look of the port rather than the taste.