I have a soft spot for this staple of the Sogevinus stable: its vintage and single quinta vintage ports with thirty or more years of age have rarely disappointed, not least relative to the modest tariffs one generally pays at the secondary market. My more limited experience of Calem colheitas dating to the 1950s have likewise proved to be most agreeable, not least as they have struck me as being largely impervious to the ravages of lengthy repose in the bottle in a manner akin to Kopke and Niepoort tawnies. As to this younger, 2017 bottling: it served only to encourage my confidence in this producer.
Offered as a parting gift to those shepherded by Mr. Hersh to the Calem facility at Villa Nova de Gaia in September 2017, this colheita presented wonderfully in the glass, showing as it did translucent hues of amber with a clear rim. On the nose, one discerned touches of lemon zest, vanilla and white pepper, with little in the way of residual sugar in the form of caramel or suchlike being in evidence. On entry, there were notes of dark chocolate and rhubarb, these being transcended by the zest and pepper identified at the nose, along with what I took to be cinnamon. This wine really hit its stride at the finish, where gentle tannins tickled the cheeks whilst the tawny's warmth made its way slowly to the stomach in a manner redolent of better mulled wines. The colheita was on the dry side and perfectly balanced.
This is not a wine which will appeal at first blush to those fond of searing acidity in their tawnies (i.e., me) - 'tis anyhow not the Calem style, which tends towards understated gentility - though it strikes me as a young port to be applauded.
91.5 points
1996 Calem Colheita Port
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