1997 Quevedo Colheita Cask

[Glenn E.]

1997 Quevedo Colheita Cask (bottled 2022)

Day 6 of the 2022 Quevedo Prestige Advent Calendar

Color: med dark garnet, some red, opaque center. Oddly somewhat less oxidated visually than the Tonel version even though it should be more oxidated.

Nose: red fruit first, then vanilla frosting, then cream cheese frosting. Also basically smells like a youngish Colheita. Some tanginess from a deep whiff. Some minerality, too, but more normal and not stoney like the Tonel version.

Palate: smooth and warm, some feel of cinnamon but not taste. A bit firmer than the Tonel version and less round. Some caramelized fruit notes, but mostly just rich secondary fruit flavors. Tastes like something that was bottled in transition... it's clearly headed toward tawny, but isn't there yet and still retains significant ruby fruit notes (but of a secondary nature).

Score: 93 points. As above, kind of generic as a Port and strange as a Tawny. It tastes more like a super high quality ruby reserve or 10 year old Tawny (or even better, a blend of the two), not a 25 year old Colheita. I like this version slightly better than the Tonel version.