What have you opened this week?

[Mike J. W.]

150 year old Tawny Port cask sample. Unreleased yet.

1982 Graham's Single Harvest Tawny Port bottled 2018

Dos Santos 10 year old White Port

1957 Niepoort Colheita - bottled 1976

How was the 1957 Niepoort Colheita? (That's my birth year)

What about the Dos Santos 10 year old white? I've seen their whites and tawnies online recently buy haven't tried any.

I can hazard a guess where the 150 year old Tawny is from.

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Mike:

How was the 1957 Niepoort Colheita? (That's my birth year) - mine too. While there will be a TN in the newsletter #125, as it is already written, I can say that it was a top performer and compared to other bottles, more light-medium ruby color mixed with tawny. But wonderful overall. That said, it was given to me by Daniel Niepoort when he was at my home 2 weeks ago, for the interview for the newsletter. He asked me to blind taste with that bottle when having dinner with an employee of his company, that is a close friend of mine: Stefano Marello, who used to live a few miles away from me in WA State, before he moved back here. The bottle was wrapped before we went to his house and as he knew it was a Niepoort from the bottle size/shape, I just undid the foil and we drank it except for about six ounces which he told me to take home to write a solid note, which I did a couple of nights later.

What about the Dos Santos 10 year old white? I've seen their whites and tawnies online recently buy haven't tried any. - For a 10 White, it is good with solid weight and depth of aromatics and flavors. I'd put it in the middle of the category in terms of overall drinking pleasure, but the aromatics stood out for me and the length was also above average.

I can hazard a guess where the 150 year old Tawny is from. - Doubtful. It has never been mentioned anywhere, yet.

See you in a few weeks, unless something goes wrong at the airport.

[Al B.]

Kopke 2010 White Colheita - it’s OK but I’d prefer the 10 or 20YO blend.

Poças’s 1996 Colheita - big, young and still very fruit driven.

1965 Quinta de Vargellas - rather nice, mature and very easy drinking (but not as good as the Dow 1963 that was also opened, but not by me).

1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional - still so young and so full of primary redcurrant. Glorious wine, but needed 24 hours to really open up properly.

[Glenn E.]

1995 Porto Souza Vintage Port

My wife's aunt's book club read the book Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, which contains several references to Vintage Port that create a theme of connection between characters. They asked me to come to their club meeting and have a short discussion about Port, and I thought this would be a nice VP to have while having the discussion.

[Mike J. W.]

Kopke 2010 White Colheita - it’s OK but I’d prefer the 10 or 20YO blend.

Poças’s 1996 Colheita - big, young and still very fruit driven.

1965 Quinta de Vargellas - rather nice, mature and very easy drinking (but not as good as the Dow 1963 also opened that not, but not by me).

1963 Quinta do Noval Nacional - still so young and so full of primary redcurrant. Glorious wine, but needed 24 hours to really open up properly.

Alex, if you can still find the 2008 or 2003 Kopke White Colheita, they are very good. I especially like the 2008. I'm not a huge fan of Kopke's WWAIOA. To me, they seem to be lacking. Their White Colheitas on the other hand are pretty good. Of course we all like what we like, so go figure.

[Mike J. W.]

Enologo 40 y.o. Tawny. It's very good and it tastes like I'm drinking a glass of smoky, woody, Maple syrup / Butterscotch.

[Al B.]

Alex, if you can still find the 2008 or 2003 Kopke White Colheita, they are very good. I especially like the 2008. I'm not a huge fan of Kopke's WWAIOA. To me, they seem to be lacking. Their White Colheitas on the other hand are pretty good. Of course we all like what we like, so go figure.

I agree on the White Colheita recommendations. I think the 2003 is way better than the 2010.

But I also think I like the White with Indication of Age more than you do. The 50YO is an amazing wine...

[Al B.]

Gould Campbell 1977 from magnum. What can I say? I didn't want to run out over the weekend.

[Mike J. W.]

Quinta Vale d'Aldeia 10 year old Tawny. I saw this at Planet of Wine, a liquor store in Linden, NJ that specializes in Port and Portuguese wines (thanks Matt W. for the tip). I had never seen it or heard of it before, so I decided to try it. It's dry and I was thinking to myself that it reminded me a lot of Quevedo's style. And then I looked at the back label tonight and of course, it was produced by Quevedo, lol. Quinta Vale d'Aldeia is owned by the Reverendo family and it looks like they started in 2009. This is a 2018 bottling.

EDIT: This turned south pretty quickly. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Mike J. W.]

Van Zellers White Port (bottled 2025 in a short, dumpy bottle and green label). It's their basic white Port, but this one's a real winner. It's in a dry style, but it's perfectly balanced and pretty smooth. It reminds me of a cross between a Bual Madeira and a Riesling Feinherb. You can find it for around $18 or $19. I imagine this would be perfect for a Port Tonic as well.

[Moses Botbol]

2020 Niepoort LBV - One of the better LBV's I have had in recent memory. Lots of dark chocolate and a drier style. Really top notch and sets the bar for me.

[Glenn E.]

S. Leonardo Porto Mother Wine Origin of the 30 Year Old Tawny Port (500 ml, b. 2022)

This was bottled straight out of the infamous Tonel #9 at Port Knox, and IIRC is a 1972 Colheita that lacks proper documentation to be bottled and labeled as such. It was always one of my favorite Ports to get to taste when visiting Quinta do Mourao, and we'd always stand in the open area right in front of Tonel #9 while tasting through the lineups with Miguel.

Miguel also bottled a "Mother of the 40" which was a 1948 Colheita, but those were too pricey for my budget when we had the opportunity to buy them.

Tonel #9 was repurposed to hold a 1994 Colheita, and then of course Quinta do Mourao was sold to Falua so who knows what it contains now. These bottles take me back to the "good old days" and our visits with Miguel and Rita.

[Mike J. W.]

Burmester 20 y.o. Tawny (bottled 2017). A good, solid 20 y.o. Tawny for under $55.

[Al B.]

Quinta da Devesa 40YO Tawny. I love the elegance of the blend, as well as the power. This bottle was opened 2 weeks ago and is still half full - to be sipped and savoured on the odd evening.

[John M.]

1980 Ferreira...a leaker. Super saturated cork and depressed. Unless this comes around miraculously I'll have to open the backup bottle.... which is a 1963 Croft.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!!

[John M.]

1980 Ferreira...a leaker. Super saturated cork and depressed. Unless this comes around miraculously I'll have to open the backup bottle.... which is a 1963 Croft.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!!

Miracles do happen.... or I should have had faith. Really opened up when decanted and aired a couple hours.

Not great but good. Not quite as nice as the same wine had at a recent Ferreira tasting, either. 88 Points but not a perfect bottle. It was a great coda to a lovely Easter dinner.

[Andy Velebil]

1973 Quinta da Devesa Finest Reserve Branco Port.

[Glenn E.]

1973 Quinta da Devesa Finest Reserve Branco Port.

A year-dated "Finest Reserve"? That seems like an odd labeling.

[Andy Velebil]

1973 Quinta da Devesa Finest Reserve Branco Port.

A year-dated "Finest Reserve"? That seems like an odd labeling.

This bottle did not have the year sticker on it. But subsequent ones released they got permission and simply added an oval sticker with “1973” on it.

However I know what it is as I’ve tasted both large barrels it came from and gave them advice on what to do with it (mix the two and bottle it). The two barrels, while the same year, are distinctly different.

[Mike J. W.]

2013 Ramos Pinto LBV (unfiltered and bottled in 2017). It's young and needs a long decant. Very fruity as expected. It was good but needs more time in the cellar.

(Opened Mar. 31)