Seeking "The Authentic Colheita" experience...?

[WineLoverPT]

Over in this thread...
http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8650

Next step: stop drinking those terrible hybrids known as 10-yr old Tawnies (and similar-aged Colheitas). Those are tawnies for people who cannot let go. Fly. Be free.

To date, the bottles in the tawny corner have not delighted me as much as the bottles in the ruby corner.
But, perhaps that's because I have been trying "terrible hybrids".

In a similar vein to the most excellent "Authentic Vintage Port" thread, which has cost me 100 euros (the alien said he would pay, but aliens are obviously not to be trusted), but assured me of an excellent bottle for the near future, here I am again, with another 100 euros to spend on furthering my Port education under the title: "Excellent bottle of Colheita".

Since I know nothing, I went again to Garrafeira Nacional...
http://www.garrafeiranacional.com/vinho ... price&p=10
and this is a list of everything Colheita between 70 and 100 euros.

1964 Casa do Douro Porto 99,00 €
1967 Dalva Reserva Porto 97,50 €
1976 Niepoort Colheita Porto 97,50 €
1968 Messias Colheita Porto 95,00 €
1969 Dows Colheita Porto 95,00 €
1969 Quinta do Castelinho Colheita Porto 95,00 €
1975 Kopke Colheita Porto 95,00 €
1989 Real Vinicola Centenário Porto 95,00 €
1976 Kopke Colheita Porto 90,00 €
1977 Kopke Colheita Porto 90,00 €
1987 Noval Colheita Porto 89,00 €
1977 Quinta do Infantado Colheita Porto 87,50 €
1977 Messias Colheita Porto 85,00 €
1974 Kopke Colheita Porto 84,00 €
1975 Hutcheson Colheita Porto 79,00 €
1977 Royal Oporto Colheita Porto 79,00 €
1980 Krohn Colheita Porto 79,00 €
1977 Real Companhia Velha Colheita Porto 78,00 €
1978 Kopke Colheita Porto 73,00 €

My 100 euros is waiting for recommendations...

[Alex Bridgeman]

Gosh, those are rather high prices. However if GN is where you want to buy then I would point you gently towards the Infantado 1977 and urge you strongly not to buy the Casa do Douro 1964 under any circumstances - the Casa do Douro ports are really quite poor.

And remember, I know nothing about colheita port since 99% of the port I own and drink is ruby port!

[LGTrotter]

Dunno, can't quite see the point of them really.

Glenn, where are you? It's all your fault this chap is about to blow good money on something brown.

[WineLoverPT]

Gosh, those are rather high prices. However if GN is where you want to buy...!

In fact, I rarely buy from GN, but I had to get a list from somewhere, and they are who I chose.
I live in a small city (technically it's a city, more like a small town really) - population 25,000.
We have a single wine shop and I deal (often) with the lovely Cátia - I send her emails, and she has, to date, been able to source everything I've asked for (wine and port), often at prices below GN etc. Whenever we go supermarket shopping I hop in and pick up the latest treasures she has for me.

What would you think a good price for the Infantado 1977?

[Glenn E.]

The 1967 Dalva, 1976 Niepoort, 1976 Kopke, 1977 Kopke, 1978 Kopke, and 1987 Noval are all excellent examples of what Colheitas can be. I have had the 1976 Krohn before and it is fantastic, but never the 1980. However the 1980 might be worth a try simply because the 1976 version is so good.

There is, however, one further consideration when purchasing any Tawny Port. What are the bottling dates? I have had the 1987 Noval on a couple of occasions, one of which was bottled in (as I recall) 1994. That one wasn't terribly good, being one of the "terrible hybrids," but the others which were bottled much more recently were very nice.

You're looking for bottling dates in at least the late 2000s if not 2010+. Less than 5 years in bottle would be best.

I second AHB's recommendation to avoid the 1964 Casa do Douro. I'm a 1964 birthday yet even I've avoided it due to reputation. I'd like to try it some day, but not at 99 Euros.

[jdaw1]

with the lovely Cátia

Have you considered spending the €100 on “the lovely Cátia”? Much more pleasurable than the tawnies.

[RonnieRoots]

Have a look at this website. I must admit I've only come across this shop recently and haven't a clue about their reputation, but prices look much better than GN, so it's worth a try. As Glenn says, do inform about bottling dates, they should be a recent as possible and I certainly wouldn't buy anything bottled more than 5 years ago.
As for producers, look for Niepoort, Noval, Kopke, Krohn for some top class examples. If you can find some Kopke from the 70s or early 80s within your price range, that should give you a good idea of what colheita is about.

[PhilW]

From your selected list, I would go for the Kopke 1974; very tasty.

[WineLoverPT]

I was with the lovely Cátia this morning, picking up treasures, and they had...
Barros Colheita 1981 - I don't recall the specific bottling date (doh!), but it was certainly within the last 5 years, for 60 euros.
Is that likely to be high quality?

[Glenn E.]

I was with the lovely Cátia this morning, picking up treasures, and they had...
Barros Colheita 1981 - I don't recall the specific bottling date (doh!), but it was certainly within the last 5 years, for 60 euros.
Is that likely to be high quality?

Barros makes good Colheitas, so that is encouraging. Relatively recently bottled is also encouraging.

1981 isn't really known as a Colheita year, though, so that's discouraging.

60 Euros seems like a reasonable "full retail" price for that era. I've never tasted that particular Colheita, though, so can't really offer any further advise.

[idj123]

I'd go for the Niepoort 76 (which I've had and is lovely) but I've also a fondness for Krohn Colheita (had the 82 and 78 but not the 80).