1964 Quinta do Noval Colheita

[Glenn E.]

I've had this bottle for a few years, but can't remember exactly where I got it. It was likely purchased during my frenzied stocking up of anything I could find from 1964, during which I single-handedly raised the going price of this Port from ~$80 to ~$120/bottle. Yes, it was possible to buy a 1964 Colheita for as little as $80 in 2008 or 2009. I opened this for dinner on my birthday at the Purple Café in Bellevue.

1964 Quinta do Noval Colheita
bottled 2006

Color: Dark orange-brown. It isn't a classic tawny (caramel) color, but has harder tones to it and orange highlights.

Nose: Caramel, toffee, butterscotch, very mild VA, vanilla, and a touch of aromatic spirit.

Palate: Gloriously smooth and velvety. Sweet entry backed up by solid acidity. Tangy, but not too tangy. Crème brulèe-like notes, but if the sugar used was brown sugar instead of white sugar. Plenty of brown sugar. Mild and sweet blood orange, soft meyer lemon, some sort of tangerine-like note but not that bright. Just a wonderful Port for sipping and enjoying.

Finish: Very long. Potentially hours if you have the patience. It seems to last forever. Nice tart dried fruits, some citrus, some toffee. Resolves after a very long tail-off with Granny Smith apples.

Score: 98 points. A tough one, as it was for my birthday and we were at my favorite restaurant. So it may be partly the environment and partly the occasion, but this was nirvana in a bottle. It has lost a point or two now, two days later, but on Thursday there was no doubt in my mind.

[Bradley Bogdan]

A worthy birthday bottle it seems! Congrats!


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[Andy Velebil]

Happy birthday and that's a great bottle. To bad there is no more other than what is already bottled.


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