For The Love Of Port

Just for Kelly . . .

1980 Niepoort Colheita Porto, bottled in 2002 (Douro Valley, Portugal): Very pale, very translucent reddish-orange -- the color of onion skin -- clear and brilliant to the eye; the bouquet is a seamless marriage of sweet figs, dates, orange zest, China tea, even a touch of Poire William, combines with aromatic spices; medium-bodied, satiny, almost velvety in texture, the flavors expand on the palate, echoing the bouquet, with more spice, some anise and almost a brown sugar sweetness; solid structure, with good acidity, carries the wine through its incredibly long finish. Truly magnificent!

Cheers,
Jason

I've taste the 1980 colheita this spring, I've got similar tasting notes with maybe the spices was more obvious and a little alcoolic touch on the finale. It was bottled in 2000 and brought back from a friend who traveled in Denver.

The next one I'm going to open is the 1982 bottled in 1991, its my second bottle and last one of this magnificient and complex colheita, a good step ahead of the 1980. From tasting notes I've seen around the web, Niepoort's Colheita just keep getting better with bottle age!