For The Love Of Port

Eus,

I've tried matching good colheita years with harvest reports, and have failed to find a clear correlation; and sound colheitas can sometimes emerge from years that were otherwise very poorly regarded.

However, not all colheitas are really good, and the best advice is to go buy a bottle, drink it, and buy more if you like it..

A well made colheita will age well in bottle, and producers who anticipate this will normally seal them with driven corks. For that reason I have less faith in colheitas sealed with T stoppers, although there are a few exceptions to the rule..

Tom,

Who are some of your favorite producers of Colheita ... any stand out above the crowd?

Who are some of your favorite producers of Colheita ... any stand out above the crowd?

Niepoort is by some way my favourite, followed by Noval. There are a lot of good colheitas made by the smaller producers that just don't get distributed properly, so my view is somewhat slanted by availability.

I can't argue with Niepoort. I've only had a few Colheitas from Noval that have been extraordinary though.

Your premise about availability weighing in on the small producers is interesting.

I guess it is not their fault if they are unable to crack into some markets though and try to compete with the big companies with the big bucks for shelf space. For me, it is all solely about what is in the cask or bottle that counts. If I am in the Douro, and someone pours me a 19th century cask sample of something that blows my mind with its quality, it really matters not to me if they even sell their Ports at all.

I guess it is not their fault if they are unable to crack into some markets though and try to compete with the big companies with the big bucks for shelf space.

The biggest problem as far as the UK is concerned is the habit of producers signing exclusive agency deals with companies that then underperform - sometimes massively so.

Most of the producers, including the major ones, would, IMO, be far better off selling to all comers, and tearing up their exclusivity contracts.

Here is an excellent example of the level of knowledge of what the word Colheita means to a London wine merchant…
This place markets itself as a wine museum where enthusiasts can learn about their favourite wine.