1999 Kranemann Colheita Port
Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:13 pm
This 2019 bottling, which correspondingly required no decant, was superb - just as were the two previous exemplars of this colheita from the same case purchased at the property during a pre-pandemic visit. At a price point analogous to twenty year old tawny ports, the 1999 Kranemann colheita meets - and invariably exceeds - the quality offered by Ferreira, Noval, Levandeira and any other top-drawer blend of a similar age.
In the glass on 06 February 2021, the wine was redolent of dark amber, largely translucent and showed a hint of yellow on the rim. The nose was superb, treading expertly the fine line betwixt youthful and more mature barrel-aged ports. In particular, the olfactory nerve was assaulted at the outset by cherry blossom, wood, smoke and sweet molasses, complemented by a perfectly-pleasant medicinal note. At the fore-palate, honeycomb and cherry dominated, followed by cinnamon, powdered ginger and the gentlest of citruses. The cinnamon carried on to the back, where soft tannins became discernible. The finish was fantastic: I counted three waves, once it got going fully, and the finale showed more strongly upon the contemplation of each sip. More specifically, the finish warmed the mouth and the sinuses with infusions of cherry and still more cinnamon, with nary a touch of heat in evidence; a note of nuts at this point reminded of the warming spectacle of a toddler gathering hazelnuts from beneath the trees with his mother during my visit to the quinta.
The richness of this port confused my palate somewhat; I thought it to be of medium sweetness, when in fact it contains less than 100 g/l of sugar. With 4.3 g/l of tartaric acid, this is a tawny which will not appeal immediately to those inclined to Kopke- and Niepoort-levels of acidity; for instance, persons such as myself. In the event, I cannot resist this very fine port and do hope that more might become available than the 2019 run of 460 bottles. For now, if you can find any, buy it.
-93 points
In the glass on 06 February 2021, the wine was redolent of dark amber, largely translucent and showed a hint of yellow on the rim. The nose was superb, treading expertly the fine line betwixt youthful and more mature barrel-aged ports. In particular, the olfactory nerve was assaulted at the outset by cherry blossom, wood, smoke and sweet molasses, complemented by a perfectly-pleasant medicinal note. At the fore-palate, honeycomb and cherry dominated, followed by cinnamon, powdered ginger and the gentlest of citruses. The cinnamon carried on to the back, where soft tannins became discernible. The finish was fantastic: I counted three waves, once it got going fully, and the finale showed more strongly upon the contemplation of each sip. More specifically, the finish warmed the mouth and the sinuses with infusions of cherry and still more cinnamon, with nary a touch of heat in evidence; a note of nuts at this point reminded of the warming spectacle of a toddler gathering hazelnuts from beneath the trees with his mother during my visit to the quinta.
The richness of this port confused my palate somewhat; I thought it to be of medium sweetness, when in fact it contains less than 100 g/l of sugar. With 4.3 g/l of tartaric acid, this is a tawny which will not appeal immediately to those inclined to Kopke- and Niepoort-levels of acidity; for instance, persons such as myself. In the event, I cannot resist this very fine port and do hope that more might become available than the 2019 run of 460 bottles. For now, if you can find any, buy it.
-93 points