Shows a lovely brick-red hue and sorrel rim, satiny texture, and enticing notes of seasoned wood, dried apricots, caramel, toasted almonds and toffee. Rich, yet fresh, palate, and a long, spirity finish. Sheer indulgence.
Drink on its own, lightly chilled, or with foie gras, pastries or crème brûlée.
Colheita (pr. coal-YATE-a) Ports are Tawny Ports from a single vintage that are aged in wood for at least seven years (though double that in this case) before being bottled. As most of the sediment has already precipitated out by the time of bottling, Colheitas don’t need to be decanted - though you may still wish to for reasons of ceremony or to enhance the wine’s bouquet.
This wine is blended from an array of traditional Douro varieties that were hand-harvested from 60-year-old vines before being crushed by human foot in quintessentially-Portuguese stone lagares. Aged in 550-litre oak casks in the cool, damp cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia, on the Atlantic coast, under the watchful eye of Niepoort’s master blender Jose Nogueira. Niepoort has been a family-owned wine business since 1842, spanning five generations.
