Kopke, 1996

Colheita Port

Description and Reviews:
1996 Kopke Colheita Port

The 1996 Kopke Colheita Port is drawn from a single harvest and matured in seasoned oak casks before bottling, allowing time to shape its depth and character. While showing clear signs of development, this vintage retains impressive colour and fruit concentration, offering both approachability and further ageing potential.

Tasting Notes:
Still notably dark in colour for its age, with deep ruby-blue tones at the core, the nose is expressive and fruit-driven. Aromas of dark berry fruits, mulberry, dark cherry and blueberry rise from the glass, layered with subtle hints of spice and gentle oak influence. On the palate it is medium-bodied, with soft, integrated tannins that provide structure without heaviness. The fruit remains vibrant and generous, balanced by freshness that lifts the wine and carries it through to an attractive, quite long and harmonious finish. Mature and approachable now, yet with the balance and structure to continue evolving positively in bottle.

Serving & Food Pairing:
Serve lightly chilled to enhance freshness and aromatic clarity. A versatile partner to soft cheeses, chocolate-based desserts or enjoyed simply on its own.

Summary:
A fruit-forward yet gently maturing Colheita from Kopke, combining depth of colour, supple texture and an appealingly long finish. Drinking well now, with further development ahead.

Review:
Bright brown-tawny colour with a reddish halo. Fragrant bouquet marked by the presence of almonds, honey and candied orange notes. Smooth and velvety on the taste. Delicate, unctuous and wonderfully balanced with an elegant and persistent finish.

Colheita, or single harvest ports, are aged in the barrel. Contrast this with vintage ports which are aged in the bottle and only have a short drinking window after opening. Colheita ports have had air working on them through the cask during all the years of aging, giving them a open-life of a month or longer. Lighter and more delicate than vintage ports, the colheita ports are immediately understandable and enjoyable to the novice port drinker and an on-going pleasure to the experienced.

*Bottled in 2015