Practical information that you may want to know: we have just finished to bottle what is the last batch of this first edition of 1996 Colheita (we made three bottlings between 2010 and 2013). The remaining volume we have, a bit more than 10.000 liters, will remain aging in oak pipes and in tonel for the next decades, before we touch it again and put it in bottle.

Cheers,

Oscar

On the legal side, IVDP says that a Colheita is a “Port Wine from single harvest”, so 100% of the Port, the total amount from a single vintage. But on the other side, IVDP does not contemplate any evaporation rate for the barrels. However, we all know that anything you age in the wood will evaporate slower or faster. Port Wine in a 550 liters pipa (kind of barrel from the Douro) will evaporate at an annual rate of around 3% (even higher in dryer and hotter cellars), but this evaporation rate is not reduced from the inventory together with the IVDP. If you declare 550 liters in 1911, and leave it in the pipa from 100 years, in 2011 this pipa will have 27 liters, or 5% of what you had in the year 0. But the figure on your inventory is 550 liters. There is no answer on the legal field.

Now lets analyze the winemaking process. Lets imagine we have 10 pipas. We use one for topping off the other 9. At an evaporation rate of 3%, this pipa will last for 4 year. At the end of the 4th year we choose a second pipa to top off the remaining 8. This second pipa will top off the others 8 pipas for 6 years. And so on… (if you are lost, just open the Port bottle and search for something more interesting). Going to the point: is the Port from the topping pipa aging in perfect conditions? I guess no, because as soon as it starts topping other pipas it will not be completely full and this will speed up to fast the oxidation/ aging process. The more it tops off other pipas, the bigger is the amount of oxygen in the topping off pipa.

That being said, is logistically hard to top off with the same wine for a long period. On the producer’s point of view, it depends on what you want from the Port: topping off with Port from the same age keeping the same flavor profile or refresh it with younger Port to increase the flavors spectrum.

What do we do at Quevedo? It depends on which Port we are talking about.

So, can a Colheita be topped off with a younger Port and still be called a Colheita? Yes, it can, and sometimes we do it.

Oscar

We all know that Port Wine is about blending: different vineyards, pipes, vintages and off course, different varietals. All this with the purpose of having a more complex and harmonious blend. The vineyards of the Douro are planted, since many years ago with a different range of varietals, some well known but others barely recognized. In total we have 80+ varietals in the Douro.

Last harvest I defied my sister Claudia to make a single varietal Port out of 5 different varietal blocks planted in our vineyards. Four of those varietals come from Quinta da Trovisca (Sousão, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz) while the other varietal – Tinto Cão – is planted in a terrace we have in Quinta Vale d’Agodinho. With the help of my friends from the University we dedicated a week-end to collect and tread these grapes. Funny time we had!

Now it is time to evaluate the experiment and to get some conclusions:

#1 – 9 months is nothing when we are talking about Port; any conclusion now is subject to further revision
#2 – Sousão is like that good friend we have far away but that we are sure he will go with us for the rest of our lives; he is not always present, but he’s there when we need him
#3 – Touriga Franca is the team-player, alone doesn’t stand out, but with some collaboration from the other players it organizes and gets the best of all of them
#4 – Touriga Nacional is the cherry on the top of the cake: the pastry could be excellent but the cherry makes it special
#5 – Tinta Roriz is like our mum, she gives us a little bit of all everything we need
#6 – Tinto Cão is like a Madam, likes to wear elegant flower dresses, but can catch a cold with any breeze of oxygen
#7 – No one of these single varietals is good enough to perform a show alone; but with some inspiration we could make a nice orchestra, which in some years may perform a great show
#8 – Blending is fun and you learn a lot; really…

Come over and make your blend!

Oscar

“Colheita” (harvest in English) is a designation for Port Wine made of grapes from a single harvest (the name doesn’t lie!!) that has aged in oak for at least seven years. However, we decided to let these two Colheitas stay there much longer, 16 and 14 years respectively, resulting in a more complex Port.

Some of those who visited us during the last weeks already had the chance of tasting these wines, but the majority has not, yet. That is why I would like to invite you again to come over to S. João da Pesqueira for a tasting and let us know how do you feel about them. We are sure you’ll bring home a bottle of each!

See you soon, Oscar