Kopke Colheita Port 2003
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Open, ripe and boldly textured, with barley sugar and a meaty, aged aspect to the fruit. Wonderful development, with a raisin finish.
Founded in 1638, even before the demarcation of the Douro region, Kopke is the oldest Port Wine House. Kopke has an exclusive Bodega with a collection or rare aged wines second to none in the Douro. All Kopke products are bottled in the iconic, hand painted black bottles.
Kopke wines are produced with grapes from the historic Quinta Sao Luiz vineyards. Located on the left bank of the Douro river in Cima Corgo, this Quinta currently has 125 hectares, 90 of which are under vine, including old vines that bear fruit for the brands premium bottlings.
Kopke is recognized as the premier specialist in the production of aged Ports. In particular the production and ageing of Colheita Ports – both White and Tawny styles from a single harvest year, aged in wood.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.