Kopke Colheita 1966 – Bottled 1981

A rare early bottling from Kopke, the oldest Port house, established in 1638 by a family who came to Portugal as representatives of the Hanseatic League. A Colheita is a tawny Port from a single harvest, aged in oak casks. This bottle spent roughly 15 years in wood before being bottled in 1981. Today's releases of the same harvest have spent more than five decades in cask, so this bottling is a very different expression of the wine. The recent 1966 releases are highly acclaimed, scoring 96 points from Robert Parker, 95 from Wine Enthusiast and 94 from Wine Spectator. The house describes the wine as deep brown with a brick rim, with dried fruit and smoke on the nose and plum, dried fig and vanilla on the palate. The bottle carries its original stencil-painted lettering, embossed Kopke glass, the Kopke "Est. 1638" capsule, and its Instituto do Vinho do Porto guarantee seal (K.B. 860602). It's a collectible piece of Port history and a notable 1966 birth-year bottle. Condition: capsule split with staining at the seam; light wear to the stencil paint and labels. Store upright and decant before serving.