Colheita Single Year Release Tawny Port
⏳ Drinking Window
2008 - 2013
🍷 Vintage Profile
The 2007 vegetative cycle in the Douro began with a wet winter replenishing deep soil reserves, followed by a cool summer that prevented desiccation and preserved extraordinarily high natural acidity. Moderate late-summer temperatures fostered prolonged phenolic ripening without spike sugar levels, allowing Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca to develop fine-grained, structured tannins and intense aromatic complexity. Universally declared as an exceptional Port vintage, the resulting Colheita displays uncommon freshness, poise, and oxidative evolution within seasoned oak casks. Bottled at peak maturation, it is ready to drink upon release through 2035 with no further need for cellar aging.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Aged Manchego or Serra da Estrela cheese, walnut tart, creme brulee.
✨ Technical Specifications
Sourced primarily from steep schist terraces across prime Cima Corgo and Douro Superior estates, this single-harvest Tawny Port reflects an extended, slower fermentation that yields Dow's signature drier, classically austere finish. Following fortification with neutral grape spirit to halt fermentation, the wine matures for many years in traditional seasoned oak casks (pipes) in the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia. Decades of oxidative maturation transform the primary purple-black fruits into an amber-tawny elixir layered with dried figs, roasted walnuts, and delicate citrus peel, bottled only when ready for consumption without requiring further bottle maturation.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1798 by Bruno da Silva and later joining forces with Cosens and Dow, Dow's has reigned for well over two centuries as an aristocratic cornerstone of the Douro Valley. Managed by the Symington family since Andrew James Symington became a partner in 1912, the house’s viticultural soul anchors at Quinta do Bomfim in the heart of the Cima Corgo, complemented by Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira further upriver in the Douro Superior. Set upon steep, arid schistous slopes overlooking the Douro River, the vineyards experience baking continental heat mitigated by elevation and river proximity. Dow's is celebrated worldwide for its distinctive house hallmark: slightly prolonged fermentation periods that yield a markedly drier, more structured, and classically austere profile compared to rival houses. Renowned for muscular ageability, firm peppery tannins, and concentrated brambly fruit, its quintessential expressions encompass historic Vintage Ports, single-quinta bottlings from Bomfim, and exquisitely cellared Colheita Single Harvest Tawnies.
🍇 Grapes
Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Sousão
🍷 ABV
20%