Late Bottled Vintage Ports are an increasingly popular style, and this, unfiltered, wine from Krohn is no exception. LBVs are produced from just a single year's crop (but not every year), and with the vintage specified on the bottle, each LBV will express the particular characteristics of that vintage.

Colheita Ports are Tawny Ports from a single year and specify the vintage on the bottle. A Tawny Port matures for many years in small (600 litre) casks, becoming more complex and taking on a broad, silky mouthfeel and brick-red colour through slight oxidation. They typically age for a minimum of 7 years, but often longer. For the first 10-15 years, the casks are racked every year, but this becomes less frequent as they age and throw less sediment. As maturation happens in this way, in barrel rather than in bottle, decanting is not normally required. They are bottled to order and will stay fresh in the bottle for several weeks after opening. Krohn is particularly renowned for the quality of its Colheita Ports.

Tasting Notes

Colour 

Deep ruby colour

Nose

Spicy black fruit aromas

Palate

The palate has vibrant plum and blackberry characters layered with more spice, fresh acidity and firm tannins. A full and rich style with impressive length.

Production

Traditional Port grapes are sourced from Krohn's Quinta do Retiro Novo estate, and from long-standing relationships with neighbouring growers. After fermentation the wine is aged in barrel for 4-6 years before bottling. Krohn's LBV Ports are neither fined nor filtered and may thus throw a sediment. We recommend to decant them before serving.

Producers

Wiese & Krohn was founded in 1865 by two Norwegians - Theodor Wiese and Dankert Krohn - shipping initially to Scandinavia and Germany. In the century and a half since its foundation, Krohn has built up an outstanding reputation. Long renowned for the quality of their sublime Colheitas (single vintage tawnies), they produce a remarkably complete range for a small house, and each wine excels in its category. Much of the secret lies in the high quality of their vineyards - the magical combination of terroir, locality, aspect, incline and low-yielding vines. Their Quinta do Retiro Novo estate in Sarzedinho, in the Rio Torto valley (where vinification takes place), is all A grade vineyard. Indeed Krohn only work with grapes from A-graded vineyards across all of their ports, and their top wines are still trodden by foot. Since 2013 Krohn has been part of the Fladgate Partnership - alongside Taylor's, Fonseca and Croft.

Accolades

• 2013 Vintage - Sommelier Wine Awards 2020 Bronze Medal

Alan's Personal Notes

"Delicious! The perfect way to end a meal. Rich fruit, wee bit of nutmeg and spice, a wee bit sweet and only 20% alc - just half of a whisky, rum or licquer - what’s not to like? Fire on, the dog relaxed at the fire - all I’m missing is a wee cigar for ultimate pleasure." Jan 2022

Specifications

Rich and full Ruby Port, with a smooth, soft finish. Krohn's 'entry-level' is in a different category to most Ruby Ports - mature and versatile.

Tasting Notes

Colour 

Deep red colour.

Nose

Fresh, plummy fruit aromas with a hint of spice.

Palate

The palate has plenty of lively cherry and curranty black fruit - rich and full with a soft finish

Production

Traditional grape varieties are sourced from Krohn's own vineyards, and supplemented by fruit from neighbouring farms working in partnership with Krohn. Here old vines are planted in schistous soils. Fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, which is interrupted by the addition of grape spirit to preserve a certain degree of natural sweetness. This wine is a blend of different grapes, vineyards and vintages. Maturation - aged for 2 to 3 years in large, old oak barrels.

Producers

Wiese & Krohn was founded in 1865 by two Norwegians - Theodor Wiese and Dankert Krohn - shipping initially to Scandinavia and Germany. In the century and a half since its foundation, Krohn has built up an outstanding reputation. Long renowned for the quality of their sublime Colheitas (single vintage tawnies), they produce a remarkably complete range for a small house, and each wine excels in its category. Much of the secret lies in the high quality of their vineyards - the magical combination of terroir, locality, aspect, incline and low-yielding vines. Their Quinta do Retiro Novo estate in Sarzedinho, in the Rio Torto valley (where vinification takes place), is an grade vineyard. Indeed Krohn only work with grapes from A-graded vineyards across all of their ports, and their top wines are still trodden by foot. Since 2013 Krohn has been part of the Fladgate Partnership - alongside Taylor's, Fonseca and Croft.

Sustainability

The Krohn estate - which is part of the Taylor Fladgate portfolio has long been committed to the ecological well-being of their vineyards and the Douro valley. To this aim they have developed a model for sustainable vineyard cultivation designed for the steep hillsides of the Douro, where 28,000ha of vineyard (62% of the vineyard area of the region) is planted on hillsides with a gradient over 30%. This involves the construction of narrow terraces inclined at 3º to the horizontal – to allow the perfect balance between rainwater run-off and its penetration of the soil. This avoids top soil erosion which is a key challenge in mountain viticulture.

These terraces each support just one row of vines, and alongside the vines a temporary carpet of selected plant species is sown. This flourishes between November and late spring, preventing invasive plants from taking hold, and eliminating the need for herbicides to control unwanted vegetation.

The cover crop dies back naturally with the onset of summer, when the vines are active. The terrace system leaves tracks between the single row of vines and the foot of the bank, allowing access for machinery to mow any unwanted vegetation into a natural mulch. The mulch reduces water loss and restores natural organic matter to the soil. The absence of herbicides means that vegetation can regenerate easily and naturally each year. They also work hard to ensure the correct selection of vine varieties and their distribution within the vineyard, so that varieties can thrive naturally in each location, developing their own unassisted natural resistance to drought, disease and vineyard pests.

Alongside this Sustainable viticulture model the estate produces renewable energy with photovoltaic panels and has robust energy, water and waste management policies.

This vineyard model earned the Partnership the prestigious BES Biodiversity prize in 2009 (recognising achievement in the fields of conservation and environmental sustainability).

Specifications