White tawny - what should I be trying?

[Mike K.]

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around white port lately. I enjoy it, but am rarely impressed. The few 10 and 20 year olds that can be easily found tend to be light and uninspiring.

Leonardo 50 and 90 are indeed spectacular, but too pricy for more than an occasional treat.

The Leonardo 20 white was a revelation when I experienced it at the quinta last year. Rich and full bodied beyond its years. Sadly I haven’t been able to find more at a reasonable price.

I recently acquired a Dalva Golden White 1963. A very nice pour, no question - but subtle and elegant. I’d never guess its age blind. Quite pleasant, but I have no interest in buying another. Is the 1952 significantly more rich and complex?

I enjoy the whites, but still looking to be impressed by anything not named Leonardo ...

[Rune EG]

Kopke has a range of whites starting with 10 years.
Kopke 30 yrs white is very good.

There is a smaller quinta in Douro which is getting more and more respect for their
aged whites, and that is Quinta das Lamelas. They have 10 + 20 + 30 + 40 years white.
All in 50 cl bottles. Of these 30 years are the best in my opinion.
Opened a bottle of their 30 yrs white at a tasting last week, and immediate reaction
was "dead-silence", as those present really enjoyed it. It is wonderful both in the
aroma and the taste.

[Mike K.]

Kopke has a range of whites starting with 10 years.
Kopke 30 yrs white is very good.

There is a smaller quinta in Douro which is getting more and more respect for their
aged whites, and that is Quinta das Lamelas. They have 10 + 20 + 30 + 40 years white.
All in 50 cl bottles. Of these 30 years are the best in my opinion.
Opened a bottle of their 30 yrs white at a tasting last week, and immediate reaction
was "dead-silence", as those present really enjoyed it. It is wonderful both in the
aroma and the taste.

Thank you Rune, that is helpful.

I am a big fan of Kopke tawny's. I've had the 2002, 2003 whites, but not the 30yo - I'll seek it out.

I've been hearing more about Quinta das Lamelas lately, but have never had the pleasure.
Lamelas is quite scarce on wine-searcher - do any shops in Lisbon carry their aged wines?

Thanks!

[Phil W]

Hi Mike,

It sounds as though our tastes with older sweet whites might be quite similar - I could have written similar thoughts about most of the wines you mention in your first post. I would add that I tend not to like the dry whites - either the young recent release typically intended for mixers, or the older dry whites - some of which can be very impressive, and I can appreciate them, but they're less my thing; I prefer the sweet old whites with a good balance between the sweetness and the acidity, with good intensity, complexity and length. With that in mind, the following notes might be of interest to you. In no particular order:

San Leonardo / Quinta do Mourao : 50yr is very good, 90yr is outstanding - but I think you know these already. The 10 I was less keen on, and the 20 I have not tried yet, though I do have a couple of bottles (hmm... might be a plan for tonight, perhaps).

Dalva Golden Whites : I do like the '63 but the '71 is better imo (the '52 may have been better in its day; I have only tried it once, and it did not beat the '71 on that occasion for me; however the '52 is also pretty much no longer available anywhere). I have not yet tried the '89, and will be very interested to do so.

Quinta Santa Eufemia : I have tried the 20, 30 and 40, and for me the 30 was the best by some considerable margin, definitely the QPR of the three.

Barao de Vilar : I have very much enjoyed the '89 white from this producer. Their 10yr I did not like, too sweet and unbalanced.

Quevedo : Quevedo produce a 30yr white, which I have tasted a couple of times; I find it a touch sweet, lacking acidity in the balance.

Kopke : Some old Kopke whites are dry, some are sweet, so beware. I've very much enjoyed the 40yr, but been less impressed with the 30 (but for different reasons on different occasions.

So overall, of wines still available, which you choose will of course depend on availability and budget; but I would recommend the '71 Dalva Golden White and the Santa Eufemia 30yr and '89 Barao de Vilar, I'll have to let you know about the 20yr San Leonardo...

[Phil W]

OK, so I've just opened a San Leonardo 20yr white - just for research purposes you understand - and my first impressions are very good.

The 20yr white is well-balanced, lovely flavour with power, complexity and length. In some ways it is quite similar to the non-White 20yr - and I mean that positively (I rate the San Leonardo tawnies highly generally, I enjoy their flavour profile).

[Mike K.]

It sounds as though our tastes with older sweet whites might be quite similar ... I prefer the sweet old whites with a good balance between the sweetness and the acidity, with good intensity, complexity and length.

Hi Phil,
Very well stated. Sounds like our taste in whites is indeed quite similar, which makes your advice quite valuable.

I would recommend the '71 Dalva Golden White and the Santa Eufemia 30yr and '89 Barao de Vilar, I'll have to let you know about the 20yr San Leonardo...

Thank you so much for your notes and recommendations. I will work on tracking these down.

I can get the Santa Eufemia 10 and 20 locally. The 20 was good, but not great. I look forward to trying a 30. I'm also a fan of much of Barao de Vilar's work.

I am glad you're enjoying the Leonardo 20. It is of course not up to the standards of the 50/90, but I find it stands head and shoulders above other 20's. Wish I could obtain more.

[Eric Ifune]

The Dalva 52 is head and shoulders better than the 63.
Second the Quinta Santa Eufemia. Casa Santa Eufemia is also very good. There's a Special Reserve White which is excellent. All 1952 fruit if I remember correctly.
Viera e Sousa is another house to look out for.

[David Spriggs]

Casa Santa Eufemia is also very good. There's a Special Reserve White which is excellent. All 1952 fruit if I remember correctly.

I believe that the Casa de Santa Eufemia Special Reserve White is all 1973 fruit. It could have been declared a 1973 Colheita, but they didn't declare it within the prescribed time frame.

[Glenn E.]

It sounds as though our tastes with older sweet whites might be quite similar - I could have written similar thoughts about most of the wines you mention in your first post. I would add that I tend not to like the dry whites - either the young recent release typically intended for mixers, or the older dry whites - some of which can be very impressive, and I can appreciate them, but they're less my thing; I prefer the sweet old whites with a good balance between the sweetness and the acidity, with good intensity, complexity and length.

What?!? Next you're going to tell me that you like the brown sticky stuff.

I agree - for a tawny or a white, it's all about the balance between sugar and acid. Flavor, intensity, complexity, depth... those are also important, but without the sugar/acid balance they're not going anywhere.

San Leonardo / Quinta do Mourao : 50yr is very good, 90yr is outstanding - but I think you know these already. The 10 I was less keen on, and the 20 I have not tried yet, though I do have a couple of bottles (hmm... might be a plan for tonight, perhaps).

Agree again. I was less impressed by the 90 than Eric Ifune was, but I still felt it was outstanding. The 50 and 60 (no longer available) are reasonably similar. The 10 is light but still nicely balanced, so it's a good starter wine for an evening. I like the 20 a lot so you're in for a treat tonight.

Dalva Golden Whites : I do like the '63 but the '71 is better imo (the '52 may have been better in its day; I have only tried it once, and it did not beat the '71 on that occasion for me; however the '52 is also pretty much no longer available anywhere). I have not yet tried the '89, and will be very interested to do so.

The '52 is head and shoulders above the others, but as you said no longer available. And within the bottlings of the '52, the older ones are better than the newer ones. Sadly, I only have a 2008 and a 2009 bottling left... the 2006 was perhaps the best of them all. Like you, I prefer the '71 to the '63 and I have not yet tried the '89.

Dalva also makes a 10 year old that is superb with food - I had several glasses as Euskalduna last fall while others were drinking wine, and found that it covered the range of food that in wine was paired with champagne, white, and pinot noir. It was only when we got to food that the restaurant was pairing with a heavier red like a Cabernet Sauvignon that the Dalva 10 didn't really pair well. I'd like to try the Dalva 10 in a tasting some time so that my impressions aren't as influenced by the food, but I thought it was fantastic that night at dinner.

Quinta Santa Eufemia : I have tried the 20, 30 and 40, and for me the 30 was the best by some considerable margin, definitely the QPR of the three.

Yes and their blends are better than the "Special Reserve" which is a 1973 Colheita but not labeled as such because it wasn't declared. Their 30 doesn't rank with the S. Leonardo, though, at least not for my taste. Very good, just not as good.

Kopke : Some old Kopke whites are dry, some are sweet, so beware. I've very much enjoyed the 40yr, but been less impressed with the 30 (but for different reasons on different occasions.

Yes and this puzzles me. Their Tawnies are much more consistent across years, though there is some variation there as well. I'm not sure that I've had the Kopke 40 white, but I do prefer the 10 and 20 to the 30 for value. Straight up I do like the 30 slightly more (about a point), but the difference is insignificant when you factor in the price.

[Eric Ifune]

I believe that the Casa de Santa Eufemia Special Reserve White is all 1973 fruit. It could have been declared a 1973 Colheita, but they didn't declare it within the prescribed time frame.

Ah yes. 1973. Had the 52 Golden White on my mind!

[Andy Velebil]

I will simply say, try as many as you can and find which ones you like and buy all you can of it.

I say that as there are so many different styles of white Port that it's hard to give a generic answer. Even the same producer can produce very differently styled white Ports. Dalva is one example; their 1952 Golden White is very stylistically different than subsequent vintages they released. And each successive vintage release was different than the previous. Where there's more consistency with red tawny's of age, I've found there to be very little with Whites. It's the main reason I don't buy them in quantity without trying them first.

[Thomas V]

I will name a few others options that has not yet been mentioned.

The newest member to the Dalva family, the 2007 White colheita. It is very affordable and tastes great.

Also while we are speaking about White colheita, do try the Maynard's 2003, 2004, 2007 and 1989. They are all good and very fairly priced.

A house not mentioned here at all is Vieira de Sousa who has a Fine White, 10, 20 and Very Old White Port (50+ anos). They have a distinct spicy profile.

Also DR makes a both a Fine White and 50 Anos.

Bulas has a nice Fine White as well.

Blackett will introduce a 10 Anos White soon, it was available at the Roskilde fair in Denmark this past weekend for tasting. And if it is anywhere near the quality of their other tawnies it will be stellar.

Niepoort also have 10 anos which I adore.

Lamelas has already been mentioned, and especially the 30 anos is truly remarkable.

Other houses include Andresen & Devesa who both has a 10, 30 and 40 anos White.

Ferreiras 10 Anos must also be mentioned as well as Portal and Rozes.

Sometimes I must count my blessings that all of these ports mentioned by me and by others in this thread are readily available in Denmark.