Worst Tawny Picks?

[Moses Botbol]

We often talk about the best ones, but what are your picks for worst basic, 10 yr, and 20 yr tawny?

[Glenn E.]

I don't drink basic or reserve tawnies... or really all that many 10 year olds. Mostly Colheitas, 20, 30, and 40 yr olds for me.

I can't really say that I've had any bad ones, or even substandard ones. I supposed my least favorite might be the Quinta do Portal 20 year old, but honestly I still really like it. And it was a pretty fabulous deal at $19/bottle. I even consider the Sandeman 20, which is far too acidic for my taste, to be pretty darn good.

One 10 year old does come to mind, though, and that's the Warre's Otima 10. It just disappoints every time I've had it. It's not bad, but to my taste it's definitely not good either.

[Peter W. Meek]

When my entire port experience was two short pours from a bottle of Graham's 1966 VP (which I was assured by the promoters was worth $600/bottle, 20 years ago), I was "enlightened". I knew that I wanted to repeat that experience.

I purchased many bottles of port (not knowing that there were different kinds of port, such as VP, tawny, colheita, ruby, "ports" from other lands). I eventually discovered that I liked tawny ports with a certain maturity. I liked that nutty flavor.

Then, I learned that vintage ports were actually RUBY ports, which completely confused me. How could that Graham's 1966 be a ruby, with all that fruitiness that the grocery-store ruby ports displayed? Now I had to learn about the progression of phases for vintage ports. AHA!!! Vintage port turns INTO the kind of I like after a long enough time. (At least some of it does.)

By this time, I had been buying bottle after bottle (at the grocery) and being severely disappointed with almost every bottle. I did find one near miss: an Australian tawny "Port" called "Galway Pipe". I drank that for a while, until one day, there just wasn't any more on the shelf. They probably bought a case as an experiment, and despaired of ever selling it all, until I came along.

I actually got up the nerve to buy some ports on the Internet: I tried name-brand VPs from 1960, 1963 and 1966 with mixed success. HUH! Port from different makers tastes different! Storage conditions and shipping conditions make a difference, too. A lot to learn at $200+ per bottle!

Mark this point in my history.

I tried a slightly more "up-scale" local wine store, and there it was: a Tawny Port with a name that made me snicker just bit. Nimrod.

I drank case after case of that port. I even arranged that my favorite restaurant kept it in stock. (Look elsewhere on FTLOP for the story behind The Gang of Port.)

Now, understand why I marked this point above. Up until then, every tawny I had ever bought (with the partial exception of the Galway Pipe) was a Worst Tawny Pick!!!

I have since learned about Tawny with Indication of Age (and discovered places to buy it). I don't always like all of them, but they are fairly safe bets. I can appreciate them, even if any particular tawny might not be a favorite.

[Todd Pettinger]

I don't get the chance to try an awful large variety of Tawnys, but one that I have always been disappointed by is Grahams 10 and 20 yr olds. Not to say they are bad, they are not... Decent. Just not great or even GOOD... Just disappointing next to many of the other 10 and 20s out there that are comparable cost, but better quality.

[Moses Botbol]

I don't get the chance to try an awful large variety of Tawnys, but one that I have always been disappointed by is Grahams 10 and 20 yr olds.

I've never been a fan of their tawny either. What about the other Symington Tawnys? Dow 20 I really enjoy. Warre Otima 10 is not that great

Calem and Cruz are pretty rough 10's and would be on my worst list.

[Todd Pettinger]

I don't get the chance to try an awful large variety of Tawnys, but one that I have always been disappointed by is Grahams 10 and 20 yr olds.

I've never been a fan of their tawny either. What about the other Symington Tawnys? Dow 20 I really enjoy. Warre Otima 10 is not that great

Calem and Cruz are pretty rough 10's and would be on my worst list.

Haven't tried any Dow tawny (lack of availability here i guess???) Calm& Cruz are in the same boat. I went looking for any Cruz a couple of years back when there was talk of the Cruz 85 VP... None, no VP, no tawny, nothing from Cruz in my area.

Otima is one of those Tawnys that are interesting. Their 10 yr is alright... Decently priced, although I dislike the 500 ml bottle... The 20 Otima is leagues better. Almost like the 10 yr just can't quite live up to "big brother" 20. I think i. Will be interesting in a few years when the 30 yr old starts getting released (just a prediction, but this one makes sense.). If and when, I will be checking it out to see if it is worth the extra ten years and probably $40 in my market.

I remember now which was MY worst Tawny... It was actually a Colheita... Barros, I think 1997 or 1998. I had it in probably 2009, after just ten years in cask. Not impressed, but it may have been a bad bottle that I got. Just remember not being impressed with that particular tawny, especially since it was a Colheita and i expected much better.

[Andy Velebil]

It's gotta be the 20 year Old Cruz Tawny Port. A few of us drank it in Oporto with lunch before the Harvest Trip started one year. Had to be the worst 20 year old Tawny I've ever had.