For The Love Of Port

I do love the 20 year Ferreira and the S. Leonardo. Niepoort is also up there in the tops, but it is considerable more money and IMO I can get some great 30 year olds for around the same price so i don't buy it regularly.

My QPR 20 year tawny's are the Sandeman and Otima. Both are very nice tawny's and priced very nicely to boot.

I tried the Ferreira Duque de Braganca and while enjoyable, I didn't find it that much better (commensurate with the price) to many 10 year olds I've had. I really enjoyed the S. Leonardo I once had, but I believe that was a 30 year old.

Ya know, I think overall I prefer 30 year old tawny. In any side by side lineup of the 100 years of port I have had for various producers, or in mixed tastings, I usually always seem to settle on the 30 yrs as being the most enjoyable for me (even better than the 40 yr tawnies) Now unfortunatley I can't afford to drink nothing but 30 yr, so I resort to many of the 20 yr mentioned prevviously and am in a Ramos Pinto 10 yr QPR phase at the moment as well.

Scott,

That is a really sound point. When a 30 year old Tawny Port hits a high mark, they can definitely outperform quite a few 40 year olds. I have not found that many in that range that justify their price though. A handful yes.

Additionally, the 20 year olds seem to be what the serious Tawny drinker's tend towards on a regular basis. The older ones are typically for special occasions for most wallets. While the 10 year olds certainly have their place too. Some offer great QPR, while others exceed expectations for the category qualitatively. And an occasional 40 year old, when affordable and tasty or just a great splurge for a bottle. Some are quite memorable when sipping over the course of an entire evening.