For The Love Of Port

Which aged tawny do you like most?

I myself lóve the Niepoort 20 years old. I don't like 10 year old tawny's very much, as they don't give me much drinkingpleasure. 30 and 40 years old tawny's often are to expensive in my opinion. (I've never had one)
So, what aged tawny do you prefer?

Monique.

My favorite is probably from Ferriera (Duque de Braganca). I also like the Niepoort very much, as well as Noval and Barros.

I'm with you Monique in terms of enjoying 20's over 10's. I have yet to try 30+ tawnies, since I, too, feel that they are too pricey relative to other things I can spend on at that price point.

I really enjoy Noval's 20 as well as Sandeman's 20.

I should, I suppose, point out that -- unlike you Monique, and you Harris -- I generally prefer 10-Year Tawnies to 20's (the ones mentioned are the exceptions), and I've generally not liked those 30's and 40's I've had. Too woody; not enought fruit.

That's a VERY broard generalization, I know. Barros was one exception; I liked their 40. Taylor's 30- and 40-Year Tawnies were not; neither were their 10 or 20, for that matter. I love Taylor's Vintage Porto, and Fonseca for that matter, but I don't like any of the old Tawnies produced by either house. Neither do I enjoy the Dow's (10-, 20- or 30-Year Old), nor the Graham's 10-, 20-, 30- or 40-Year Olds).

Ah, what can I say? For years I disliked Delaforce Vintage but enjoyed their 10-Year Tawny. That said, recent Delaforce Vintage Ports have been quite promising . . . .

Cheers,
Jason

I also drink mostly 20 years old because the 30 and 40 are very expensive and less available.

My top 20years old are
Noval
Ferreira
Sandeman

Never had the Niepoort yet but I'm looking forward to it.

For the 30 years old Dow's is my top yet.

But I tend to drink mostly colheita for wood aged Port, they offer me more pleasure in general than the same house tawny.

Probably my favourite tawny was the 20 yr old William Pickering port from Berry Brothers & Rudd in London, made for them by Noval (the result of an advantageous deal with Axa just after they took over Noval) and, according to Christian Seely, rather better than Noval's own 20 year tawny.

Unfortunately, I see BBR appear to have de-listed this now. Shame. Also a shame I only have two bottles left.

I've been reading a lot about the Ferreira Duque de Braganca, so I've ordered one to try it. Looking forward to taste it.

Monique.

Hi Monique,

You are going to love the Duque, it is my (our) favorite and you should also try Sandeman's too.

I recently tried the Quinta do Vallado 20 YOT for the first time, and thought it was very good as well. Comes close to my favorite: Niepoort.

Hi Monique, et. al,

Of the 60 different tawnies with indication of age that I have tried to date, these are my top ten:

Niepoort 10 years old
Barros 20 years old
Casa de Santa Eufemia over 40 years old
Quinta de Ventozelo 10 years old
Taylor 30 years old
Ramos Pinto "Quinta do Bom Retiro" 20 years old
Ferreira "Duque da Bragança" 20 years old
Rozès over 40 years old
Rozès "Infanta Isabel" 10 years old
Krohn 20 years old

Mind you, I have yet to taste Graham's or Dow's offerings in this area, but Niepoort's ports are quite good, Ferreira makes an extraordinary 20 year old, and the wines of Ramos Pinto and Rozès were a surprise to me.

To avoid: São Pedro 10 years old ... This wine has the dubious dis-"stink"-tion of being the lowest rated wine I have ever tasted, it got a mere 12 points out of 100 and didn't go into negative territory only because I didn't suffer any ill effects after tasting it.

-----------------------------------
Kevin B. Kelly
A Port Enthusiast

Niepoort 20 years old is amazing.

Yes, Bjørn, I should have included Niepoort as another 20-Year Old I've enjoyed.

Yesterday I opened the Duque de Braganca.
I must say this is a fine glass of tawny port. Very rich and smooth. I like this very much.
I'm not shure which one I like most, the Niepoort or the Ferreira.
Guess I have to try them side by side to know.

Monique.

A friend from another wine message board asked me about 20 year old Tawny Ports and which the people on recommend, so it is time to bring this oldie back to the front page so he can find it easily.

Since this was written, we have MANY new members and lots of others who have now tried a plethora of other 20 year olds. Hopefully, this can be re-discussed if you are in the mood to share.

My favorite is still the Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro, but there are a lot of good ones out there. In no particular order:

Ferreira Duque de Braganca
Taylor Fladgate
Fonseca
Noval
San Leonardo
Porto Rocha

And even though I'm not fond of it myself, I know a lot of other people really like the Sandeman. It's too bright and acidic for me, but some people really like that.

My favorite 20-year old is Niepoort.

Introducing some minor thread drift, another favorite is/was Warre's Nimrod. While not quite a 20-year old, it was much better than any 10-year old that I ever tried. I haven't seen it in several years and assume that Warre's no longer produces it.

Put me down for:

Ferreira
Ramos Pinto
Sandeman
Barros

Gary,

Nimrod is definitely still available today.

Roy Hersh wrote:Gary,

Nimrod is definitely still available today.

Roy,

Thanks. After posting, I went to Wine Searcher and found several pages worth of Nimrod. I must be frequenting the wrong stores.

I'm surprised that Warre is still producing the Nimrod, the 10-year old, and the 20-year old while they also have the two Otima versions. Marketing to different demographic targets? They certainly seem to have been successful with Otima; it's on the shelves in every store where I've gone.

Gary Banker wrote:

Roy Hersh wrote:Gary,

Nimrod is definitely still available today.

Roy,

Thanks. After posting, I went to Wine Searcher and found several pages worth of Nimrod. I must be frequenting the wrong stores.

I'm surprised that Warre is still producing the Nimrod, the 10-year old, and the 20-year old while they also have the two Otima versions. Marketing to different demographic targets? They certainly seem to have been successful with Otima; it's on the shelves in every store where I've gone.

I know Martignetti's sells it in Brighton. Never considered buying it, but will give a go the next time I am looking for an every day tawny.