20 Year Old Tawny Port by Sandeman

[Peter W. Meek]

2010-04-14 7:00 PM
Opened and poured to shoulder for air.

Slight edge to initial pour. Tasty though. Also gave samples to 3 people.

After dinner (1.5 -2 hours) settled down with the Gang of Port to sample this. Golden, pale, not much red in this tawny. Extremely clear edge.

The only clearer edge I've seen was the Ramos Pinto 10 from a few weeks ago.

Although clear and pale, still a lot of fruit. Nice acidity to balance sweetness.

Side by side with Ferreira 20 (open 7 days) and Ramos Pinto 20 (open 10 days). F20 is getting dark and rich; RP20 still strong but mellowing.

Samples to 2 more people besides 4 G o P members at the bar. Kimmie really liked it.

This is definitely going on the G o P list.

[Andy Velebil]

Peter,
Glad the gang liked it. This is one of my favorite 20 years but as you noticed has a very different flavor profile than the Ferreira 20 year. A slight preference for me is the Sandeman chilled on a warm day and the Ferreira at room temp on a cold day. Ahh, variety

[Roy Hersh]

Peter,

I've always had the Sandeman 20 on my favorites list, not only because it is delicious, but due to its typically very reasonable price too. A very worthy 20 year old offering for sure, the Sandeman 40 year old is consistently the best Port made by Sandeman. Worth purchasing one bottle to explore!

[Michael M.]

I do like this 20 year old Tawny a lot. There is only one thing I would critcise. Although I am a fan of vivid acidity I found it to be too much.

[Glenn E.]

I do like this 20 year old Tawny a lot. There is only one thing I would critcise. Although I am a fan of vivid acidity I found it to be too much.

That's my only complaint about it as well - otherwise it is a splendid Port. And of course most anyone who likes a lot of bright acidity in their tawnies wouldn't find that to be a problem at all!

As Roy said, it's also usually very reasonably priced. When I see it, it's often $10/bottle cheaper than my usual 20-year olds.

[Scott Anaya]

In addition to Roy's recommendation for the 40 yr (which I have sadly not had yet) their 30 yr is one of my top tawny ports of all time to date.

[Michael M.]

As Roy said, it's also usually very reasonably priced. When I see it, it's often $10/bottle cheaper than my usual 20-year olds.

It's not that cheap here. Usually it goes for about 50 EUR. But I was happy to purchase some bottles at 25 EUR each.