For The Love Of Port

The last couple of days have been pleasant in the shade but hot in the sun. I've also been needing to open another bottle, but due to the complexity of the heat I really couldn't settle on anything until I ran across this bottle at the grocery store.

The color is much more "tawny" in nature than the 20-yr olds that I normally drink. It's a very deep amber - right on the edge of brown - with only a hint of red left in the glass. If you hold it up to the light, the bright red center holds more orange than most tawnies.

The nose is bright and lively, with loads of citrus competing with dried apricot and dates. In retrospect, you can practically smell the acidity (but it's not VA).

The flavor is full of acidity - far more so than the tawnies I normally buy. I'm used to a mellower, smoother style. The Sandeman is fresh and aggressive and leaves you with a bit of a pucker. There are citrus overtones of lemon and tangerine. The apricot in the mouth is fresh and tangy, not dried. It's not as sweet as I typically expect from a 20-yr old tawny, but it is far from dry.

In the shade at about 77 degrees F (25 C) with a pleasant breeze, this was a perfect drink to sip. In the sun it was too heavy and sweet to really be refreshing, but that seemed more a function of its nature (it being Port) than its style.

Glenn,

Thanks for the invite!

This is one of my favorite 20 year old Tawnies. Lightly chilled in the summer time, it is superb as a sipper on the deck. Sandeman "gets" Tawny Port and if you ever do get to drink a 40 year old, you'll never forget that Sandeman experience. Try putting the bottle in the refrigerator for just 15 minutes prior to drinking your Tawny Port during the summer months. It will be at cellar temp (55 F.) where it will show beautifully.

This is probably the 20 year tawny that I've had the most of. I have always loved it and it is almost always at a good price in stores, which always helps. Thanks for the TN Glenn

It's an interesting variation on the theme, but I can't say that I'm fond of it. There's far too much acidity in it for me, which starts to give it a Madeira-like quality instead of a Port-like quality.

Which explains why Roy likes it!

I'll stick with my Ramos Pinto, though I do have 3 bottles of the Ferreira Duque de Braganca on the way to try.

The Sandeman does go very well with scallops seared in butter and paprika with a lemon, white wine, garlic, and shallot sauce though!

Roy Hersh wrote:This is one of my favorite 20 year old Tawnies. Lightly chilled in the summer time, it is superb as a sipper on the deck. Sandeman "gets" Tawny Port and if you ever do get to drink a 40 year old, you'll never forget that Sandeman experience.

I also adore the 20 year Sandeman, as well as the Ramos 20. Is the 40 year that special? Hmmmm... I saw a deal on that for like $650 a case, but don't know if I can get it at this point.

NH Liqour store sells the 20 year Sandeman for around $35; which in and of its self is a reason to buy it.

Glenn E. wrote: I'll stick with my Ramos Pinto, though I do have 3 bottles of the Ferreira Duque de Braganca on the way to try.

Have you tried the Delaforce 20?

Moses Botbol wrote:Have you tried the Delaforce 20?

No, I haven't had the chance to try that one either. I don't recall having seen any Delaforce around here at all, while I have at least seen a few bottles of Ferreira. I'll have to get a couple of bottles of the Delaforce after my Duque de Braganca experiment!

Moses Botbol wrote:

Roy Hersh wrote:This is one of my favorite 20 year old Tawnies. Lightly chilled in the summer time, it is superb as a sipper on the deck. Sandeman "gets" Tawny Port and if you ever do get to drink a 40 year old, you'll never forget that Sandeman experience.

I also adore the 20 year Sandeman, as well as the Ramos 20. Is the 40 year that special? Hmmmm... I saw a deal on that for like $650 a case, but don't know if I can get it at this point.

NH Liqour store sells the 20 year Sandeman for around $35; which in and of its self is a reason to buy it.

Moses kindly introduced me to a bottle of his Sandeman 20 yr when I was in Boston and as he suggested, the NH Liquor Store does have it for relatively cheap and I did come home with a couple of bottles of it besides all the VP I bought in Boston as well! :)

I like this one a lot and it is a darn shame that I cannot source it locally - I would drink a helluva lot more of it if I could get my hands on it more readily.

Todd