Berry Brothers William Pickering 20 year old Tawny Port -- by Quinta do Noval

[Al B.]

I've read about this wine in a few different places, all have been complimentary so I thought I would give it a go. As far as I can remember, this is my first ever 20 year old tawny.

The front label says
Berry's
William Pickering
Port
A tawny port of the highest quality
Bottled in 2005
Produced and bottled by Quinta do Noval

The back label talks about Berry's and then casually mentiones that this is a tawny port aged in oak barrels for 20 years in the cellars of Quinta do Noval. It is the Berry's own label tawny and cost me £23.

Here is my tasting note taken after 2 hours in the decanter (during which time it improved considerably, with the alcohol integrating completely. It was pretty off-putting straight after opening).

In the glass it is a beautiful, rich, clear, golden-brown colour. Sparkling in its clarity. On the nose it was a warm and rich smell of caramel and oranges, a smell that simply reached out of the glass as it was standing on the table next to me as I typed. A swirl and a sniff with my nose buried in the glass was overpowering, releasing too much alcohol, but underneath the alcohol was an very attractive smell of raisins and cinnamon.

A sip, surprisingly this was not sweet initially and then it seemed to thicken in the mouth. The fruit and acidity arrived at the same time and my mouth just started to water like mad. The fruit is plentiful, raisins and figs along with the characteristic brown sugar of an aged tawny. I held it in my mouth as long as I could but then it seemed to slip down my throat without my swallowing. Oh this is smooth and lovely!

An initial burn on the aftertaste as the spirit surges through. Then this fades to be replaced by a curiously subdued but very long range of flavours, including burnt toast and hot marshmallows. The length is incredibly long and teases you all the time. You thinks its finished, reach out to take another sip and then - whoosh - it comes rushing back.

Quite a stunning wine, all told. If you like tawnies, then this is one I would really recommend. It is excellent.

However, tawnies are not my style of first choice. I'm delighted to have tried this and will enjoy finishing the bottle off over the next few days, but if I am to spend £23 on a bottle of wine, personally, I will spend it on a bottle of Vargellas or Malvedos and mature that for 20 years in my cellars.

But this is an excellent wine. On the 100 point scale I would put this at 95. On Tom's scale this is in the top quartile, but not in the top 5% of wines I have tasted this year, so I give it a 9-9. I'm assuming that it won't improve or deteriorate significantly in the bottle over the next few years.

And my final comment - I've not taken another sip since that paragraph above and I've typed all this since - and that aftertaste is still with me. And so is the sugar on my lips.

Gosh! 95/100

This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the original note in context.