20 Year Old Tawny Port by Warre's

[Lamont Huxley]

Bottled in 2008. I drank this over the past 5 days.

Color: Mahogany with reddish/rust highlights

Nose: Brown sugar, dark wood, carmelized citrus and candied apple

Palate: Pretty viscous and rich up front with caramel and burnt orange flavors. Spicy wood and spirit come on heavy in the middle and get in the way of what is an otherwise pleasing and very long finish of caramel and walnuts. There's good acidity there to balance the richness but even after 5 days the heat is still too assertive, though it does come off a bit smoother with a good chill on it.

This tawny has a lot going for it, particularly if you like a richer style, which I do, though the unintegrated spirit detracts a few points for me.

89 pts, Tasted 7/11

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks for the data point, as this is a 20 year old Tawny that is not easy to come by in the USA and I rarely if ever see it, except for the Warre's Otima which I really like (the 20 year old, as the 10 is not my style at all). Is it safe to assume this was Warre's regular bottling?

[Lamont Huxley]

Yes, this was the regular Warre's bottling, not the Otima. I can't recall ever having seen it anywhere else before. I've had the Otima 10 but not the 20 so I'm not sure how it compares.