40 Year Tawny Horizontal

Phyllis D · Post by **Phyllis D** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 8:34 am

If you were doing a 40 year Tawny horizontal, what 6 Tawnies would you choose?

For the houses that don't do a 40 but do have a 30, what 30's would you include?

40's that I have had/seen are:

Taylor
Noval
Grahams

very sure I've seen more, but Ihaven't had my coffee yet so the brain isn't working.

Yummy .. a 40 yr Tawny taste off is on it's way for next year.

The only restriction for me will be 1 bottle is one that we have tasted and 1 bottle is one that we have not tasted.

David Spriggs · Post by **David Spriggs** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:33 am

My favorites are:

S. Leonardo
Romaniera
Brunheda
Kopke
Sandeman

For 30's that don't make a 40, the ones that sticks out in my mind are:
Niepoort
Ramos Pinto

These are in the same league as the 40's above - in fact the Niepoort is technically over 40 years old. Roy would know if the Ramos Pinto is as well
Yes, some of these are difficult or impossible to obtain... but I have them *and* live in Northern California!

A great place to start looking for a list like this is in our TNDB: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/tndb/se ... sort=score

Post by **Glenn E.** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:44 pm

My top 3 are Romaneira, Kopke, and Noval. I haven't had the chance to try Brunheda or S. Leonardo yet, but hope to some day. Sandeman's 40-yr old is also excellent, but to me it falls short of the 3 at the top. It's certainly worthy of inclusion in a 40-yr horizontal, though.

I do think that the Niepoort and Ramos Pinto 30-yr olds can hold their own against the best 40-yr olds. I'd also add the S. Leonardo 30-yr old to that list, but since they also make a 40-yr old they don't get a free pass for they're 30-yr old too.

Phyllis D · Post by **Phyllis D** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:51 pm

What is your opinion of the slightly updated list below?

40 yr

Andresen ?
Cálem ?
Feist
Fonseca
Grahams
Kopke
Noval
Taylor
Sandeman
Sao Pedro Das Aguias ?
Rozes
Vista Alegre ?
Vasconcellos
Presidential
Royal Porto
S. Leonardo
Romaniera
Brunheda

30 yr

Niepoort
Ramos Pinto

David Spriggs wrote: Yes, some of these are difficult or impossible to obtain... but I have them *and* live in Northern California!

Carl and I have been known to drive much farther for sharing of Port

and do "wild hair" road trips at the drop of a hat.

Post by **Glenn E.** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:45 pm

Phyllis D wrote:What is your opinion of the slightly updated list below?

My opinion is that that's a really long list of relatively expensive bottles.

Remember that 40-yr olds typically run $100-$140... a broad tasting of those is going to get expensive fast. The couple of times that we've done 40-yr old tastings we've only had 3-4 bottles. Partly because they're expensive, partly because they're massive, intense, Ports, and partly because they've always been the "dessert" course after some other kind of tasting.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:43 pm

David Spriggs wrote:My favorites are:

S. Leonardo
Romaniera
Brunheda
Kopke
Sandeman

For 30's that don't make a 40, the ones that sticks out in my mind are:
Niepoort
Ramos Pinto

These are in the same league as the 40's above - in fact the Niepoort is technically over 40 years old. Roy would know if the Ramos Pinto is as well
Yes, some of these are difficult or impossible to obtain... but I have them *and* live in Northern California!

A great place to start looking for a list like this is in our TNDB: http://www.fortheloveofport.com/tndb/se ... sort=score

Al B. · Post by **Al B.** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:09 am

Don't forget the Ferreira 30 year old - an excellent port!

Phyllis D · Post by **Phyllis D** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:31 am

Al B. wrote:Don't forget the Ferreira 30 year old - an excellent port!

Did a very quick search and was not able to find a mention of a Ferreira 40 year Tawny. Do they make a 40? If No, then the 30 can be in the running, otherwise it would have to be their 40.

David Spriggs · Post by **David Spriggs** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:02 am

I don't believe that Ferreira makes a 30 or 40 year old Port, but I love to be proven wrong!

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 11:35 am

David Spriggs wrote:I don't believe that Ferreira makes a 30 or 40 year old Port, but I love to be proven wrong!

Correct just a 10 and 20 year old Tawny.

Eric Ifune · Post by **Eric Ifune** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:19 am

In Oporto, I had a Quinta de Revolta over 40 year old. It was said to be closer to 60 and one of the best Tawnies of indicated age that I've ever had. A limited production and not imported however.

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:43 am

Eric Ifune wrote:Quinta de Revolta

I always chuckle to myself when I hear this name. No exactly the best name for a product, just saying.

Post by **Glenn E.** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:44 am

Andy Velebil wrote:
Eric Ifune wrote:Quinta de Revolta
I always chuckle to myself when I hear this name. No exactly the best name for a product, just saying.

Yeah I always laugh too, but I've also had a taste of their 40-yr old and I agree with Eric. It's pretty fabulous.

Rob C. · Post by **Rob C.** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:22 am

Eric Ifune wrote:In Oporto, I had a Quinta de Revolta over 40 year old. It was said to be closer to 60 and one of the best Tawnies of indicated age that I've ever had. A limited production and not imported however.

Yes - i'd agree this was fantastic!! In my mind, certainly the best 40 i have had. Looking back, i should have bought a bottle at vinologia, but they were priced at Eur160-180 i think and i had visited the DALVA shop first...

But i was under the impression (which was just hearsay and i have not seen backed up, so feel free to correct) that this is a much older port (closer to 60, as you say) that was not a blend (in the TWIOA sense), but it could not get through the colheita approval process and so was approved and released as an "over 40" instead.

The Rozes "Dom Rozes 40 year plus" was on show at the Big Fortified Tasting in London earlier this year and was also rather good.

Just for clarification though, are 40yr tawnies and "over 40yr" tawnies the same category or two completely separate categories?

Rob C. · Post by **Rob C.** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:54 am

Andy Velebil wrote:
Eric Ifune wrote:Quinta de Revolta
I always chuckle to myself when I hear this name. No exactly the best name for a product, just saying.

It sounds much cooler, i am sure, if you are Portuguese!

If anyone is can speak the language there's some discussion of how it got its name mid-way down this page (google translate did a horrible job, however)

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 10:58 am

Rob C. wrote: Just for clarification though, are 40yr tawnies and "over 40yr" tawnies the same category or two completely separate categories?

Same. In the USA they can't have the "Over" part on the label. For what is probably some unknown bureaucratic rules/reasons that have probably been in place for decades yet no one wants to change them.

Al B. · Post by **Al B.** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 12:46 pm

Andy Velebil wrote:
David Spriggs wrote:I don't believe that Ferreira makes a 30 or 40 year old Port, but I love to be proven wrong!
Correct just a 10 and 20 year old Tawny.

Oops! My bad.

Eric Ifune · Post by **Eric Ifune** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:59 am

Same. In the USA they can't have the "Over" part on the label. For what is probably some unknown bureaucratic rules/reasons that have probably been in place for decades yet no one wants to change them.

But I believe in the EU, they can have the "over" on the label. Would the blends be the same? I've never seen a "40 year old" and an "over 40 year old" together. Is it just too much a labeling hassel?

For The Love Of Port