NV Quinta de Brunheda 40 Year Old Tawny Port

[Glenn E.]

A bottle that I received in trade from Roy. I believe he brought it back with him from Portugal after the 2011 Harvest Tour. Since I traded him a 1964 for it, it gets to take that bottle's place in my birthday progress... which I had planned for this year.

Quinta de Brunheda 40-yr old Tawny Port
bottled 2011

Color: A rich, dark amber/tawny with significant amounts of dark or burnt orange. Fades to yellow near the rim, but I see no sign of that telltale greenish tinge that typically signifies a very old tawny.

Nose: Light and playful, almost teasing. There are sweet spicy elements dancing with more traditional tawny notes like vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. There's also a note of burnt sugar similar to the crust of a creme brulee.

Palate: Full bodied, but not heavy. This isn't a heavily acidic and tart 40-yr old like a Kopke, but more of a creamy and mellow one like a Romaneira. There are faint hints of tropical fruits in the mid and late palate, and a lush and rich sweetness that carries throughout. The ever-present apricots in aged tawnies are of the dried but sweet variety. The alcohol is very subdued... oddly, it could use a touch more heat for balance.

Finish: The tropical fruits are present at the start of the finish but then fade as apricots appear and some warmth coats your throat. Then the tropical fruits are back and linger as the finish slowly fades. Good length, but not extraordinarily long.

Score: 94 points. I have a strange feeling that this could be better from a different bottle, but this bottle wasn't quite up to the level of my top 3.

[Paul Fountain]

I drank my one of these on Oct 21st. I didn't take any notes as I consumed it at the tail end of a very fine meal in one of Australia's better restaurants with some close friends - It was probably the first time any of them had tasted a 40 year old tawny port.
Creme Brulee is a great description - I also got some almond nuttiness on the nose. Personally, I enjoyed the acid balance here, and I agree that it was long without being exceptionally long
I thought at the time that this would be a 95 for me. It was a great way to finish a wonderful meal.