10 Year Old Tawny Port by Quinta do Noval

[Alex K.]

OK, I admit it. I made no notes. I remember something about orange peel and even a bit of lemon, yes there may well have been nuts, probably almonds. It went very nicely with chocolate, specifically a Cadbury's Dairy Milk Easter Egg.

I opened it so that I could rinse out the bottles for the off-line a couple of weeks ago and finished it off over the following week. It was very nice.

Sorry. Not exactly a TN.

[Todd Pettinger]

We have a difficult time getting this particular tawny locally, but I finally found a place that will bring it in for me as they expect they can go through a few cases of the stuff - their clientele seems to prefer the Tawny stuff.

I actually look forward to tasting it and will remember to throw a proper TN up here to continue on with this thread.

Todd

[dave leach]

i still think this is not in the league of niepoort's 10 year tawny, imho, niepoort is still the king of 10 years.

[Andy Velebil]

i still think this is not in the league of niepoort's 10 year tawny, imho, niepoort is still the king of 10 years.

Dave,

I too love the Niepoort 10 year, but have you tried the Ferreira 10 year old tawny. It is very very tasty, and quite the baby brother to thier 20 year.

[Luc Gauthier]

We have a difficult time getting this particular tawny locally, but I finally found a place that will bring it in for me as they expect they can go through a few cases of the stuff - their clientele seems to prefer the Tawny stuff.

I actually look forward to tasting it and will remember to throw a proper TN up here to continue on with this thread.

Todd

We have a few Quinta do Noval 20yr Tawnies available here at the SAQ ( 60.00 per bottle )

Luc

[Todd Pettinger]

I have not tried any of the Ferreira, Niepoort or Q de Noval Tawnies. I smell a Tawny Horizontal coming up!!!

Todd

[Luc Gauthier]

Todd ,
Polishing off 3 bottles of Tawny in a row , one may end up horizontal

[Todd Pettinger]

Good point Luc - Note to self: do not do this all in one night (or at least alone all in one night.)

We may have to do a "belle Province 10 yr Tawny horizontal" one day. But only after we do a VP Vertical! :)

Todd

[Luc Gauthier]

Todd ,
Jolly good idea !!
Although , I would prefer a 20 yr old Tawny horizontal .
They , ( at least the ones I've tasted ) seem to be more balanced .
However , If Peanut butter is in the tasting , the probabilities of becoming horizontal , decrease , as PB acts as a buffer ...

[Todd Pettinger]

Luc, 20 year is the right way to go if I'm gonna haul my butt all the way down to Quebec! :)

NOW I'm starting to understand this PB stuff... acts as a buffer huh? Kinda like the bread we used to think would help absorb the cheap beer we would drink by the keg-full as parties in my (much more wild) youth.

Todd

[Luc Gauthier]

My god man !!
A keg of cheap beer
bread for the purpose of absorbtion ?
youth
What were you thinking ?

[Todd Pettinger]

Ummm...
Young - check
Dumb - check
Cheap - check
Keg = many beers = everyone can drink

Yeah, I dunno what we were thinking about the bread. We needed something to sober up for class the next day!!!

Todd

[Luc Gauthier]

For heavens sake !!
You could have used a roll of Scott towels for absorbtion and then put the beer soaked roll in the freezer for later consumtion .

[Todd Pettinger]

Okay KillerB - to make up for taking this thread so horribly off-topic, I went and bought a bottle of the Quinta do Noval 10 yr tawny tonight.

-Shocking pink colour, with orange fading to very pale brown when held at an angle to the light. Cloudy upon first pour. I had to check the bottle to see if it suggested decanting This is the most pink colour I have ever seen in a 10 yr Aged Tawny.

-Not a lot of noticeable nose. Faint, dusty rose with a hint of toasted almond. Lavender?? (possibly, on a second and third deep inhalation, I don't detect it, but it was there on the first)

-Smooth and silky. Is there alcohol in this? Very well integrated and smooth. Soft vanilla, traces of a caramel, or a weak creme brulee. Grapes in the after-taste, along with a hint of the alcohol that I know is well-hidden in this exceptional 10 year tawny.

I will definitely be revisiting this bottle over the next few days. We'll see if anything changes, but right now, I would rate this as one of the top 3 10 year tawnies I have had.

Todd

[Alex K.]

Todd, it certainly shouldn't be cloudy, mine was as clear as a bell. Certainly a better TN than mine, but at least we agree that it's nice.

[Todd Pettinger]

Revisited on night 2.

Not cloudy at all tonight. Perhaps not clear as a bell as Alex suggests, mine has a slight tinge of something in the wine but is not as pronounced as yesterday. I held a strong flashlight up to the bottom of the bottle but could detect no sediment (not that any was expected). This leads me to believe I may have had something contaminating my glass last night... I made sure to do what I call a "prep-rinse" where I rinse the glass (or decanter when about to decant a VP) thoroughly with plain water, dry it with a non-shedding paper towel (as the majority of dishcloths that my wife buys leave some sort of linen pilage behind) and then rinse with water, followed by the cheapest bottle of crap <not-port> that is available to us here in Canada called "port 74."

Still smooth, with only a minor showing of alcohol on the nose. No burn when compared side-by-side with the Taylor 10 yr. Much better - unfortunately, this 10 YOT is nearly C$14 more than the Taylor 10 yr, which is a pity, because I cannot really afford $37 for a simple 10 YOT on a regular-type basis. There are many more exciting offerings in the city for a few bucks more (halfs of 80 Gould Campbell VP for example for only $3 more - maybe not a blockbuster VP, but I'm betting better than the Noval 10 YOT.)

Todd