20 Year Old Tawny Port by Taylor

[Jay Hack]

I posted this on E-bob, but it seems that it belongs here as well. I know the snifter was the problem with the alcohol, but I was with a client and didn't want to seem like a jerk by asking for a different glass. They gave me a huge pour, so I asked for another glass and shared it with my client. It turned out that he agreed with me that the snifter trapped too much of the alcohol aroma. I generally do not like tawnies in restaurants because you never know how many years ago they opened the bottle. But this was quite good. I consider myself a strict grader and you need to get a WOW to get to 90 pts. This didn't quite justify a WOW, but it deserved an Excellent.


N.V. Taylor (Fladgate) Porto 20 Year Old Tawny - Portugal, Douro, Porto (7/11/2007)
At a restaurant, served from the bar in a brandy snifter. Would have liked it a bit cooler - cellar temperature. Color was dark golden brown, about the same as a very dark single malt. My initial impression was caramel on the nose with a bit of excess alcohol heat and some nuts in the background. I was not thrilled with the nose because I thought the alcohol was way too strong. However, the palate did not disappoint. In order of prominence, there were roasted cashews. roasted pecans, sweet caramel and acidity. The alcohol was still there on the palate and was the only negative. I asked the waitress if she knew when the bottle had been opened. She had no idea but said the bottle was almost full. I suspect that it had been opened and immediately recorked, and it needed some air that it didn't get, hence the strong alcohol aroma. After a while, it blew off and the taste got even better. The finish was longer than average, but not quite what I often get with really high end intense desert wines. I have not had a lot of tawnies for comparison purposes, but this was very very nice. (89 pts.)

[Robert O.]

Thanks for the note, Jay. I really enjoy this tawny. At $53 a bottle at my local retailer, I can't drink this every day but if it was a little cheaper, I would.

Bob

[Roy Hersh]

Robert,

For that kind of money, you can find the 20 year old Tawny Port by Ferreira, called Duque de Braganca. It is my favorite and the complexity is fantastic and the overall balance, impeccable. But the finish and flavor profile show why the extra few years of age (avg. 24 years old) is worth the few extra dollars. I normally find it between $43 and $55. I have yet to taste a better 20 year old Tawny.

[Robert O.]

Very interesting that you should mention that port Roy, as I ran across it recently...somewhere. For the life of me, I can't think of where!