20 year old Tawny Port by Taylor Fladgate -- bottled in 1990

[Marilyn Eickenhorst]

Andy suggested I post this tasting note that I sent him over the weekend, so here goes:

Charlie and I opened our Taylor 20 year old tawny last night. This tawny was bottled in 1990. We must have bought it in the early 1990's, and it's been sitting in our cellar since. This tawny was pretty bad. The color was a diluted amber, and the taste was very thin, dissipated. I don't know how else to describe it. There was a hint of nuttiness to the port, but it's "thinness" (for lack of a better descriptor) was the predominate taste.

Marilyn

[Andy Velebil]

Marilyn,

An excellent first TN here on FTLOP. many thanks

[Moses Botbol]

Welcome.

Your title made me think "ouch" and when I read it was what I suspected. Who says tawny age in the bottle (for the better that is)?

[Roy Hersh]

Hi Marilyn,

Thanks for posting your tasting note here on

I am sorry your bottle showed so poorly but I am sure it is due to the fact that it sat for nearly 20 years. I had a very fresh bottle last week and here was my TN that was actually in the current newsletter:

Taylor’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port – I first had this at an event with Robert Bower a couple of nights
earlier but took the rest of the bottle home to evaluate side-by-side with the Graham’s (above). In this
tête-à-tête, there was no competition. The bouquet of this Tawny was profound with molasses, dates
and Sultana raisins leading the charge. Viscous and mouth-filling fluidity, with prominent Fig Newton
flavors and a flamboyant, long and layered finish. The aftertaste gave off a touch of heat, but mostly
wowed my palate with a fine mélange of tongue tingling acidity and yummy liquefied crème caramel.
A very fine 20 year old. 93 points 10/22/09

[Marilyn Eickenhorst]

Roy,

As you know, we were port novices prior to the 2009 Port Harvest Tour. Having learned so much on the Tour, the first thing we did when we got home was to check the bottling dates of the few ports we had in our inventory. With our newly acquired knowledge, we didn't expect much from this 1990 bottling. But, it was worse than I expected. The only bad thing is that I can't get Charlie to throw the rest of the bottle away. He thinks it might be good for something. What, I'm not sure.

Marilyn

[Roy Hersh]

Marilyn,

At best you should pour the balance into an ice tray and freeze it. Then use the cubes when you need a base wine to cook with, say to marinate mushrooms or put in with a roast. Otherwise, dump the bottle when he goes to sleep.

It is always great to watch the learning and enthusiasm that takes place during the tours and you and your husband were very eager to try everything and learn. It was a true pleasure having you both with us!

[Glenn E.]

The only bad thing is that I can't get Charlie to throw the rest of the bottle away. He thinks it might be good for something. What, I'm not sure.

Cooking! Tawnies make great reductions, though the style is of course very different than one made with a Ruby Port. I also have a fantastic Port-seared Scallops recipe that uses Tawny Port because I feel that it goes better with the subtle flavors of scallops.

[Roy Hersh]

Glenn,

Try (at least 1x) substituting Pedro Ximinez (of the Sherry family) in for Tawny Port and see what you think.

[Eric Menchen]

I was going to give Glenn a hard time about the recipe, then I found
http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... f=3&t=5858
Looks delicious.