For The Love Of Port

Continuing in our quest to find the best of the Tawny Ports ... let's see what the FTLOP enthusiasts have to say about 20 year old Tawny Ports.

Do you have a favorite or two or three?

If you do a list, please put them in order of preference.

Ferreira
Andresen
Sandeman
Ramos Pinto

Ramos Pinto is still my favorite, but these days that's almost more a matter of tradition than anything else. There are just so many good ones out there!

Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro
Andresen Royal Choice
Ferreira Duque de Braganca
Kopke
Sandeman (too bright/acidic for me normally, but an excellent 20-yr old if you like that style)

Ferreira Duque de Braganca, Kopke, Noval

Ramos Pinto and Kopke, although when you take cost into consideration, the Quinta do Portal I got at $19/bottle also makes the list.

I have some Ferreira Duque de Braganca on order and am looking forward to trying that.

Sandy B wrote:Ramos Pinto and Kopke, although when you take cost into consideration, the Quinta do Portal I got at $19/bottle also makes the list.

I have some Ferreira Duque de Braganca on order and am looking forward to trying that.

What did you think of the Andresen 20 we took home from the Harvest Tour?

Sandy B wrote:when you take cost into consideration, the Quinta do Portal I got at $19/bottle also makes the list.

Yeah, if you rank 'em by QPR that Quinta do Portal you found at Vinopolis is the clear #1!

Good stuff. I only left it off my list because it takes so long to come around after you open a bottle. I don't always know 3-4 days in advance when I'm going to want a bottle of Port!

Niepoort. Taylor's a distant second.

To give some perspective, I have not yet had the Kopke, Ferreira, Ramos Pinto, or Andresen,

Ramos Pinto Bom Retiro 20 yrs
Andresen Royal Choice 20 yrs
Graham's 20 yrs slightly below the two above

Ferreira Duque de Braganca
Cockburn

for me.

Would be interested to hear how all these choices differ intaste profile.

Ferreira Duque de Braganca. A very elagant port with tones of chocolat and caramel. I love it!
Others I had were Niepoort, Graham, Ventozelo and Castelinho, they were very nice too, but Ferreira always gives me the most pleasure!

Monique.

Roy Hersh wrote:Do you have a favorite or two or three?

What about you Roy? What are your favorites?

1. Quinta do Vallado - full of depth and complexity
2. Niepoort - completely different from Vallado, fresh and with great citrus notes
3. Warre Otima 20YO - not necessarily the best, but something that we can get locally (albeit with some difficulty), and great in the hot climate of Oman.

I haven't had very many, but so far:

Ferreira
Graham's
Kopke

I generally rate good 20 year old tawny in the mid to upper-mid eighties in point score. In this band I have Ferreira, Offley, Quevedo, Taylor and Noval.

The only time I have ever rated a 20 year old tawny as exceptional, was when I encountered the Villar d'Allen 20 year old, which blew me away and I awarded it 93 points. No other 20 year old tawny has had that same degree of complexity, power and balance. I still shake my head in awe when I remember tasting it.

San Leonardo and Sandeman are the ones that stand out for me. I seem to recall that the Wine & Soul 20yr on show at the Big Fortified Tasting was also rather good.

Still enjoyable, but a notch down for my taste, are Ramos Pinto and Niepoort.

I also very much enjoyed the Quevedo recently.

I have not had the Vilar D'Allen (blended principally out of Quevedo stocks?), Andresen or Ferreira. Until reading this thread, i didn't even realise that a Cockburn 20 existed! (though winesearcher suggests i'd have to order from the US)

Yes, Villar d'Allen comes directly from Quevedo, the producer of this fine 20 Year Old Port bottling. I remember when the Allen family was getting ready to launch this and Oscar and also Tomas Allen came to my hotel, so that I could provide feedback on the Port and package, before the first Port Explorer's Tour. Impressive juice, no doubt about it.

Not having had many 20 YO Tawnies, my two favourites up till now are:

- Quevedo
- Vasconcellos

When young I really like Sandeman, Fonseca and Noval

I had some 1974 and 1989 20yo bottling from Niepoort this year and have to say, the bottle age make them so good!!!

We'll see how my rankings change after the 20-yr Tawny horizontal that we're planning, but at the moment, I'd say:

Portal
Taylor
Noval

are my favorites - in no particular order.