For The Love Of Port

I tried a Taylor 20 year old Tawny yesterday..

I know.. I know..

But having tried a VP and an LBV I thought I should follow through and try the Tawny as well..

I guess I could be really hardcore and try a Ruby as well, but... No...

I'll get to the TN, but I would like to say this first:

It IS exactly as has been mentioned on this forum before..

1st place:

VP's, It REALLY is a case of "you get what you pay for"..

Close 2nd:

LBV's: The poor man's VP. The one I tried, the Smith Woodhouse '94, was similar in taste and overall characteristics (ie. improved with extended decanting).

So if you want a Port on the cheap, this is the one (one of them, anyways..)

Not as delectable as a VP, but close.

3rd:

The Tawny. Not BAD, but not good.

If you are going to spend $70 Cdn, for God's sake spend it on a VP, or buy 2 botles of LBV!!!

The Taylor that I tried had rough edges right out of the bottle, and MOST IMPORTANTLY (in my mind), did not get any better with time..

An inferior Port, clearly..

NOW..

Should I draw these conclusions on the basis of these 3 Ports?

Definately not..

But when there's smoke there's fire, I always say..

And when you're spending not less that $30 per bottle..

Go with your gut, I say..

As I mentioned, I had a good idea going in what the results of this experiment would be, based on what I'd read here and elsewhere..

But you never REALLY know the hows and the whys until you try them yourself..

Here's that inadequate TN of the Taylor 20 year old Tawny:

Colour:

Quite a bit lighter than I was expecting.. Like weak orange pekoe tea.. A LIGHT brownish orange.

Nose:

On first opening, powerfully alcohalic, very pungent.. And like the 3 other Ports I tried, the aroma reminded me of apples..

After a 12 hour decant the alcohal was not as prominant, but still VERY hot!

Taste (served at room temperature):

Right out of the bottle, very hot on the attack right on through..

Hard to appreciate the flavour of the Port when your your mouth is "burning" like this..

So I left it for 12 hours..

After that span I was dissapointed to learn it had not improved as had the VP and LBV I had tried..

It was sweet, but still that vaguely unpleasant acidity and heat on the attack on through that had all but dissapeared at this point with the LBV and VP..

Still good drinking, still gets the job done..

But if you're going to spend this kind of money, put it towards a VP, or 2 bottles of LBV.

I look forward to hearing any and all comments you'd care to share on the subject!

Interesting notes. I agree the VP's are the better of the three, but I wouldn't give up on Tawnies.

I have tried a few brands of Tawnies, one of which I expected to be really good, and one I expected to be average, and I found my own tastes were the opposite. For example, I tried a 20y Cockburn and a 20y Graham's, and it was night and day. I didn't particularly care for the Graham's (which surprised me because I naively believed at the time that big name = good). Everyone's tastes are different, and basing your like/dislike of Tawnies on one bottle I think does yourself a disservice.

I do, however, feel your pain on paying all the money for that. That's why I'd like some sort of sampler pack of various brands to see which ones I like a little more affordably. Around these parts, a 750mL Fonseca 20y runs around $48 US. Pretty steep, so I haven't tried one yet. Don't sell the "cheaper" Tawnies short...give them a shot, you may enjoy them more. The 20y Cockburn was one of the livelier ones I've tasted...I'd recommend trying to hunt that one down and would be eager to see what others you try and how you like them (or not).

Mike.

Cockburn, eh?

It's not looking good..

According to the BC Liquor Store site (our Provincial regulatory board and supplier), the 20 is unavailable in BC.

They could get it, but I'd pay through the nose..

So unless I run across it in my travels..

I WILL try to keep an open mind about Tawnys..

But they won't be high on the rotation..

Taylor has never been my favorite for aged tawnies. And $ 70 CAD seems like a pretty ridiculous price to me. Don't give up on tawnies yet! There are threads here regarding favorite 10YOT and 20YOT, see what you can find of those mentioned there and give it another try. Aged tawnies are completely different from LBV/VP, but if you find a good one, it can be very, very nice.
Good luck hunting!

Ok, I won't count them out.. :)

Doug

In my opinion you can`t compare young ports (VP and LBV) with old ports (tawnies), although they have the same grapes the stages are diferent. In VP and LBV we want that they develope in botle, in the other hand tawnies develope in wood and go to bottle when are read to drink.
You have to compare VP with VP or LBV and tawnies with tawnies, but we know there are better VP and LBV than others, the same of tawnies.

José Mendes

Apples and oranges..

This is true enough..

But you can judge them seperately on a qualitative basis..

In my case, I'm finding the VPs and LBVs more enjoyable.

But I will try more of the tawnies. Just not ones that cost the same, or nearly so, as a VP would.