Thread drift: what are some of board’s favorite generally available tawnies?
On the very inexpensive end I am a fan of Croft’s Reserve Tawny. The Reserve Tawny sees up to 7 years of maturation prior to bottling. To me for $17.99 it is a great representation of young Tawny and a way better value than 10 year tawnies and far superior to generic tawny designated ports.
For 20-30 YR designation I really enjoy Graham’s and the extra rs typical of the house style.
Other producers I enjoy in no particular order.
Taylor’s
Ramos Pinto
Sandeman
Niepoort
Quinta do Noval
One thing my visit last winter to Portugal made very clear is how much more I like tawny and Colheita than vintage Port, including top vintage port at age 30+.
I love the lighter color, the baking spices, the acids.
Are there any good buys in older Colheita in the USA at the moment?
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Big, big fan of the Ramos Pinto 20 year.
Chris, on W-S I am seeing a bit of Quinta do Noval Colheita Port at reasonable prices. 2000 vintage for $119 etc.
This Graham’s 1990 has been my favorite. Shared with friends on our walk back to Porto.
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I remember doing a tour of Taylor’s and Graham’s in Porto a few years back now and we tasted a range from 10 to 40 year old tawnies amongst other things. In terms of quality and value, the big step up at Taylor’s was the 20 year old and at Graham’s the 30 year old. In neither case did the 40 make it to the top of the pile. Single points and all that but they were two fascinating days tasting.
Cheers
Dave
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I’m going to chime in here for Quinta do Infantado.
The tawnies and especially the colheitas
Seems weird that Infantado even has tawny and Colheita.
Like many here, the 20-year Tawny is my sweet spot. In my upper tier is Ramos Pinto and Ferreira Dona Antonia, with Fonseca, Graham’s, Taylor and Sandeman in the next tier. We did visit Oporto in 2017 and the Graham’s 30-year Tawny was awesome, and worth the occasional splurge over the 20-year.
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Are Porto and Oporto kind of the same deal as possum and opossum?
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Why weird?
You can blame the British for Oporto
O= the in Portuguese
I thought it was the Irish who stuck an O in front of names.
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Infantadocide
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This.
Also a fan of tawny over vintage, first for the flavor (that nuttiness and fruit) and second for the (good) price.
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My absolute favorites are very difficult to find in the states. But these are all excellent. I love the Portuguese style more.
If you can find the 1974 Barros, it’s stellar. Around 100euros/bottle. Might be hard to find in the states, but the same parent company as Kopke. Next year is the 50th anniversary of the revolution so prices might increase.
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you love the Portuguese style more than what? I’m confused … aren’t all Ports “Portuguese style”? What is “Portuguese style”?
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Have you ever had Portuguese sausage? Maybe for breakfast in Hawaii?
It’s like that, but for fortified wine.
Its got that Barton Fink feeling.
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