NV Graham Porto 20 Year Old Tawny, Portugal, Douro, Wine Review

Sometimes Tawny's get short shrift to vintage ports, but for the money, 20 year ports from top producers are well worth keeping around. The bottle can be opened and consumed over a period of weeks. This is one of the better ones. Amber in color, clear and bright. Lovely nose with toffee, caramel, burnt orange peel and slight nuttiness. Full bodied. There is some alcohol and heat on the palate, but more warming than hot. Flavors of toffee, caramel and slight chocolate notes. Long finish. This worked so well with just a few pieces of chocolate. A bottle will last a long time if not opened (decades) and maybe up to three months once opened. A nice way to have a small glass to end the evening.

Grade:

A-

Score:

Current Price:

$45.00USD

Aging Wine Part III: Case Closed

Any regular readers of this column know that my wife, Emily, is pregnant with our first child. Upon hearing this news in June, I promptly began preparing to lay down a case of wine to enjoy with my unborn son 25 years down the road. Two months ago , I wrote about the process of aging wine – how to select it, where to store it, when to drink it, and so forth. Last month I delved into the all-important question of which wines are worth aging by cataloguing five of the wine categories that made their way into the mixed case I put together. This column finishes that project by reporting on the four remaining categories of wine I’ve chosen for my son’s case. In so doing, hopefully I’ll lend some help to others who are searching for wines to put away for a special occasion.

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Port Wine: Portugal's Douro Valley, Making Port Wine & the History of Port

Port is a fortified wine from the remote vineyards in Portugal's Douro Valley. Here, in the Douro Valley, time has almost stood still. You will not find the latest wine making techniques and fancy equipment. Instead, you will find a wine industry much the way it was over a hundred years ago. Yet, in spite of it, or because of it, vintage Port is one of the world's greatest wines. Port takes its name from the city of Oporto that is situated at the mouth of the 560-mile long Rio Douro or River of Gold. Although many port-style wines are made around the world – most notably Australia, South Africa and the United States – the strict usage of the terms Port or Porto refer only to wines produced in Portugal. It is these wines that we will explore here.

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Bartholomew Broadbent on Port, Madeira, and Great Quirky Wines from across the Globe

He's been named as one of the “fifty most influential people in the wine world" by Decanter Magazine . Bartholomew Broadbent The company he founded was nominated "Importer of the Year for 2005" by Wine Enthusiast . Prior to launching his own firm, he worked for a "Who's Who" list of the world's elite wine establishments with names like Harrod’s, Harvey’s Fine Wine Merchants, and Christie’s in London, the Rothbury Estate and Yalumba Winery in Australia, Hennessy and L’Academie du Vin in France, and Schenley in Canada, gracing his resumé. His work in Canada even resulted in the Canadian press labeling him the "Wayne Gretzky of Wine". He's widely considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on Port and Madeira. He's also credited for the growth of North American Port consumption during the mid 1980’s and was responsible for the re-introduction of Madeira to North America in 1989.

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NV Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny Porto, Portugal, Wine Review

Score:

Grade:

A-

Current Price:

$30.00USD

A very nice ten year Tawny Port. Ten years is the average age of the wine which is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca, and 25% Tinta Barroca. Iced tea in color, clear and bright. The nose is great with a nutty quality along with slight chocolate and a bit of Crème brûlée. Full bodied. Viscous. On the palate, this is sweet, not cloying with some alcohol showing (20% abv). It is complex and deep. Long finish. This is nice on its own and will work well with a less sweet dessert. Something nutty would be ideal, but even a Pecan Roll would work. So would a Snickers ba

NV Sandeman Porto 30 Year Old Tawny, Portugal, Wine Review

Score:

Grade:

A-

Current Price:

$75.00USD

This is a very nice Tawny that, considering it is a 30 year, is a nice value. Light brown with orange swirls in color, clear and bright. The nose has some toffee, figs and slight raisin notes. On the palate, this is slightly sweet. Viscous. Enough acidity. Long finish. This will, of course, last a long time. It is great on its own but would work with dried fruit desserts that are not too sweet.

NV Graham Porto 20 Year Old Tawny, Portugal, Douro, Wine Review

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Aging Wine Part III: Case Closed

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Bartholomew Broadbent on Port, Madeira, and Great Quirky Wines from across the Globe

NV Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny Porto, Portugal, Wine Review

NV Sandeman Porto 30 Year Old Tawny, Portugal, Wine Review