Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 87

YEAR'S BEST TAWNY PORTS
tions of Tawny stocks provide the freshness
and fruit clarity of this 20-year-old. It has
the fragrance of orange zest, with brighter
notes of lemon zest; the sweetness of orange
marmalade and lemon custard; the firmness of schist tannins expressed as rosemary
and other woody herbs. An elegant blend of
tangy and sweet, this is delicious to drink on
its own or with ripe Queijo Serra da Estrela.
( § P.R. Grisley, Salt Lake City, UT
273497

92 | Quinta de la Rosa

$45

Porto Tawny 20 Year Old (Best Buy) ^ A
rich style of Tawny Port, this has the floral
sweetness of nectarines, leaning into supple
touches of honey, then pulling back to spicy
apricot-skin savor. It's smoky and convincingly long in flavor, a pretty wine on the
youthful side of 20. § Winesellers, Niles, IL
274462

stantial stocks of aged wines the family had
kept. He's reserved Menéres, named for an
ancestor in the Port trade, for his top selections, including this 40-year-old, which fills
the head with what can only be described as
glorious richness. It seems to touch every
taste receptor, triggering a range of synapses
that bring back memories of fresh Douro
oranges, the gentle ripeness of apricots, the
golden sweetness of toffee, the red fruit of
pomegranates and the green notes of persimmon. Tight in its delivery, fully saturated in
its flavors, this is a wine to treasure in small
sips. Store the open bottle, recorked, in the
fridge and it will last for a month or more.
(Bottled 2017) § Elixir Wine Group, Bend, OR
274410

94 | Quinta do
Vallado

$250/500ml

Porto Tawny RP20 Quinta do Bom Retiro
20 Years ^ Bom Retiro is a historic property
on the south side of the Douro River canyon, across the river from Pinhão. It has
been owned by Ramos Pinto since 1919 and
provides the fruit for this Tawny. The wine's
earthy honey scent suggests its supple textures, while there's brightness to its orange
marmalade flavors, the lasting impression
firm, juicy and clean. § Maisons Marques &
Domaines USA, Oakland, CA

Porto Tawny 40 Years ^ There's beauty in
this wine's alcohol, a fiery warmth that has
captured the scents of roses and the soft luxury of caramel cream. While the fruit has
matured into scents of leather and rooty
notes of radish or carrot, it's no longer central to the wine's message, which is focused
instead on brisk schist tension, an ineffable
mineral freshness that's not drawn toward
earthiness but open to the sky. Drink this on
a cool afternoon, after a long, leisurely lunch,
especially if you happen to be in the Douro. §
Quintessential, Napa, CA

3 0 - Y E A R - O L D TA W N Y

C O L H E I TA

91 | Ramos Pinto

$70

274463

93 | Ramos Pinto

273484
$115

Porto Tawny 30 Years ^ Fully mature, luscious and fat, this has the dark bitterness of
tobacco and espresso to balance its richness.
Ignacio Monclus of Brooklyn's Camperdown
Elm suggested it would take the place of a
spirit after dinner: "It has the noble wood,
classic and on the dry side." § Maisons Marques
& Domaines USA, Oakland, CA
274409

91 | Quinta do
Vallado

$142/500ml

Porto Tawny 30 Years Old ^ Sleekly integrated, clean and rich, this has an oily fatness
to its tense line of golden fruit and brownsugar sweetness. A savory bass note of wood
keeps it balanced. Elegant. § Quintessential,
Napa, CA

4 0 - Y E A R - O L D TA W N Y

96 | Krohn

$73

1982 Porto Colheita ^ This colheita specialist
is now in the hands of the Fladgate Partnership; under the leadership of Adrian Bridge,
the partners have focused increasing attention on aged Tawnies and the treasures hidden in cellars like Krohn's. While 1982 was
trumpeted as a great year in many wine
regions, by now, most of those wines are
past their prime. Not this one. In fact, the
particular way in which it merges textures
and flavors is unique to the Douro: It has
a gentle touch of stone, a quiet floral riff, a
serious richness that defies whatever austere
tendencies the mineral structure might suggest. "A world-class wine," one taster noted,
while others were taken by its completeness
and the beautiful buzz of its riches. (Bottled
2017) § Kobrand, Purchase, NY

272180

95 | W.& J. Graham's

$1,200

1940 Porto Single Harvest Tawny ^ Europe
was deep in the throes of war when these
grapes ripened, nearly eight decades ago.
Anyone considering the future of the European Union might find this wine's integration inspiring, its powerful depths immediately apparent, even if its freshness seems
long gone. But consider it a bit longer and the
wine adds scents of stone fruit, dried apple
and raw nut to its gracious texture and broadshouldered concentration. Smoky, rich and
fascinating, the flavors will expand out of
a drop to completely fill your head. (W&S
8/19) § Premium Port Wines, San Francisco, CA
274421

94 | C. da Silva

$52

1995 Porto Dalva Colheita (Best Buy) ^ This
house, established in 1862, took the name
of a Brazilian, Clemente da Silva, who married into the family and moved to Portugal
in 1930. Dalva is a contraction of his name,
the brand featuring the family's stocks of
Tawnies and Colheitas. This 1995 wraps its
warmth in its sweetness, the tertiary aromas
and butterscotch of long oak aging beautifully integrating mineral tones and fruit into
creamy richness. (Bottled 2017) § Grape2Glass,
Newark, NJ
274404

94 | Warre's

$64/500ml

1995 Porto Otima Single Year Tawny (Best
Buy) ^ Perhaps the Symington family's power
in the Port trade and strength in Douro viticulture is best appreciated in a wine like this
Colheita, a luscious textural pleasure incorporating ripe golden fruits, round tannins
and sleek minerality. It's an elegant, British
view of the grandeur of the Douro, suited to
accompanying conversation long into the
evening. (Bottled 2018) § Vineyard Brands,
Birmingham, AL

273815

95 | Menéres

$63/375

Porto Tawny 40 Years Old (Best Buy) ^ This
is one of the four brands that Fernando van
Zeller developed after his family sold Quinta
do Noval in the 1990s, launched with the subWINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2019

https://www.grahams-port.com

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2019