WTN: Taylor-Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny Port

[David M. Bueker]

Our favorite Tawny Port is about as consistent as high quality wine can get. Cherry liqueur, almonds, spice and everything nice all wrapped up in a balanced package that is the same bottle after bottle. Can't drink too much of it as that sameness is not an enduring virtue, but when the weather turns cold and the leaves are off the trees I love a glass of Tawny.

I do like Taylor Tawny as well. Good stuff.
Here are some notes from a tasting we did a few months ago.
100 Years of N.V. Taylor Fladgate Porto Tawny (Douro) – Cellartracker avg prices. Very educational flight. The obvious breakpoint to me in the complexity curve was at 30yr. In checking retail prices after the fact, I didn't find a monumental leap in quality from 20 yr to 30 yr (or 40) to justify 2.5-3x increase in pricing.
10 Year Old ($25): Mixture of raisiny and very ripe fruit, a bit thin and hot but acceptable for a young tawny.
20 Year Old ($45): So much more richness and balance in this port compared to 10yr old. The flavors really linger, some caramel notes, some red fruit, and the heat is tamed. Worth buying for the price
30 Year Old ($108): More unctuous than 20 yr old with an added complexity of walnut skins and macerated cherries. This is more complex than 20 but I’m not sure I like it more. Not worth $100+ for my tastes.
40 Year Old ($126): Not at all that different from the 30 yr. Ya, it is subtly smoother with less perceived heat but I don’t sense more complexity. So not worth the price for me.

My go to Tawny Port is from Cockburn. I like it because it is less sweet than some of the others (I like Niepoort too but can't always find it locally.) I may be reporting on a Cockburn 10-year Tawny during the month of December.

[David M. Bueker]

We had a chance to taste/drink the 40 yo this fall & it was good, but not 3x the 20 yo. Laura and I both really like 30 yo tawny, but only grab one very occasionally due to pricing.

I am not a big buyer of 10 yr Tawny etc. I am quite partial to Noval LBV as a few know here! There could well be a TN or two from me towards the end of the month.

[David M. Bueker]

Noval does some lovely LBV, though the taste profile of tawny vs LBV is so different that they might not even be related if you didn't know beforehand.

I don't buy enough LBV.

I tried some Tawny Port last Sunday and I must say that it's a very good drink. There's a mixture of tastes all rolled in to one. Very nice.