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It’s safe enough to drink, but if you’re sensitive to the smell, it can be offputting, and impacts the flavour of the drink. One of the most graceful of wines, tawny port comes in a bewildering number of different guises, and has its own in-built hierarchy. The apogee, to my mind, is 20-year-old. It represents the epitome of balance and poise, combining the primacy of fine Douro fruit with the secondary complexity that comes from ageing in cask. But enough of the sexing up. For although they are totally different in style, I am not alone in ranking the finest 20-year-olds just as highly as the best vintage ports. You can tell this tawny is old by its brownish tinge. But it has shiny transparency that makes it appear quite lively. You can find a range of ports at most major supermarkets, as well as specialist retailers. Supermarkets that sell port wines include: Tawny spends more time aging in wood before bottling, specifically smaller-sized barrels, which permits slow oxidation and significantly affects its appearance, aroma, and taste.While Port might seem a bit complicated, it is very consistent: all of the basic distinctions and observations about the different tawny Port wines we explored can be applied to just about every other quality producer of this unique wine.

The aromas tend more to tire-tread, burnt orange peel, and nutty toastiness, which opens up on the palate with a fanfare of honeyed fruits and nuts, a lean silky texture, and a long finish. A good rule of thumb for pairing with desserts is that the more intense the flavor of your delicious confection, the older you should aim for your Tawny Port wine. There is a tradition of giving port to a newborn to enjoy years down the line, once they’re old enough to drink it. However, the vast majority of port these days is sold to be consumed immediately, and very few will develop at all once they’re in the bottle – much less improve. Late bottled vintage ports are of even higher initial quality, and are matured in wood for four or five years.

Tawny keeps better than vintage since it’s already been exposed to air during maturation. Kept in the fridge or cellar, a tawny port can be enjoyed many weeks after the bottle is opened. Burmester, Fonseca, Niepoort, Noval, Sandeman, Taylor and Ramos Pinto all produce 20-year-old tawnies in the premier league. The port shippers themselves often prefer to drink a 20-year-old in preference to vintage. The refinement of a 20-year-old tawny befits the climate and temperament of the Douro better than the heftier, bottle-matured wines which are more at home in cooler climes. There has been an unwelcome tendency for some 20-year-old tawnies to be marred by an excess of ‘Douro bake’, a characteristic that seems to be given credence by the tasting panel at the Port and Douro Wine Institute, which has to approve each and every lote of Tawny. The reason that Taylor’s scored so highly in the Decanter World Wine Awards was precisely because the wine had great poise, displaying remarkable freshness as well as age.

Ruby port is the youngest and cheapest style of red port. The best of these are bright, fruity and peppery. While the aromas are enticingly soft and elegant, the palate is surprisingly big and smooth, with a firm mid-palate saline grip and a long praline finish followed by a lingering butter caramel aftertaste. Rosé port – Just like rosé wine, here you can expect to find notes of strawberries and raspberries, alongside a caramel sweetness. Cheese, chocolate, fruity puddings and sorbet are all excellent pairings – serve ice cold for maximum enjoyment. Read on for our full guide including what the difference is between red and tawny ports, decoding the label, and the best way to serve it for maximum flavour. Geosmin is a chemical compound that can give wines and ports an unpleasant, earthy odour, usually the result of using grape crops having been affected by rot.Make note, each producer makes a unique style and identity, as well as some proprietary practices, that distinguish their products from anyone else’s. Tawny port – The name refers to the colour the wine turns after ageing. To have this label, they must be at least two years old, but you’ll also find much older examples, such as our winning 10-year-old (below). The age statement means the liquid is a blend of vintages with an average barrel ageing. Flavours here tend to be nuttier, and can include caramel, cinnamon and chocolate. Tawny ports are paler brown or amber in colour, with a more mellow taste. That typically comes from a longer period ageing in wood, which can impart distinct flavours of dried fruit and nuts.

The main shippers look to maintain their own house styles, but it is the ageing process which is of crucial importance to the style and character of a tawny port. In small casks or pipes of between 600 and 640 litres, the wine undergoes a slow process of oxidation and esterification as the colour fades and ethyl esters and acetals develop in the wine. To use the local parlance, the formation of these volatile components – known colloquially as vinagrinho (little vinegar) – are directly influenced by the ambient storage temperature and the rate of evaporation. Provided the wine has been well nurtured, a certain amount of bake can be a positive characteristic in a mature tawny. Many shippers use a small component of Douro-matured wine in their aged tawnies.The real thrill of a great tawny comes from those wines bottled with an indication of age. Four are permitted: 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old. The component wines used in blending aged tawnies are mostly sourced from A/B grade vineyards in the Cima Corgo or Douro Superior, but there are a number of properties in the Baixo Corgo such as Quinta do Vallado and Quinta de Santa Eufemia which are making some fine aged tawnies of their own. Drinking deliciously aged fortified wine sounds great, but what happens if you haven’t had a bottle in the cellar since you were a teenager? Not to fear, because the makers of Tawny Port have done the aging for you.