Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny Port Wine, 75cl

Product Information

It is delightful when served slightly chilled as a stylish accompaniment to a rich appetiser such as foie-gras, a strong cheese quiche, salty vol-au-vents or a seafood gratin. Perfect with selected desserts such as a crème brulee or a tarte tatin, dried fruits or simply a fresh peach. An elegant aperitif when served chilled. There are few more iconic images in the world of wine than the ‘Don’, the logo created for the Sandeman family in 1928 by George Massiot Brown. The cape was modelled on the attire worn by students of the University of Porto, while the sombrero was a nod to the family’s presence in Jerez. 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. Stars - Trace of evolution. Cooked red fruits, light coffee, caramel. Well integrated, light spices. Medium to full-bodied. Pleasant. Drink up to 5 years." - Decanter Magazine There are few more iconic images in the world of wine than the ‘Don’, the logo created for the Sandeman family in 1928 by George Massiot Brown. The cape was modelled on the attire worn by university students in Porto, while the wide-brimmed hat was a nod to the family’s presence in Jerez. Today, the wines are good enough to be every bit as famous as the image of the Don. Since Sogrape bought Sandeman in 2002, the major improvements and investment that have taken place in the vineyards and the winemaking has seen the wines rise to the top of the tree in Port.

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. Beautiful pale tawny in colour. The 50-Year-Old Tawny is exceptionally pronounced and complex in aroma profile. Intense aromas of dried fruits, roasted walnuts, toffee and spice burst out of the glass. Velvety smooth on the palate, with a bright acidity keeping the decadent flavours on the straight and narrow and all culminating in a deliciously lingering finish.An outstanding Tawny Port Wine from Sandeman Port. A rich yet elegant combination of flavours - dried apricots, honey, nuts, spices, vanilla - creates an endlessly complex wine that unfolds smoothly and develops in the mouth. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Today, the Sandeman Ports are becoming every bit as famous as the image of the Don. This hasn’t always been the case, but since the Guedes family bought Sandeman from Seagram in 2002, the major investment that has taken place in the vineyards and the winemaking has seen them rise to the top of the tree in the Port trade. The fact that Luís Sottomayor was crowned Fortified Winemaker of the Year at the 2022 International Wine Challenge is testament to this. 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.Dried apricots, honey, nuts, spices, and vanilla creates an endlessly complex wine that unfolds smoothly and develops in the mouth 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. A tawny port aged in the Douro ages differently and more rapidly than that aged in the cooler conditions of Vila Nova de Gaia where most of the shippers’ lodges are to be found. Here, annual evaporation tends to be no more than 1% or 2%, whereas in the Douro the figure is around 3%. One single quinta making 10-year-old tawny estimates that by keeping the wine up in the Douro, the ageing process is accelerated by around 30%. A higher rate of evaporation serves to concentrate the natural residual sugars and the higher temperature produces wine with a distinctive toasted richness, known as ‘Douro bake’.