Dow's 20 Year Old Tawny
€ 58.00
Dow Old Tawny Ports are the pinnacle of the art of winemakers and blenders. Only tasters with deep experience and knowledge of the great ports of the Douro can nurture these wines through many years of aging in cured oak barrels in the Dow cellars. Dow blenders will select particular wines that are set aside and destined to become these great Old Tawny Ports.
Old Tawny Ports should be tasted regularly over the many years that they remain in the cellars. The wines need to be racked from time to time during each year. Racking is the process by which Dow's team of experienced lodge men carefully extract the wine from its 'lees' (the natural sediment that forms at the bottom of the barrel) and then pour it back into the clean barrel . During these many years of careful attention and aging, the dark, purple and vibrant Young Port is softened and aged into the complex yet delicate Tawny Aged Ports, taking on a classic reddish amber hue that gives them their name. Most of Dow's Old Tawny Ports are aged in the company's extensive cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, where the moderate coastal climate plays a key role in providing a balanced aging process for the wine. Ports aged in the Douro tend to react to the great heat of the summer months by acquiring too strong caramel flavors. A small proportion of Douro-aged Tawny Ports are normally a valuable addition to the final blend, but too much will unbalance a great Tawny Port.
Dow's has one of the largest stocks in the entire trade in the world. port in oak barrels in its cellars. This unparalleled investment in a valuable Port is fundamental to the high quality of Dow's Old Tawny Ports. Dow's Old Tawny Ports are drier than most (while retaining the classic richness of all Port wines). It is widely recognized among generations of Port growers that producing slightly drier Old Tawny Ports is much more difficult than producing sweet Tawny Ports. Sweetness can mask any slightly less balanced wine, but will tend to make the final blend more cloying and less pleasant to taste. It is for this reason that Dow's Old Tawny Ports are slightly drier than others. This fact makes the blender's job more difficult and demanding, but the wine that finally gets bottled is excellent and is the reason that Dow's Old Tawny Ports regularly win top awards around the world for style and quality.
Food-Pairing
Dow's 20 Year Old Tawny pairs well with nuts, dried fruit and fruitcake, as well as vanilla ice cream or crème brûlée.
Grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Sousao & others
In the barrel-ageing process, aged tawny Ports are subjected to a gradual transformation through contact with air and wood. This results in considerable evaporation and
concentration, with approximately 35% of the original volume of a 20 year old tawny disappearing before it is eventually bottled. Constant attention is needed as maturing
barrels and vats of varied sizes will show marked differences as they age. The master blender, cellar master and coopers all play their parts in nurturing the maturing wines until finally a beautifully balanced aged tawny Port emerges. Dow’s Aged Tawnies have a singular identity which strives to balance the proportion
of wood character with the original fine fruit flavours. To achieve this style, the Dow’s tasters have traditionally aged a proportion of their ageing tawnies in the larger well-seasoned oak balseiros, with capacities ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 litres. The result is that the Dow’s Aged Tawnies retain an attractive fruit character and lose less intensity over the years, with a deeper colour than most. This, combined with the hallmark drier style of Dow’s, creates unique Ports with a distinctive style
Alcoholcontent
20%vol
Store & Serve
Serve slightly chilled at cellar temperature at 12 - 15ºC. It will last for up to one month once open.
92/100 - Wine Spectator Tasted: Apr 2019
94/100 - Decanter World Wine Awards Tasted: Jun 2017
93/100 - Wine Enthusiast May 2019
This is a wonderful wood-aged, mature Port full of the classic old gold flavors and intense acidity over a dry texture that is a signature of this producer. The wine is impressive, balanced and ready to drink. Roger Voss
Producteur: Dow's
Region: Douro