I’ll say this: it strikes me as false advertising. The standard is typically likelihood of confusion. If it’s going to confuse even the geekiest of geeks, it’s probably confusing by any objective standard.
1 Like
Feel free to ask them.
3 Likes
Yeah, I know. You are the world expert at posting them.
Yes, this was my understanding - that the age on the bottle was what the producer thinks it should taste like at that age. Which sounds pretty shifty, to be honest.
A check of various producers:
Actually aged for at least the specified period:
- Fonseca 20: “20 years of ageing” (note: website didn’t have the 40yo?)
- Taylor’s 40: “40 years of ageing in wood”;
- Dow’s 40: “aged 40 years”.
Producers who claim “average age”:
- Quinta do Noval: “blend of old Ports from different vintages, matured in oak casks and with an average age of 40 years.”
- Cockburn 20: “blend of wines cask-aged for an average of 20 years”.
- Niepoort 30: “Tawnies With Age Indication such as “30 years” are blended from different wines averaging 30 years.”
- Warre Otima 20: “The age indication on the label therefore refers to the average age of the component wines”.
- Churchill 30: “wine goes through an ageing period in seasoned oak casks for an average of 30 years.”
- Sandeman 40: while not claiming average age of 40, producer states “the final blend results from the strictest selection of wines usually between 30 and 55 years of age”.
Producers with no information regarding minimum age or average age on website (or at least I could not find any info):
- Croft 20: “The 20 Year Old Tawny is drawn from a reserve of fine wood ports which have been aged to full maturity in seasoned oak casks”.
-Graham 40: “This wine is composed by Graham’s Master Blender, Charles Symington, from wines put aside in the cellar by his great-grandfather, grandfather, father and uncles.” It is noted that the producer states that their 20 is a blend of wines averaging 20 years in ageing, so read of the 40 what you will. - Ramos Pinto 30: “blend made from several Port wines that have been aged in cask for decades”.
Interesting how “average age” is interpreted by the producers who use the average age method. Is a blend comprising 10% of a 50yo wine plus 90% of a 30yo wine result in a blend of 40 years average age? Or would it have to be a blend of 50% 50year old wine, plus 50% 30 year old wine?
1 Like
.
It would be interesting to see the last time folks commenting on this thread actually drank a 20 year Tawny as an example.
My wife and I go through several bottles of the Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny every year. In fact a bottle of it is always a birthday present to me from her. Got my most recent one on Saturday. We also open and drink the Fonseca 20 Year Tawny on a regular basis. Others less often, but here and there.
Obviously Andy V. drinks a lot of Port. What about other folks?
Just curious.
Funny you should say that. Port of choice is Fonseca 20 year old tawny.
And for the most part unless the Port is seriously old (1970 or older) I get more plasure out of a complex tawny than most vintage.
I always keep tawny port in the fridge. My favorite is the Fonseca 20 year old, but Graham’s is more easily sourced. I’ve been blessed to drink a lot of old Colheitas (the oldest being 1863 Niepoort) and very old special editions, too. 1934 Noval was my 2021 WOTY.
Gail and I go through a case of Taylor 10 year old (which we actually prefer to 20 and 30) every year or so as an occasional digestif. I’m sorry to know that the age designations are more nearly metaphors for taste quality than references to age. But I’ll still drink the stuff.
Graham about six months ago. From time to time various others, Taylor Fonseca. One or two a year it varies. Thought about phrasing as rhetorical question but nothing sprang immediately to mind.
My wife and I drink a decent amount of tawny, certainly compared to the average wine consumer. Taylor Fladgate 20 is our go-to. Have three different bottles of 20 year and a Grahams 40 year open in the cellar right now. I actually prefer vintage ruby, but open them more sparingly as they don’t keep long once opened.
Taylor 20 often and regularly. Other tawnies much less so.
Very happy to see lots of folks drinking Port!
I try to always have some Tawny open in the fridge. I have a Colheita in progress in there now.
I like Port quite a bit, including tawny. I actually like a lot of dessert wine. But for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, I almost never ever buy it or drink it (Port or any other dessert wine). I have one bottle of Port in my cellar: a lone bottle of '83 Fonseca (birthyear). It’s actually on my agenda this year to buy some more dessert wines, as my wife particularly enjoys a sweet after dinner drink. The good thing is you can find a lot of Port/Sauternes etc for pretty reasonable prices on the auction market.
I drink a lot of Port. Not quite as much as Andy though! 
I’ve just broached a case each of Viera de Sousa 10 year old white and tawny. It’s not just what producers claim. Each batch of wine must be presented to the IVDP, the government regulatory agency, and they must pass a tasting panel. It also should be noted that the study claimed a plus or minus of two years in their figures.
1 Like
Sure there’s a potential error of a couple years in the estimation process, but its curious how all the highlighted ports are ALL on the short side, no? If this was a purely random, accidental issue I might expect a couple of the houses to have some tawnies that are on the long end.
But that begs the question on whether or not these which they displayed are purely random.
a fan of Taylor 10 and 20 as well as Graham’s 20 year Tawnys.
Interesting read. From tastings with multiple port producers in the past, I was under the impression that the wine in a 20 year Tawny on average was 20 years.
Doesn’t change my impression of how much I enjoy them, but interesting trivia to know.