NV Quinta do Noval 20 Year Tawny

(91 points)My favorite of the three tawnys reviewed in this segment is the 20 Year Old Tawny. It offers an amber color, a spicy, tobacco, cedary, smoky, complex nose, dense, rich flavors that belie the color's aged, feeble look, and an expansive personality. It is a classic example of how delicious and complex a 20 year old tawny port can be. Tawny ports are aged in wood from essentially a solera system for the number of years indicated on the bottle. In most cases I prefer the younger ten or twenty year Tawnys to the ancient forty to fifty year old wines, but it is really a matter of taste. I tend to like more fruit rather than the oxidized and aged characteristics of the very old tawnys. Wine Advocate #107 (Oct. 1996 issue)