This incredible Tawny is both elegant and complex with flavours of caramelised nuts, figs, dried fruit, coffee, cinnamon and wood spice
Rich tawny in colour with amber hints. The 30-Year Old Tawny
boasts a hugely complex nose with intense aromas of honey,
spices. dried apricots, hazelnuts and vanilla. On the palate, the
sweetness is perfectly balanced by a linear acidity which carries
the complex flavours onto the exceptionally long finish.
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
Grapes destined for the Aged Tawny Ports need to have great
intensity of flavour in order to stand up to many years of ageing in
barrel. The grapes which make it into the Sandeman 30-Year-Old
Tawny are sourced from prime vineyard sites in the Cima Corgo
sub-region of the Douro, including Sandeman's spectacular
Quinta do Seixo estate. A large proportion of fruit from old vines is
used in the blend as these produce lower yields of grapes with
very concentrated flavours. The soil in the Douro Valley is schist - a
slate-like metamorphic rock that fractures vertically, allowing the
vine roots to dig deep to access water and nutrients to sustain
them through the hot Douro summers. The vines are planted on
terraces supported by dry stone walls on the steep hillsides sloping
down to the Douro river. Given the steep gradients and the
inaccessibility for machinery, vineyard operations and harvesting
are carried out by hand.
Upon arrival at the winery, the grapes were destemmed and
gently crushed. Fermentation took place in granite lagares with
vigorous treading to extract optimum levels of colour, flavour and
tannin before fortification. The ferment was closely monitored to
determine the ideal moment to halt the fermentation by fortifying
with grape spirit, leaving some of the grapes' natural sugars. The
wines remained in the Douro until the spring following the harvest
when they were transported downstream to the historic
Sandeman cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia for oxidative ageing in
oak barrels. The 30-Year-Old Tawny is a carefully crafted blend of
wines between 25 to 40 years of age
This 30 year old Tawny Port is the perfect ending to a meal, accompanying a coffee and nutty desserts.
'This is a beautifully concentrated wine. Rich and dense, it offers dried fruits, spice and intensity. The wine's spirit edge acts as a lift, bringing out acidity, honey, walnuts and a complex perfumed aftertaste. Drink now' 94 points Wine Enthusiast
Decanter World Wine Awards 2021, Gold Medal Winner
International Wine Challenge 2021, Silver
Decanter World Wine Awards 2020, Gold