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The bloody Red Baron was running up the score.

However, at what point does an aged Tawny become too expensive for the difference in quality?

I personally think that 20 year old tawnies provide the best value as they are affordable but are a significant leap forward from the 10 year olds from the same producers.

I have had 30 yo and 40 yo and am not as spectacularly impressed as I think that I should be for the increase in Port tokens that this involves.

Colheitas are a different matter and are sometimes cheaper than an equivalent tawny which just baffles me.

Your comments please.

I don't have a huge amount of experience in this field (having only tasted a couple of hundered ) but would agree that the 10-20 year gap is the widest in terms of wowability.

Personally, I would like to see someone buck the trend and market an "Over 40 years old" with subtext confirming that the blend has an average age of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 years.

I am sure there are lots of old Colhieta's lying around that aren't quite the dogs round things that would show much better and be more marketable if they were blended with some of their peers and a touch of young stuff added to freshen them up.

Derek

DerekT. wrote:would agree that the 10-20 year gap is the widest in terms of wowability.

...and yet this is the closest in terms of price. I don't get the price jump after this.

I would think that the big price jumps to the next two levels are more down to the perception of the customer than the cost of production. The wines that are used to blend these older tawnies will not take up much space in the cellar and are more or less cost free to maintain. I think they just charge what the market will stand rahter than a true cost plus margin. In that respect they are similar to VP.

Derek

40 year old are too expensive. I'd love to try them, but I just can't justify it. I grab a 10yr old, or sometimes a 20.

Suppose it's down to wallet power.

Alan

This is the scenario in Montréal :
- 20 yr old Tawnies go between $55 & $60 bucks
- 30 yr old tawnies " " $100 & $125 bucks

Graham 40 yr old $181.00 ( approx. 20 bottles available )

Taylor 40 yr old $238.00 !!!! ( approx. 250 bottles available )

I totally agree. The 20s have the best money-value-relationship, but try the Noval 40y old and forget everything else...

Axel

For my taste, the 20YO's are usually the best. There is one exception: Niepoort 30YOT. Simply the best aged tawny I know.

...and the priciest, no? I do still taste it in my mouth every now and then.
One of my first and greatest ProWein memories...and I didn't even drink it there. It was the only Port I remember tasting that didn't take the jackhammer to my tooth enamel. Do you remember the 2003 Taylor we ventured? That...was...painful .

Why blow $100.00 CDN on a 30 yr old Tawny ( have only had one ) , when I can enjoy the decanting and developping of a VP for the same price . . .

Because (in the case of the Niepoort) it is a completely different type of port than VP, but just as good as any top VP.

RonnieRoots wrote:Because (in the case of the Niepoort) it is a completely different type of port than VP, but just as good as any top VP.

The 30 yr old tawny was a Kopke .
Very good , nutty and a hint of caramel .
Won't be my last .
No Niepoort tawnies in Québec .