Aged tawnies have been flavour of the year in 2026 and are likely to be flavour of the month over December – January. The following wines landed on my desk and I lined them up for a comparative tasting. For more information on aged tawny and colheita Ports, turn to my book Port and the Douro, signed copies of which are available from this website.
Ramos Pinto 10-Year-Old – Quinta da Ervamoira ****
Ramos Pinto regularly and deservedly win top medals for their tawnies the Decanter World Wine Awards. There is quite a bit of pressure on the ten-year-old category at the moment with some wines looking rather younger than perhaps they should. This ten-year-old is as it should be and comes from a single estate in the Douro Superior: bright brick-red with a thin tawny rim; ripe, soft fruit aromas with a savoury-spicy overtone from cask ageing; succulent and spicy with lovely creamy texture, still vibrant and fruit driven, peppered with tannic spice mid-palate and on to the long, fresh finish. 17.5
Kopke 20-Year-Old *****
Kopke is the oldest of all the Port houses, its foundation dating back to 1638. They are sitting on large stocks of well-tended aged tawny and colheita: lovely orange-amber-tawny with beautifully scented, gently lifted aromas redolent of orange blossom and candied peel; gloriously smooth and suave in texture and mouthfeel with delicate spice and crystalised fruit flavours which linger on fresh, mouth-watering finish. Elegant and very fine. 19
Kopke 2006 Colheita ****
From a hot, dry year in the Douro, ‘one of the most difficult of the first decade of the 21st century’ according to Kopke. It was a year where older vines resisted the extreme heat and the best grapes were picked early on before persistent rain dampened the harvest: lovely red tinged amber-tawny hue; not as aromatic as the 20-Year-Old, rich and settled on the nose with a hint of vanilla over ripe, warm country fruit; sweet and succulent with that travel sweet fruit that rather defies definition, retaining a dusting of tannin on the soft, sweet finish. 17
Krohn 2001 Colheita ****
Wiese and Krohn as they used to be known were famous for their stocks of colheita, most of which were captured by Taylor’s when they purchased the firm in 2013. Ten years later, stripped of its most famous assets, the firm was sold on to the newly formed WineStone Group who sent me this sample. Deep (for a wine of this age) brick red with a thin tawny rim; still fruit-driven on the nose with a touch of peppery spice but obviously quite suave with age both on the nose and palate with soft yet vibrant summer fruit (strawberries and blackberries) and a lovely fresh yet opulent spicy finish. Bottled in 2025 and still young for its age – I hope that more of this wine has been kept back for future bottlings to re-establish the reputation of Krohn. 17.5
Kopke 1979 Colheita ****/*****
I left school and began work in Portugal in the summer of 1979. I had other things on my mind but it was not a famous year for Port (just a few single quinta wines were bottled). This wine is almost certainly the best from 1979: lovely pale tawny hues with a glint of orange; calm and quite demure on the nose for a wine of this age with well-developed and quite heady aromas of dried fruit and spice; rich and suave on the palate, slight savoury complexity with remarkable freshness and depth and a big finish for a colheita where the fruit rises to the fore. Lovely nuanced wine. 18.5
Quinta dos Carvalhas 50-Year-Old ****/*****
‘Edition 255’ from this well-situated single estate belonging to Real Compahia Velha; rather lovely pale orange-amber with gentle yet nicely lifted, slightly piquant aromas that sing from the glass, a touch of vinagrinho; gentle creamy texture (milk chocolate) with a hint of clove and nutmeg, still fresh, delicate and beautifully melded with that Brazil nut creamy complexity of age and a long, beautifully refreshing finish. A wine to sip and cogitate. 18.5
Dalva 50-Year-Old ****
Distinctly amber in hue with a green tinge to the rim; nicely evolved on the nose with a lifted Elvas plum character combined with smoked, roasted almonds and a hint of all-spice; rich and (amazingly) still structured with fresh greengage and plum flavours with a lovely long sweet, succulent yet fresh candied citrus finish (129g/l residual sugar). 18
Quinta dos Carvalhas 80-Year-Old *****
Composed from a blend wines dating back to the 19th Century (40%) with 30% from the 1927 colheita, 25% of 1955 colheita and 5% from the 1975 colheita; a lovely deep amber with greenish tinge to the rim; lifted (distinct vinagrinho) on the nose, quite exotic with lemon and lime marmalade, orange blossom, all-spice with a touch of cigar box; delicate yet profound on the palate (if that doesn’t sound like a contradiction), crystalised fruit, retaining remarkable freshness with a touch of savoury-leathery complexity on the long, supremely elegant finish. Remarkable for its freshness and verve. 19.5
.
