Quinta Das Carvalhas, 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Douro, Portugal

Tasting Note: Aged tawnies present Port at its very height, and this 20-year old tawny Port shows what two decades of mellowing out can do to improve and soften out a fortified wine so you actually taste and get at its very essence.

Medium-intensity tawny in color, this wine has an aromatic, medium-plus-intensity nose of red cherry, fig, raisin, cooked blackberry, marzipan, butterscotch and leather.

On the palate the, medium-sweet, full-bodied Port delivers pronounced-intensity flavors suggested on the nose along with toast.

The wine is mouthcoating in texture and completes with a long finish.

The Port is outstanding in quality because of its flavor complexity and flavor intensity.

If you like 20-year old Port, look for a 40-year-old version which must taste even better, relaxed and even more comfortable in its skin.

Bottle Note: This is one of the oldest Quintas in the Douro Valley, as well as one of the best located. Written references about Quinta Das Carvalhas describing its prominent position on the left bank of the Douro River can be tracked back to 1759.