Sandeman 30 Year Old Tawny Port
The Sandeman range of Aged Tawny Ports is the most highly awarded of any Port House. These intense and complex Ports undergo extended ageing periods in oak casks, in the Sandeman lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia. 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. Upon arrival at the winery, the handpicked grapes were de-stemmed 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 decades of oxidative ageing in used oak barrels. The 30-Year-Old Tawny is a carefully crafted blend of wines between 25 to 40 years of age. 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.
