🍷 Tawny Port
Port aged for a long time in small casks, which turns it brownish amber.
Tawny is a port aged for a long time in small wooden barrels. The home of port is the Douro valley in Portugal. Through gradual contact with air the wine loses its red colour and becomes brownish amber, which gives the name: "tawny" means yellowish-brown.
The longer the ageing, the more complex the taste. Notes of nuts, caramel, dried fruit, spices and coffee appear. Tawny comes out soft and less tannic than ruby port. It is aged in barrels until ready and sold ready to drink: the bottle can be opened at once.
There are plain tawnies and aged tawnies marked 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years. There is also colheita, a tawny from a single harvest. Oxidative ageing is the main secret of the style. Tawny is served lightly chilled with nuts, desserts and cheese. Like any fortified drink it contains a lot of alcohol, so it is drunk from small glasses.
What it includes
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Tawny Port → made in → 🗺️ Portuguese wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Port
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Port, 🍷 Aged Tawny Port, 🍷 Colheita Port, 🏷️ Oxidative ageing
Frequently asked questions
What is tawny port?
A port aged long in small barrels, brownish amber with a nutty taste.
Why is it brownish?
Gradual contact with air in the barrel takes away the red colour.
How does tawny differ from colheita?
Colheita is a tawny from a single harvest, while ordinary tawny is a blend.
What to read next
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes, appellations.
- 🍷 Colheita Port — A tawny Port from a single year's grapes, with the year on the label.
- 🍷 Aged Tawny Port — Tawny with a number of years on the label: the average age of the blend.
Similar
🍷 Rosé Port · 🍷 Crusted Port · 🍷 Garrafeira Port · 🍷 White Port · 🍷 Ruby Port · 🍷 Late Bottled Vintage Port
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.