If you are a connoisseur of fine wine, then you may very well be a lover of Tawny Port. Tawny Port is a sweet blend of fine vintage wines that have been aged in a wooden cask for at least six years. The grapes used for making Tawny Port are grown in the Douro Valley of Northern Portugal. As Tawny Port is aged in the cask, it undergoes a beautiful transition as its flavor slowly changes to a wide array of savors including toffee, vanilla, and caramel. Its color changes from lighter shades of red to the darker shades of amber blue.
Tawnies are usually characterized by their age and come in 10, 20, 30 and 40-year-old flavors. The price of Tawny Port varies according to the age, the 40-year olds being the most expensive ones. Usually, Tawny Ports fall in these price ranges:
10 year old = $18-$32
20 year old = $28-$55
30 year old = $60-$90
40 year old = $95-150
However, not all Tawny Ports are so decently priced. If you are expecting a very rare and old Tawny, you’re going to shell out a huge sum of money. Here is the list of 5 most expensive Tawny Ports ever sold.
5. Sandeman Cask 33 – $793.33
How much would you pay for a wine that is half a century old? Cask 33 is considered to be one of the oldest Tawny Ports made by Sandeman. The average age of Sandeman Cask 33 is known to be 50 years old while its oldest constituent is 70 years old. This very first single cask Tawny Port has a unique and nutty, spicy flavor. It is one of the 40 casks that was produced in Vila Nova de Gaia for aging in 1963. Unlike the other expensive and rare Tawny Ports, the hand blown bottle of Sandeman Cask 33 is a decent one and has the initials of its founder, George Sandeman engraved on the bottom. 685 bottles of Sandeman Cask 33 were inaugurated in 2015 to mark 225 years of Sandeman.
4. Taylor’s Scion – $2687.63
Scion is a Tawny Port that was not produced by Taylor’s Port and surprisingly they found it in the footsteps of their company in 2008. The 155 year-old Tawny was produced by a family of Douro Valley happens to be the only Tawny Port that survived the epidemic of Phylloxera. The bottle was passed from one generation to another and was finally left to the only surviving heir of this family. The person decided to sell it and approached Taylor’s. Realizing the importance of this relic, Taylor’s acquired this two cask bottle. This elegant crystal decanter bottle of Scion was presented in a beautiful teak box containing a limited edition book narrating the story of this wine.
3. Penfolds Rare Tawny Port – $3550
Produced from a magnificent collection of 50-year-old Tawny Ports, the Rare Tawny Port is a gem that was released in the June of 2012. It has a delicate taste owing to various essences like fruit cake, chocolate, and mocha. It is available in a beautiful hand blown bottle and comes with a leather label. The 330 bottles of 750 ml Tawny Port have an alcohol content of 19.7%. The raisins and oak give this tawny a sophisticated fragrance and caramel color.
2. Taylor’s Fladgate 1863 Single Harvest Tawny Port – $3700
Taylor Fladgate one of the well established Port Houses which has been making Tawny Port since 1692. Among its age-old rare Tawnies, one of the most expensive ones is 1863 Single Harvest. The beautifully carved crystal decanter of Taylor Fladgate 1863 Single Harvest Tawny Port is presented aesthetically in a wooden box along with a beautiful maple burl veneer. Apart from this, each box of Single Harvest also includes a certificate signed by the CEO of Taylor Fladgate, Mr. Adrian Bridge. This beautiful Tawny Port dates back to over one and a half century and strikes a perfect balance between age and vitality.
1. Graham’s Ne Oublie – $7480
Be prepared to shell out over $7,000 for this rare bottle. Ne Oublie is revered as a relic as it is one of the oldest Tawny Ports of all-time. It dates back to 1882 and is an exclusive wine with only 3 barrels produced. It is bottled in an exquisite hand blown crystal decanter and is adorned with three silver rings. It is presented in an elegant leather box that has been designed by Smythson, a well known British brand. It has one of the most complex and unique tastes with a blend of orange zest, caramel, dry fruits and honey.
