This was a blind tasting of 4 twenty year old tawny ports after dinner with the hopes of selecting one to serve at a future Repast. Tawny ports are different than the vintage ports we usually have at the Repast because the wine is aged in wood by the producer, then different vintages are blended to produce a ready-to-drink wine that reflects a house style. Twenty year old tawny ports are nutty and complex and balanced with a fruity freshness.
The tasting was at Portuguese restaurant Uma Casa in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco.
Pretasting Wines:
White: 2019 Quinta Do Gradil – Viosinho from Lisboa
Red: 2019 Vale da Torre (Paulo Laureano “Single Vineyard”?) – Blend from Alentejo
Tasting Wines (not ranked):
White: 2020 Soalheiro – Alvarinho from Vinho Verde
White: 2018 Magma (by Anselmo Mendes) – Verdelho from Biscoitos – Terceria
Red: 2021 Quinta Do Gradil – Tannat-Touriga from Lisboa
Red: 2018 Cartuxa – Blend from Alentejo
Dinner Wines:
White: 2022 Filipa Pato “DNMC” Bical/Arinto Bairrada
Red: 2018 Pegos Claros Reserva Palmela
After dinner the ports were tasted and ranked. The winner was Taylor Fladgate with 39 points and 8 first place votes. A close second was Graham’s with 39 points and 4 first place votes. Correction: After adjusting for a duplicate vote, the winner was Graham’s with 35 points, followed by Taylor Fladgate with 38 points. Click here for a copy of the handout.
| Rank | Points | Wine | Price (K&L) | Bottle |
| 1 | 35 | Graham’s | 64.99 | 1 |
| 2 | 38 | Taylor Fladgate | 54.99 | 4 |
| 3 | 47 | Fonseca | 54.99 | 3 |
| 4 | 55 | Sandeman | 59.99 | 2 |
The individual votes were as follows (corrected):
| Rank | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Total Points | 35 | 52 | 45 | 38 |
| Your Name | Bottle 1 | Bottle 2 | Bottle 3 | Bottle 4 |
| Vince | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Sue Beyer | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Marie Coppola | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Susi E | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| DeAtley | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Marc O’Polo | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Phyllis Harding | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Karen | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Diane K | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Chris Wood | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Betty Hood-Gibson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| David Gibson | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| John Henry | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Steve Shank | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Marjie, not Margie | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Steve Smith | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Allan Paul | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Cellar Society of San Francisco 