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ckmic · 05-07-2011, 09:54 PM

I am a huge fan of tawny port - Taylor Fladgate's 20 year is my treat - not too expensive, not too sweet - good shelf life once opened ... lots of body - a bit oaky

Has anyone seen a kit that would come close to this?

I have tried a couple chocolate ports and they are great but I find you best drink them quick or they really sweeten up - within a week not very tasty anymore ...

Also had an apple port - again very nice but this one was really dessert all by itself (very sweet)

Any help appreciated - thanks

Wade E · 05-07-2011, 10:39 PM

Im not familiar with that commercial Port but I must say that the Mosti Mondiale La Bodega Port was the best out of any Port kit by far.
http://www.finevinewines.com/p-1981-lb001.aspx

ckassotis · 02-02-2012, 07:04 PM

FWIW, Taylor Fladgate is also my favorite. The 10-year is my go-to, with the 20 for special occasions. When money permits, I would love to try their 30,40,50. Some day.

Stumbled across this thread and thought I would respond, though you might have your answer by now.

A kit wine will never product a tawny port by itself. For starter's, a ruby port and a tawny port from say, Taylor Fladgate, are made from the same grapes. The difference is that the ruby is aged not in oak, but in stainless steel and concrete. This allows relatively no oxidation of the wine at all. The Vintage port, which has a shelf life of well over 100 years, is aged for ~2 years in oak. Max.

The difference with the tawny is that it is aged for 10+ years in oak. So over time, the wine will get oxidized, as well as have some evaporate, which concentrates the flavors even more. This is why it has such a nice "shelf-life" once opened, because it has already been exposed to such a large amount of oxygen relative to any other wines (or ports).

So in summary, you could potentially take a kit wine and put it in a barrel and age it for 10 years, and maybe end up with something tawny. My guess is that it would be pretty hard to replicate that though. Nevermind the cost of the barrels (since you couldn't use oak chips for this process). Hope that helps somewhat.

robie · 02-02-2012, 07:41 PM

Welcome to the forum.

Never tried that port, but it sounds expensive. Me? I like good ole Whiskers Blake.

I don't know of any port kit that would compare, but if you made the MM La Bodega port, added the right amount of brandy to get the ABV where you want it, then aged it out like a real tawny, it might be interesting to see how it will turn out. I would certainly like to know how it turns out... if I survive another ten years!!!

Nah, I'll bet you could cut a few years off that aging and still come up with a pretty good idea.

ckassotis · 02-02-2012, 09:25 PM

It isn't too bad. I think roughly $20-25 for a 10-year bottle, and somewhere in the viscinity of $40-45 for the 20-year. The 30,40,50 jump to $80-200 from what I recall, which is not something I have the money for at the moment.

Ol Whiskers Blake... Hm. Not sure I have ever even seen it. I will have to see if I can find it anywhere.

As for the tawny, who knows. It's possible. My only concern is that they don't even age in barrels - well, as we think of them. They age in several hundred gallon oak casks, because they don't want an overwhelming oak taste to it, while allowing it to get oxidized. Small scale I almost think the oak might get overpowering being in there for that long.

Worth a shot though for sure!

robie · 02-02-2012, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckassotis

It isn't too bad. I think roughly $20-25 for a 10-year bottle, and somewhere in the viscinity of $40-45 for the 20-year. The 30,40,50 jump to $80-200 from what I recall, which is not something I have the money for at the moment.

Ol Whiskers Blake... Hm. Not sure I have ever even seen it. I will have to see if I can find it anywhere.

As for the tawny, who knows. It's possible. My only concern is that they don't even age in barrels - well, as we think of them. They age in several hundred gallon oak casks, because they don't want an overwhelming oak taste to it, while allowing it to get oxidized. Small scale I almost think the oak might get overpowering being in there for that long.

Worth a shot though for sure!

$25 is not bad for something that old. A 20 year old port was just simply ruin me for life!!!

Whisker's Blake is a pretty ordinary port, so I wouldn't go out of my way to find it. It's less than $10 a bottle.

They allow it to oxidize? That sounds more like a Madeira. However, I don't know much about the process of making tawny ports. vinoenolgy.com has some videos on making port the Portuguese way, I'll check them out.

ckassotis · 02-02-2012, 10:37 PM

Definitely not. For the quality, it is well beyond worth it. Definitely worth trying if you enjoy port. Of the tawny variety anyway.

I prefer Graham's and Fonseca for ruby ports. I am looking forward to buying one of the new Vintage Ports from Taylor though, since they just declared a Vintage year.

I wouldn't say they let it oxidize in the most literal sense, as in Madeira or Marsala. They go out of their way to oxidize their wines in Marsala. I think this is just a bit of oxygen for a long period of time, so a very gradual process, and not large amounts like the above-mentioned types. More to aid in evaporation I think, concentrate the flavors, etc. That is my thought anyway.

robie · 02-03-2012, 03:14 PM

Well, you have me really curious now, so I believe I'll just try a bottle of the Taylor Fladgate. Every once in a while I should treat myself.

Thanks for your input.

Tyroneshoolace · 03-21-2012, 02:03 AM

You could also do what a person in our club does. He has a port barrel with a spigot. When you draw some off, you top off with another bottle of something you made, something you purchased, or brandy every now and again. After a while of drawing a little off and replacing it, on top of the concentration of being in a barrel you will find that you have created one heck of a house style port. I absolutely love his port although it is very hard to replicate as he has been working on his for quite a few years.

**Turock** · 03-21-2012, 08:32 PM

One of the judges, from the Ohio Wine Guild, gave our club a demonstration of how he makes tawny port. He said he lets it sit on his enclosed porch in the carboy so the sunlight will darken it, and he pops the airlock off of it now and then so it oxidizes. You have to keep a close eye on the airlock being off--you only want to MINIMUMLY oxidize it so it gets that nice nutty flavor. I think he kept the SO2 real low in it,also, to help the oxidation. I think he said he SO2'd it after reaching the desired oxidation. Tremendous oxidation tastes like drinking liquid rust, so be careful!