Winemaker Notes
"20 Years" indicates and average age – this Aged Tawny Port is a blend of older wines, which offer complexity and younger wines, which bring fresh fruit flavors and vibrancy. During their long maturing period in oak casks, Aged Tawnies undergo subtle color changes: the deep red hue which characterizes Port's youth gradually gives way to a paler golden amber color. Dow's is known for its characteristically drier house style. This 20 Year has a full, nutty bouquet, concentrated, citrus, almond and caramel notes on the palate and a lingering finish. Many consider the 20 Year to be the perfect blend of complexity and vibrant fruit when it comes to Aged Tawny.
Serving and pairing suggestions
Dow's 20 Year is bottled ready to drink after an average of at least 20 years of cask aging. It has a t-cap closure, which means that you don't need a corkscrew to open it and that it will stay fresh for four to six months if stored in a cool, dark place or refrigerator. Serve it in a glass with at least a six ounce capacity so that you may appreciate the wine's aromas. Dow's 20 Year is delicious when paired with soft ripened cheeses, flan or fruit tarts. In warmer months, try it chilled for a refreshing dessert in a glass.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Attractively full in style for a 20YO. Subtle toffee and cream aromas, rich and broad palate, marmalade bite at the end.
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James Suckling
Attractive aromas of walnut, candied orange peel, nutmeg and dried flowers. Toffee, too. It’s delicate and creamy with a salted caramel and dried apricot character. Moderate sweetness with a lengthy, polished finish. Shows some tannins.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and lively in feel, with flan, date, persimmon and caramel notes weaving around each other, backed by a racy bitter almond accent on the finish. There’s lots to like here. Drink now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Soft in texture yet mouthcoating in its intensity, this is a honeyed, nutty wine filled with dried fruit, toffee and almond butter aromas and flavors. Like all tawnies, it won't improve with bottle age, so drink this while your young vintage Ports hog the cellar space.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.