Winemaker Notes
This superb old Tawny Port is patiently matured for 20 years in seasoned oak casks, acquiring a softened mellow texture with an intense complex nose which complements the appealing raisiny fruit.
Ready to drink, makes a delicious dessert wine and is the perfect finish for any meal. Serve slightly chilled in warm weather, it goes very well with sweet desserts, cakes, milk chocolates, fruit and nuts, créme brûlée, Roquefort and as a digestive with cigars.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Well-integrated and harmonious, with a rich, creamy Christmas cake complexity on the nose and palate, building to a long, satisfying finish.
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James Suckling
Solid, still showing a tawny core and an amber rim with licorice, raisins, nuts, Earl Grey, preserved citrus and old leather on the nose. Medium-bodied, tangy and harmoniously sweet, with a hint of bitterness to balance the lushness. Fairly integrated alcohol in the long finish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Maynard's 20 YEARS OLD AGED TAWNY PORTO exhibits excellent maturity and complexity. Serve it with a slice of chocolate cake topped with a lightly sweetened frosting. (Tasted: March 27, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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.