Graham’s 20 Year Old Tawny Port

Graham's makes this Tawny in the Douro Valley, one of the oldest demarcated wine regions in the world, where vines grow on steep schist terraces above the river. The blend draws on the classic Douro varieties Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela and Alicante Bouschet. As with all Port, fermentation is stopped early by adding grape spirit, which keeps natural sweetness in the wine and raises the strength. What sets a Tawny apart is the ageing: the wine spends an average of twenty years in seasoned oak casks, where slow, controlled exposure to oxygen through the wood breaks down the youthful colour and fruit and replaces them with developed flavours. The result is a wine that shifts from deep red to a reddish golden amber, with the characteristic Tawny profile of walnut, hazelnut, dried fig and orange peel over a toffee sweetness. The palate is smooth and warming, the tannins long softened, with a long nutty finish. Serve lightly chilled or at cool room temperature in a small glass. It works after dinner on its own or with nuts and dried fruit, and pairs well with almond tart, hard cheese or anything caramelised.