Rozes - Tawny - Over 40 Years Old Port (750ml)

The NV Tawny Port "Over 40 Years Old" was just bottled in September 2015. It comes in at 155 grams per liter of residual sugar and was bottled with a bar top cork. Laced with seared molasses, bitter chocolate, a bit of treacle and some whiffs of brandy, this doesn't have the richest mid-palate of the "40s" in this report, but it is unctuous in texture and it certainly holds its own (and then some) in aromatics and complexity--with that medley of concentrated flavors that long-aged Tawnies acquire. Perhaps no other 40 in this report seemed quite as old. They don't seem to be kidding about that "over 40 years" name on the label. António Saraiva advised that "there is a certain percentage of 1937 single harvest, which makes all the difference." Some older tawnies lean more to the decadent, some more to the complex flavors. This is clearly more in the latter category. It has a certain, intellectual demeanor, especially early on. The acidity keeps this alive and freshens it, mingling with the spirits and the sugar to make a nice whole. I confess that on first tastes, I wasn't a believer here. For one thing, it was clearly an outlier. Yet, the complexity won me over. I began to think this was quite wonderful. It also seemed far better, much smoother, after a week open. (And perhaps even more than most, it needs to be drunk on the cooler side, around 57 degrees Fahrenheit.) If it's not as sexy as some or as rich, the flavor medley on the long, lingering finish makes it very intriguing as well as delicious. This is a super bargain if the modest Suggested Retail Price (for a 40 Year Old) translates into good street prices. (I've seen it higher, though.)

Without much ceremony, we re-tasted for you  the Rozes Tawny "Over 40 years old"  of what proved to be something quite special: their Tawny port which proudly state on the botte: “over 40 years old”.

The key to tawny port, which takes its name form the lovely nut-brown color is assume after aging in oak is precisely how long the aging is allowed to occur. It is generally agree that it is around 20 years of aging that a tawny port achieves the desire state harmony between sweetness and the mellowing effect of slow oxidation.

At 30 and 40 years of aging a new level can emerge which I will call the ethereal stage which, if not unique to old port occurs but rarely with Burgundies and Bordeaux. The robust effect of brandy in the old port gives a strong support system which helps deliver the ethereal notes in a surprisingly lively manner.

The Rozes wine business was founded in Bordeaux in 1855—the very year of the classification—by Ostende Rozes, a fine wine dealer who then started importing and marketing Port wines. His son Edmond made the wise decision to give the Rozes name brand identity by bottling most of their ports in the traditional Portuguese bottle shape. Rozes was the first Port wine exporting group to settle in the Douro Valley.

I return to the glorious 40+ year old tawny I so recently tasted. The current version is based on port from 1937 to which a variety of younger wines are added to create a continuous average age of more than 40 years.

The bouquet floats into the nose with gentle yet persistent notes of tobacco, caramel, cinnamon, lightly grilled hazelnuts and ripe pear. It is the kind of bouquet to which the taster can return over and over without loosing interest.

The same delicacy informed with innumerable nuances of flavor and texture is present on the palate. The sense of elevation in the nose carries through to the finish. The alcohol is hardly noticeable.

This wine has achieved an ideal blend of the sweet and the savory. Imbibe this masterpiece slowly with a moderately sweet cheese accompanied by a selection of nuts. You will be transported!