Osborne Fine Tawny Porto

Osborne Fine Tawny Porto, An excellent example of a tawny port. Amber in color, with spicy, caramel aromas. Full of nutty, earthy dried fruit flavors, with a touch of wood. Tawny ports are lighter in body, nuttier and less sweet than ruby ports. Serve with milk chocolate desserts, or nuts. The grapes are completely destemmed and the fermentation takes place with prolonged pumping over in stainless steel tanks with temperature control. Afterwards, it is aged in oak barrels over four years.

Tawny Port is a ubiquitous style of fortified wine from northern Portugal. It is lighter than Vintage Port and Ruby Port in both color and aroma, and is often made from grapes grown in cooler parts of the Douro. Tawny tends to have a nutty, oxidative character, and is often enjoyed as an aperitif, shunning Port’s usual role as an after-dinner drink. Unlike Ruby, which ages for most of its life in bottle, Tawny Ports are aged in barrel for several years. This allows oxygen to interact with the wine, which gives Tawny Port its most distinctive characters, and leads to the pale, “tawny” color that gives the style its name. The tawny color and nutty, aged aroma is often created by aging in the heat of the upper Douro region, rather than shipping it downstream to Oporto as happens with other Ports. This short-cut aging method is referred to as the “Douro Bake”, a term also used to describe the caramel-like aromas that develop in wines aged in this way.

Osborne is a major drinks group in Spain and Portugal, particularly known for its Sherries and Ports. The firm was founded in 1772 in El Puerto de Santa Maria (Cadiz) and Sherry is the product most readily associated with Osborne. The company makes a full range of sherry styles, including the Rare Sherry range of old Solera wines – the oldest solera in the portfolio dates back to 1790. Osborne also have a range of Port wines, includes white, ruby and tawny expressions.