NV Dow's - Porto Tawny Port 20 Year Old

Dow's traces its history to 1798, when Portuguese merchant Bruno da Silva began shipping wine from the Douro Valley to London, eventually building the house into one of the most respected names in Port. The Symington family took a controlling interest in 1912, and five generations have since lived and worked at Dow's core estates, Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, both perched above the Douro River near Pinhão. Dow's has become known for a distinctively dry house style, a departure from the sweeter profile many associate with Port, and the Symingtons continue to farm these historic terraced vineyards by hand on the region's steep schist slopes.

This blend draws roughly equal parts Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Touriga Franca, briefly fermented before neutral grape spirit is added to halt fermentation and lock in the grapes' natural sugar. The wine then spends an average of twenty years maturing in seasoned oak casks, during which nearly a third of its original volume is lost to evaporation, concentrating flavor and aroma. Cellar workers periodically rack the wine off its natural sediment into clean casks, a meticulous process that shapes its clarity and layered complexity over the decades.

The nose offers honeysuckle and butterscotch alongside walnut, candied orange peel, and dried flowers, with nutmeg and a whisper of toffee sweetness underneath. On the palate the wine is soft and creamy, building to a mouthcoating intensity of salted caramel, dried apricot, and almond butter that lingers into a long, polished finish. It pairs beautifully with soft-ripened cheeses, fruit tarts, or simply on its own as a chilled dessert pour.