While combing through a shelf full of standing bottles in my cellar, I came across a bottle of AMBROSETTE 30 Year Old Tawny…bottled in 1981. So a quick bit of mathematics and I am holding a bottle of 70 year old wine! Of course, this could open a discussion which might last as long as the aging of the wine in the bottle. So rather than talk about the age of Tawny, I opted to open and decant it!
After careful decanting to avoid a small but firm sediment passing from the bottle, this Aged Tawny from stocks aged in Sandeman’s Lodges on the banks of the River Douro in Gaia, blossomed like a flower.
A bright tawny mahogany amber in colour, the wine came alive from its 40 years of sleep after a couple of hours, revealing a complex smoky aroma of leather, iodine, straw and dried fruit. Very alive in the mouth with full, mellow sweetness, spice with depth and complexity, a great balance and a long satisfying finish.
I was always told that the wine was named after a girlfriend of my grandfather, but I am sure that it is a derivation of “ambrosia” denoting its ethereal quality.