20 Year Old Tawny, Dow

Wine Variety: A blend of the traditional port grape varieties.

Wine Region: The Douro river rises in western Spain (where it is known as the Duero) then cleaves through the granite mountains of northern Portugal before travelling west to the sea by Porto. One of the oldest classified vineyard regions, the Douro was, for many years, solely responsible for the fortified port wines. It is only relatively recently that still red wines - and more recently yet, still dry white wines - have been produced here. Granite and schist dominate the soils, but altitude on the high slopes can, to some extent, mitigate the torridity of the Portuguese summers.

Wine Producer: Dow's was founded by the Dow family over two centuries ago and passed through the hands of the Silva family to the Symingtons, under whose auspices it remains. Dow's own estates - Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira - lie in the upper Douro Valley. Dow tend to ferment their vintage wines a little longer than others, ergo the style for which they are known is drier.