Paxton's Tawny Port

‘Tawny Port’ is a technical term rather than just a name. It contrasts with the traditional ‘Vintage’ port that is full-bodied, with a heavy sediment and needs to be matured in the bottle for a long time. Tawny ports are made instead to be easy to pour and drink straight from the bottle and to be lighter in style so they appeal to more tastes. A tawny port is matured in oak casks for a long time before it is bottled. Our tawny port spends 10 years in this wooden cask, over that time much of the yeast and the sediment from the grapes drops to the bottom of the bottle and the wine changes from deep, dark red colour to a sort of tawny brown.

This style of port gives fruity flavours as you would expect from port, however the sweetness is softened by the age. The wine is more subtle and gentle than vintage port and would go with a wider range of cheeses.

Many people enjoy serving tawny ports slightly chilled (12°C or so)