As I was slurping my way through a few Pineau des Charentes in France last summer I was struck by parallels with Tawny - grapes with spirit added and left in barrel to mature. I asked the venerable owner of the Distillery, and she seemed to have no idea what I was talking about, didn't even really know what port was. She mixed it up with Madeira, thinking it "cooked".
The middle aged pineaus (17-20yo) seemed to me best - a good combination of complexity and fruit. Younger were somewhat grapey and simple. Older ones the fruit had gone and there was mainly only congnac left.
I've hardly drunk any Tawny - some Graham 10yo which seemed a little simple, and some Taylor 40 which was interesting but I took no notes. I read 20-30yo is often a good compromise, which perhaps seems similar.
Anyone any thoughts?
Pineau des Charentes vs Tawny
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Anything but Port, this includes all non-Port fortified wines even if they call themselves Port. There is a search facility for this part of the forum.
Anything but Port, this includes all non-Port fortified wines even if they call themselves Port. There is a search facility for this part of the forum.