NV Quevedo White 30YO (bottled 2022) - Tonel 14: Granpa's White

[Alex Bridgeman]

Quevedo 30yo White, Tonel 14: Granpa's White. Bottled in 9cl format in 2022 for the 2022 advent calendar. Dark orange colour, 30% opaque - looking more like mature Sauterne than aged White Port! A little closed on the nose, perhaps a hint of pineapple, but on the palate this is a beauty. Smooth and poised; slightly thickened in texture and surprisingly dry. There is generous fruit, fragrant orange peel dominates, but this is not a syrupy style of wine despite the colour. Beautifully balanced with excellent acidity balancing the fruit. The aftertaste is huge, full of caramel and butterscotch; the finish a massive and persistent wall of dark orange marmalade, sweet and bitter; fruity and peppery. Fabulous complexity. Such a privilege to have been able to try this wine. Fabulous. 96/100. Tasted 08-Mar-23. Decanted ½ hour.

[Glenn E.]

I note with amusement that our scores once again paralleled each other's, but for once your scores were higher than mine. I, too, liked Grandpa's, then Senior's, then Junior's, then Claudia's (aka the standard 30YO blend), but my scores were 90, 88, 88, and 85. I think that's Quevedo's style for white Ports is just too dry for me.

[PhilW]

I differed slightly on this. Fascinating to try, but I put Grandpa's and Claudia's top, followed by Senior and then Junior; I clearly liked Claudia's much more than both of you. And since we'd been trying a lot of blending, I was messing around and found that the best I could come up with was a blend comprised of 90% Claudia's + 10% Grandpa's; admittedly I didn't have a large quantity to experiment with, but it was fun trying.