Searching for Tawny Value for Money in Portugal
Posted: 13:54 Thu 02 Dec 2021
The Problem
Quality vintage ports and tawnies are priced in Portugal at a premium; that is, at prices oftentimes well beyond the tariffs commanded in the United Kingdom and, most especially, in the Low Countries and parts of northern Europe. The Portuguese pricing reflects the fact that the highest rate of value added tax is levied by the Portuguese State on port wines (i.e., twenty-three percent). A second consideration is that the per capita disposal income of Portuguese consumers falls well below that in the aforementioned external markets - which leads to the retail pricing of better wines in a manner targeting a thin strata of domestic buyers which is not price sensitive. One could be forgiven for thinking that a conspiracy was afoot betwixt producers and retailers to favour foreign markets, aided and abetted by the Portuguese government’s value added tax policy with respect to fortified wines. Here, I recall prevailing scholarly opinion that the Marques de Pombal was much influenced by English mercantilism. Alas, mercantilist economic arrangements – indeed, any sort of economic policy other than clientelism – lies beyond the capacity of the current Portuguese government.
But I digress.
The question to be answered in this note is whether hard-pressed Portuguese consumers might find a potable twenty-year-old tawny in Portugal at a less-than-usurious tariff. Starting my search with the Taylor Fladgate Partnership (TFP), the initial findings were less than promising.
Taylor’s versus Taylor’s
The dominant supermarket chain in Portugal is Continente. In Continente outlets of any size one can invariably find Taylor’s 20-Year-Old Tawny Port as well as a second TFP offering - formally bottled by Quinta and Vineyard Bottlers, S.A. (i.e., an arm of TFP) - likewise approved by the relevant Portuguese authority (i.e., the IVDP) to claim twenty years of age. The latter is labelled as Contemporal - a Continente brand name applied to a small handful of port wines. As the Taylor’s label retails for about EUR 46 per bottle, and the Contemporal sets one back a relatively modest EUR 26, I thought a comparison of the two wines in order, not least given that they hail from the same producer. Her Ladyship and a writer friend with an agreeable palate – let us call him Mr. Pulitzer – joined me for the experiment.
The Taylor’s had been bottled in 2020. In the glass, the dominant mid-amber colour was infused with traces of red and crowned by a clear rim. At the nose, nutty notes prevailed – in particular, almond and walnut – though whiffs of maple syrup, prune and nutmeg were all in evidence. On entry, the fore-palate was offered nothing other than the feeling of a somewhat thin liquid passing over it. Midway through, raw cinnamon and lemongrass came into metaphorical view, with the sensation at the back being redolent of bitters mixed with residual tannins. I was reminded by this juncture why I have not purchased this wine for several years. The finish proved to be inoffensive, insofar as it lingered for some time owing to the generous helping of acidity.
The Contemporal had been bottled in 2019 and was manifestly a different port than its stablemate. In appearance, the wine was maroon in colour with a clear rim resting upon the semi-translucent wine. The nose was better than that of the Taylor’s, featuring more pronounced notes of prune, walnut and beeswax. The snout was likewise suggestive of a certain freshness as well as subtlety. A sense of anticipation having emerged at the table, it was inevitable that the Contemporal would go to pieces in the mouth. Like its TFP cousin, the Contemporal offered nothing to the fore-palate. Midway through, a medicinal note appeared which was suggestive of the useless cough syrups peddled to unsuspecting mothers when I was a child – with, in this case, a touch of ginger added to the mixture. Tannins dominated at the back and the finish gave rise to thoughts of a lower-end aguardiente cut with cheap wine. Mr. Pulitzer proclaimed with outrage, “this is juice!” I thought his comment unfair; the drink was far worse than that. Her Ladyship, who has concluded recently that the backs of her arms are flabby, noted otherwise correctly “it’s calories consumed for nothing.” How and why the Contemporal was approved by the IVDP for labelling as a twenty-year-old tawny constitutes one of life’s enduring mysteries.
Van Zeller to the Rescue
Just when I had given up hope of finding an agreeable twenty-year-old tawny at an advantageous price, an evening of idle web browsing reminded me of the existence of an old staple from my days in northwest Europe: Maynard’s 20-Year-Old. I recall Maynard’s appearing in bulk at Aldi supermarkets in England, Belgium and the Netherlands prior to Christmas celebrations, though I have never seen it for sale in a Portuguese shop. At any rate, I ordered six 2019 bottlings, at EUR 30 apiece including shipping, and was soon very glad that I had done.
The wine was crisp in appearance in the glass, largely opaque and clear at the rim. The nose was most unusual for a tawny of this age, and in every respect positive. A certain sweet herbaceousness, suggestive not least of lemon verbena, came together pleasingly with notes of prune and pomegranate. Unusually for a tawny with a few years under its belt, the olfactory nerve was reminded of summer rather than autumn. At the fore-palate, the wine was anything but dry, with brown sugar being very much in evidence. In turn, green walnut dominated the mid-palate, giving way to cinnamon and ground ginger at the back. Overall, the mouth came across as somehow engineered - as if whomever oversees the production of Graham’s tawny blends had been loaned to the Van Zeller operation to produce this wine. Happily, the finished showed more character. There, the bitter sensations at the palate came together nicely against the brown sugar, with residual tannins creating the impression of a wine drier than it was. The whole was complemented by a pleasing, mouth-watering acidity.
Conclusion
My hope in launching this experiment was that one might find a bargain in the Contemporal. ‘Twas not to be, alas. The TFP wines were overpriced for what they were and what they are.
I would suggest that TFP is coasting on the Taylor’s label where the Taylor’s 20-Year-Old is concerned. Whilst the table agreed on 88 points for this wine, there are far better offerings to be had at the same tariff; for instance, from smaller producers such as Kranemann Estates and Quinta da Devesa. Still, the Taylor’s was perfectly potable, whereas the Contemporal was downright awful. The Contemporal might be characterised – or rather, I would characterise it – as a confidence trick perpetrated by TFP in conjunction with the IVDP upon hard-pressed Portuguese consumers looking to stretch their budgets to something which ought to be better than a reserve tawny. Or better even than ten-year-olds such as the very interesting Passagem. As it was, the Contemporal was awarded – inexplicably, I now recognise – a ludicrously-generous 84 points. In the end, relief was found through the Maynard’s, which scored 90 points; to whit, only a point or two lower than fine twenty-year-olds such as the Ferreira and Ramos Pinto offerings which are sold in Portugal for EUR 45 per bottle and more. At EUR 30 apiece, I had found my bargain in the Maynard’s.
In light of the absence of the Van Zeller product from the major Portuguese supermarkets, with a consequent requirement that the average consumer must find it online, I can conclude only that the vast majority of Portuguese consumers will continue to be fleeced by retailers who appear to regard budget shoppers as a collection of hapless rubes. Whatever the case, the rubes deserve better.
Quality vintage ports and tawnies are priced in Portugal at a premium; that is, at prices oftentimes well beyond the tariffs commanded in the United Kingdom and, most especially, in the Low Countries and parts of northern Europe. The Portuguese pricing reflects the fact that the highest rate of value added tax is levied by the Portuguese State on port wines (i.e., twenty-three percent). A second consideration is that the per capita disposal income of Portuguese consumers falls well below that in the aforementioned external markets - which leads to the retail pricing of better wines in a manner targeting a thin strata of domestic buyers which is not price sensitive. One could be forgiven for thinking that a conspiracy was afoot betwixt producers and retailers to favour foreign markets, aided and abetted by the Portuguese government’s value added tax policy with respect to fortified wines. Here, I recall prevailing scholarly opinion that the Marques de Pombal was much influenced by English mercantilism. Alas, mercantilist economic arrangements – indeed, any sort of economic policy other than clientelism – lies beyond the capacity of the current Portuguese government.
But I digress.
The question to be answered in this note is whether hard-pressed Portuguese consumers might find a potable twenty-year-old tawny in Portugal at a less-than-usurious tariff. Starting my search with the Taylor Fladgate Partnership (TFP), the initial findings were less than promising.
Taylor’s versus Taylor’s
The dominant supermarket chain in Portugal is Continente. In Continente outlets of any size one can invariably find Taylor’s 20-Year-Old Tawny Port as well as a second TFP offering - formally bottled by Quinta and Vineyard Bottlers, S.A. (i.e., an arm of TFP) - likewise approved by the relevant Portuguese authority (i.e., the IVDP) to claim twenty years of age. The latter is labelled as Contemporal - a Continente brand name applied to a small handful of port wines. As the Taylor’s label retails for about EUR 46 per bottle, and the Contemporal sets one back a relatively modest EUR 26, I thought a comparison of the two wines in order, not least given that they hail from the same producer. Her Ladyship and a writer friend with an agreeable palate – let us call him Mr. Pulitzer – joined me for the experiment.
The Taylor’s had been bottled in 2020. In the glass, the dominant mid-amber colour was infused with traces of red and crowned by a clear rim. At the nose, nutty notes prevailed – in particular, almond and walnut – though whiffs of maple syrup, prune and nutmeg were all in evidence. On entry, the fore-palate was offered nothing other than the feeling of a somewhat thin liquid passing over it. Midway through, raw cinnamon and lemongrass came into metaphorical view, with the sensation at the back being redolent of bitters mixed with residual tannins. I was reminded by this juncture why I have not purchased this wine for several years. The finish proved to be inoffensive, insofar as it lingered for some time owing to the generous helping of acidity.
The Contemporal had been bottled in 2019 and was manifestly a different port than its stablemate. In appearance, the wine was maroon in colour with a clear rim resting upon the semi-translucent wine. The nose was better than that of the Taylor’s, featuring more pronounced notes of prune, walnut and beeswax. The snout was likewise suggestive of a certain freshness as well as subtlety. A sense of anticipation having emerged at the table, it was inevitable that the Contemporal would go to pieces in the mouth. Like its TFP cousin, the Contemporal offered nothing to the fore-palate. Midway through, a medicinal note appeared which was suggestive of the useless cough syrups peddled to unsuspecting mothers when I was a child – with, in this case, a touch of ginger added to the mixture. Tannins dominated at the back and the finish gave rise to thoughts of a lower-end aguardiente cut with cheap wine. Mr. Pulitzer proclaimed with outrage, “this is juice!” I thought his comment unfair; the drink was far worse than that. Her Ladyship, who has concluded recently that the backs of her arms are flabby, noted otherwise correctly “it’s calories consumed for nothing.” How and why the Contemporal was approved by the IVDP for labelling as a twenty-year-old tawny constitutes one of life’s enduring mysteries.
Van Zeller to the Rescue
Just when I had given up hope of finding an agreeable twenty-year-old tawny at an advantageous price, an evening of idle web browsing reminded me of the existence of an old staple from my days in northwest Europe: Maynard’s 20-Year-Old. I recall Maynard’s appearing in bulk at Aldi supermarkets in England, Belgium and the Netherlands prior to Christmas celebrations, though I have never seen it for sale in a Portuguese shop. At any rate, I ordered six 2019 bottlings, at EUR 30 apiece including shipping, and was soon very glad that I had done.
The wine was crisp in appearance in the glass, largely opaque and clear at the rim. The nose was most unusual for a tawny of this age, and in every respect positive. A certain sweet herbaceousness, suggestive not least of lemon verbena, came together pleasingly with notes of prune and pomegranate. Unusually for a tawny with a few years under its belt, the olfactory nerve was reminded of summer rather than autumn. At the fore-palate, the wine was anything but dry, with brown sugar being very much in evidence. In turn, green walnut dominated the mid-palate, giving way to cinnamon and ground ginger at the back. Overall, the mouth came across as somehow engineered - as if whomever oversees the production of Graham’s tawny blends had been loaned to the Van Zeller operation to produce this wine. Happily, the finished showed more character. There, the bitter sensations at the palate came together nicely against the brown sugar, with residual tannins creating the impression of a wine drier than it was. The whole was complemented by a pleasing, mouth-watering acidity.
Conclusion
My hope in launching this experiment was that one might find a bargain in the Contemporal. ‘Twas not to be, alas. The TFP wines were overpriced for what they were and what they are.
I would suggest that TFP is coasting on the Taylor’s label where the Taylor’s 20-Year-Old is concerned. Whilst the table agreed on 88 points for this wine, there are far better offerings to be had at the same tariff; for instance, from smaller producers such as Kranemann Estates and Quinta da Devesa. Still, the Taylor’s was perfectly potable, whereas the Contemporal was downright awful. The Contemporal might be characterised – or rather, I would characterise it – as a confidence trick perpetrated by TFP in conjunction with the IVDP upon hard-pressed Portuguese consumers looking to stretch their budgets to something which ought to be better than a reserve tawny. Or better even than ten-year-olds such as the very interesting Passagem. As it was, the Contemporal was awarded – inexplicably, I now recognise – a ludicrously-generous 84 points. In the end, relief was found through the Maynard’s, which scored 90 points; to whit, only a point or two lower than fine twenty-year-olds such as the Ferreira and Ramos Pinto offerings which are sold in Portugal for EUR 45 per bottle and more. At EUR 30 apiece, I had found my bargain in the Maynard’s.
In light of the absence of the Van Zeller product from the major Portuguese supermarkets, with a consequent requirement that the average consumer must find it online, I can conclude only that the vast majority of Portuguese consumers will continue to be fleeced by retailers who appear to regard budget shoppers as a collection of hapless rubes. Whatever the case, the rubes deserve better.