Van Zellers & Co - 50 Years Old Tawny Porto [6pac]

Wine Spectator

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The NV 50 Years Very Old Tawny Port, the newest category for old blended Tawnies, displays a bright amber-green border followed by its complex, intense nose with some iodine notes, traces of lanolin, hints of peat and carob bean notes. It's dense and complex and combines bitter with sweet sensations with a touch of rusticity and a volatile hint in the finish. This blend feels younger than the single-harvest wines, more refined, elegant and nuanced, with less oxidation. It has 20.4% alcohol, a pH of 3.44, 1.06 grams of volatility and 112 grams of sugar. This is limited to 150 bottles per year and bottled to order.

I tasted a wide range of old Ports from the family of Cristiano Van Zellers. The company claims to be the oldest Port family, since 1920. All these wines are impressive, and tasting them in isolation would impress you; but tasting them together, next to each other, gives an even better perspective and allows you to see the nuances, which are sometimes difficult to discern in the very old wines.

James Suckling

Medium to dark amber hue. This is really well aged, showing molasses, black dates, pine nuts, pecans, dried figs and cloves. Hints of balsam and sourdough. Almost some rancio character. Svelte, concentrated and extremely long and refined. Lasting more than a minute. Such a joy to drink now.