Warre “Otima” 20-Year-Old Tawny: Tasting Notes

This page provides an overview of my notes on the Warre “Otima” 20-Year-Old Tawny. Apologies if the notes are brief (or non-existent); they are mainly recorded for my benefit with public distribution being a secondary priority!

I always enjoy hearing from other Port-drinkers. If you find these notes helpful; or find yourself violently disagreeing with me about them, please do not hesitate to contact me at: port­@­J­a­c­o­b­-­H­e­a­d­.­c­o­m­.

The Notes

Tasting 1

No notes recorded.

Rated*: P


Tasting 2

Notes: Orange-red centre. Peachy rim. Very muted nose, perhaps caused by being served cold. Good caramel nose. Not convinced of the nuttiness which Tim Stanley-Clarke described. In mouth initially a pile up of different flavours. Mid-palate: very little; everything dramatically falls away. Then, at the end, it picks up again with a very long nutty aftertaste. The acidity is good on initial tasting, then falls away immediately. I was quite interested about this blend and discussed it with Tim Stanley-Clarke; since I wondered if they’d put something very old in it to give it that long aftertaste. It was certainly more interesting than I remember it from 5 years ago.

Tasted at: Davy’s Tasting at the Woolgate

Date: 14th November 2013

Rated*: C-


Tasting 3

Notes: Bought to drink in a hotel whilst working since it appeared to be the most appealing smaller-than-75cl bottle in Waitrose! Very similar to the last tasting. Perhaps a little more mahogany than pink in the centre, fading quite considerably to the rim. The nose is rather mute but that is probably down to the glass. In the mouth, a good mixture of flavours and acidity with a modest aftertaste. Perhaps tasting a little younger than my previous record suggests but extremely drinkable and probably one of the better 10-year-olds I have tried.

Date: 30th August 2017

Rated*: P+


Tasting 4

Notes: A sample glass before the rest of the bottle became part of the first Bittall experiment. Very light in the glass: transparent tawny in the middle, fading towards a touch of green at the rim. Gives the impression of being much older than it is. Very spirity on the nose and little else. In the mouth, again, a mass of alcohol. Some caramel sugars. A little astringency. Modest aftertaste. Somewhat disappointing compared to previous bottles of the same.

Date: 20th June 2020

Rated*: P-


Tasting 5

Notes: Redish-orange and translucent. Very subdued on the nose, perhaps disappointingly so. Very tidy in the mouth. Little fruit (either fresh or dry) which is a shame. However, afterwards very good balance of acidity and sugar. Long elegant aftertaste.

Date: 30th March 2019

Rated*: P

* A Note on Ratings

My rating system attempts to answer the question “is this a good Port?” one of three ways: N—No; P—Possibly; or C—Certainly. Ports generally are weighted slightly by their category. Therefore, a Ruby Port might receive a C rating for Certainly good which it might not were it to be a Vintage Port. I sometimes modify my rating with a plus or minus indicating that the Port is better or worse than might be expected for this category.

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