NV Imperial Tawny Port, Sandeman

• Style: Balanced Tawny, matured in oak
• Taste: Ripe orchard fruit, hazelnut, vanilla, dried apricot
• Food: Chocolate & rich desserts, blue cheese, aged cheddar
• Occasion: Weeknight, Sunday lunch, after dinner
• Serve: Room temperature, in a decent glass

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

A wine of genuine weight and character: ripe orchard fruit meets hazelnut, vanilla cream, and the warm tawny colour that signals maturity without heaviness. Neither thin nor overly sweet, this warming fortified carries layers worth returning to—dried apricot, spice, and a savoury depth built only through years in oak. Unshowy class in the glass.

The Winery — Sandeman

Sandeman's iconic Don, created in 1928, remains one of wine's most recognisable symbols. The blend draws from six Portuguese red varieties—Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Amarela and Tinto Cão—grown on the steep, schist-threaded terraces of the Douro Valley. Following harvest and tight temperature control fermentation, fortification locks in structure and sweetness at the precise moment chosen by the winemaker. These selected wines average around seven years in oak, allowing initial fruit character to soften into dried apricot, hazelnut and spice while retaining liveliness. Since Sogrape's 2002 acquisition, major investment in the lodges and vineyards has restored them to world-class standing, and the wines have risen to the top of the tree in Port.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

Pour this into a decent glass and let it be itself—no pretence required. Dark chocolate, aged Cheddar, blue cheese, and rich desserts all find their match in Imperial Tawny's balanced sweetness and savoury backbone. It belongs at the end of dinner or the beginning of an afternoon, a benchmark for what proper Tawny Port should taste. Among the finest examples of Sweet Wine we've selected, it sits alongside the rest of our Tawny Port range as a standard for balance and worth.