Amandio Silva & Filhos – Old Tawny Port 1938, matured in wood

Amandio Silva & Filhos – Old Tawny Port 1938 (Matured in Wood)

The Old Tawny Port 1938 from Amandio Silva & Filhos (often sold under the brand name ‘Amandio’s’) is a rare, long-aged port from the Douro. It is one of the classic dated Tawny or Colheita-style Ports from small, traditional producers, which today are mainly found amongst collectors and specialist retailers.

The Amandio Silva & Filhos House

Amandio Silva & Filhos was a comparatively small port house, best known for its old, vintage-dated Tawnies. Bottles from the late 1930s, 1940s and 1950s regularly appear at auctions and among specialist dealers. Vintage Ports under the Amandio name, on the other hand, are rare; well-known bottlings (e.g. 1970, 1979, 1985) were later bottled by the Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro – better known as Real Companhia Velha / Royal Oporto. It is thought likely that Amandio Silva & Filhos was taken over by this larger company in the 1960s. The name lives on in simpler Tawny, White and Especial Ports, which are still occasionally available in Portugal and Belgium.

Style and ageing

The 1938 vintage is an Old Tawny Port that has been aged oxidatively in wooden casks for decades (‘Matured in Wood’). Many bottles bear a note indicating that they were bottled around 1971–1974, with 1972 being the most commonly cited year. This means the wine spent around 33–34 years in the cask – well beyond the minimum requirement for Colheita Ports (at least seven years). The alcohol content is typically around 20–21.2 per cent.

Such long-aged Tawnies develop, through oxidative ageing, a complex, nutty-caramelly bouquet and a smooth texture, whilst the original fruit notes recede into the background.

The 1938 vintage

1938 was a good, solid vintage in the Douro, though it is not counted amongst the great classic vintage years. The wines possessed sufficient ripeness and structure to withstand the extremely long cask ageing whilst retaining their elegance and balance.

Sensory profile

Well-preserved bottles typically display:

• Colour: Deep amber to warm mahogany with golden or coppery highlights.
• Bouquet: Intense aromas of raisins, dried fruit, caramel, nuts, orange marmalade and spicy notes.
• Palate: Rich and velvety, with a pleasant, spicy warmth, balanced sweetness and a long, smooth finish. The texture is fine and silky; the acidity keeps the sweetness in balance.

Retailers’ descriptions particularly highlight the combination of dried fruit, caramel and a slightly spicy, warm note, which leads into a long, smooth finish.

Significance and serving recommendation

The Amandio Silva & Filhos Old Tawny 1938 is a typical example of the old, long-aged tawnies from small Portuguese houses, which have become rare today. It is ideal as a wine for contemplation, served at 14–16 °C, and pairs well with nuts, dried fruit, blue cheese, crème brûlée or dark chocolate. Once opened, it remains stable for weeks thanks to its high alcohol and sugar content.

For collectors and connoisseurs of historic port wines, this bottle represents an interesting and characterful piece of port history – a silent witness to an era in which smaller houses still produced their own, long-aged Tawnies of remarkable quality.