In 1815, the Scotsman Robert Cockburn and his brother John, already successful wine merchants in Leith near Edinburgh, set up a branch of their firm in Porto: R & J Cockburn’s. They had many business partners through the years. And like all of the early Port companies the name changed. Eventually coming to be known as Cockburn’s & Co: the name that survives today.

The flavours of wood ageing have influenced this wine. So it has a lovely nuttiness but it also still has the chewy fruitiness, with flavours of raisins and dried figs, of our younger fruit-driven wines.

For some time the preserve of the French and the Portuguese, Tawny Port now has many more international admirers. Serve it any time of the day or night as long as it’s chilled and shared with friends and family. It will stay fresh for at least 8 weeks once opened and you don’t need to worry about decanting.