Old Tawny Port and bottle age

I had dinner last night with my old friends Ben and Chrissie Howkins at their house in London. Ben very kindly served us his last bottle of Croft's Old Particular which he had kept in his cellar since he was a director of Crofts 30 years ago.

Normally I would be sceptical about ageing an old tawny Port in bottle, as bottle age tends to take away the freshness and crispness of a good tawny; This bottle however tasted absolutely delicious and any lack of freshness was more than compensated by the delicateness and faded elegance acquired from its 30 years in bottle!

I guess the the answer is that, if you decide to age an old Tawny in bottle, you should put it away for many years!