Taylor Fladgate - Very Very Old Porto

For many, Taylor’s is the archetypal Port house and its wines the quintessential Ports. Established over three centuries ago in 1692, Taylor’s is one of the oldest of the founding Port houses. It is dedicated entirely to the production of Port wine and in particular to its finest styles. Above all, Taylor’s is regarded as the benchmark for Vintage Port. Noted for their elegance and poise as well as for their restrained power and longevity, Taylor’s Vintage Ports are blended from the finest wines of the firm’s own quintas or estates, Vargellas, Terra Feita and Junco. These three iconic properties, each occupying a distinct geographic location and with their own unique character, are the cornerstone of the company’s success and the main source of its unique and inimitable house style.

From Taylor Fladgate... "Deep chestnut brown at the center gradually fading to amber and a narrow edge of pale straw at the rim. The age of this magical Port is immediately evident. It represents the pinnacle of what long wood aging can achieve particularly when skillful blending provides additional definition and symmetry. The wine has the precision and intricacy of a watch movement, all its complex elements working together in harmony. The nose is intense but finely constituted and the aromas remarkably delicate and ethereal given its great age.

Undertones of butterscotch, dried figs and freshly ground coffee intermingle with marzipan and sultana to give the wine an opulent, plum pudding character but this remains discreetly in the background and is lifted by fresh notes of orange peel and apricot. Hints of vanilla, cedar wood and cinnamon provide a subtle spicy redolence. On the palate, the wine has a light touch displaying bright acidity and perfect balance but holds massive reserves of aroma which emerge on the long finish in a seemingly endless mellow surge. Very few Ports retain such balance and finesse after so many years maturing in cask.