Taylor Vintage Port Vertical
Los Angeles, California
Tasted Saturday, March 1, 2014 by petitblanc with 1,108 views
Introduction
Thanks to Andy V. for hosting in style, and to Roy Hersh and all the other FTLOP'ers who shared their wealth of knowledge and experience.
1935 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 94 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Caramel-orange in color, a lightish shade. Complex and delicate nose shows tawny notes, orange peel, cinnamon, celery seed, and buttery caramel. Similar tawny profile on the palate, weak but sufficient acidity, warm but not unpleasant alcohol. A little short on the finish. A venerable old bottle, beautifully balanced. Delicate, light, perhaps a bit tired but still speaking clearly and clinging to a pleasing, delicate structure. Whitwham's bottling, 3 hours in decanter.
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1945 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 93 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Always an emotional wine, for the "peace" vintage and for its brown wartime bottle. Perfect dark cherry-garnet color with glints of ruby. Slightly shy but pleasing nose of chocolate, black pepper, and plums. A stronger chocolate note on the palate. Unctuous, rich and mouth-filling. Fine balance, with passing heat and somewhat weak acidity. Perhaps not the freshest of bottles, but still very nice drinking. Oporto bottled, neck fill, 3.5 hours in decanter.
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1948 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 93 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Medium-deep color, a shade of mahogany-tawny. Cola, exotic spices, buttery caramel, with a touch of heat and volatility. A little simple, but showing superb balance, very easy drinking. Hunter & Oliver bottling, base neck fill, 3.5 hours in decanter.
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1955 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
A bit of wet seepage under the capsule and light tawny color were not promising. Smoky, caramel nose, with a vegetal note. Caramel and hazelnut on the palate, with a hint of red fruit. Overall short and light, balanced well enough to be drinkable, but a very weak bottle. Not scored. Corney & Barrow bottling, base neck, 3 hours in decanter.
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1963 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 92 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Deep and youthful color. Very fresh nose of red fruits and exotic incense. Nice freshness on the palate also, with pretty cherry and cinnamon notes. With air, this seemed to show the faintest bit of mustiness, and the spirit never really came into balance. Possibly a very faint bit of corkiness here, still a fun and remarkably youthful bottle. Grants of St. James bottling, 3 hours in decanter.
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1966 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 93 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Cheerful, young, cherry-garnet color. A slightly reductive nose at first, but quickly opening up to show ripe red fruits, light and bright, fresh and appealing. This is how this bottling shows when it shows well, pretty, fruity, a bit light and simple, a touch of heat, but quite irresistible. John Harvey of Bristol bottling, base neck, 4.5 hours in decanter.
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1968 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Vargellas 92 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Beautiful color, with just faint signs of development at the rim. Generous nose, intensely fruity, almost medicinal. Simple on the palate, light, pretty fruit. Nice length, silky tannins, good acidity. The spirit is a bit forward, but this is a solid Port for cellaring.
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1970 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Flawed
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Corky, dishwater profile.
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1972 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Vargellas Flawed
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Fairly pale garnet-orange color, not looking good. Muted, tawny nose. Plenty of red fruit on the palate, yet light, austere, and hot. Again, a hint of TCA here. Not scored.
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1975 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 90 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Garnet color. Interesting nose, soapy, showing exotic incense and balsamic notes. Similar exotic, spicy profile on the palate, also some red pepper. Nicely structured, a bit hot. Simple and linear, but I found this interesting. This should hold up another 10 years in the cellar, but I don't see it improving. 4.5 hours in decanter.
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1977 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 88 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Looking a little pale in the glass. Prominent alcohol on the nose at first, but with air this was generous, fruity, primary. Too thin on the palate, with heat that just would not go away. Still very young and I wasn't expecting great complexity, but this bottle was just too light, not a good showing. Lots of bottle variation in this Port, largely due to poor quality corks. 6 hours in decanter.
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1980 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 91 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Shy nose, but very pretty, lots of plum and anise and balsamic notes. Very full palate, nicely balanced, refined tannins, good acidity, just a touch of heat. Persistent and pleasant finish. A nice surprise to me. 10 hours in decanter.
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1982 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Terra Feita Flawed
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Beef bouillon nose, medicinal palate, chemical finish. Very disappointing, I rarely see this Port. Not scored.
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1983 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 86 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Somewhat muted nose, showing some interesting cherry pie. Nice balance on the palate, with generic fruit and weak structure. Short. No faults, nothing disagreeable, this just didn't show much interest or personality, unlikely to improve with cellaring. I may be being a little harsh on this one. 10 hours in decanter.
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1985 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 88 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Reticent nose, a bit volatile, showing mineral and earth. On the palate, this opened up to show pretty, wild fruits. A little warm, with silky tannins. 10 hours in decanter.
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1986 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Vargellas 92 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Very slightly pale in the glass, but pretty, with cinnamon reflections. Very generous nose, intensely fruity and peppery, like a California zinfandel but structured and balanced. Just wonderful to smell and fun to drink. Drink now or cellar many years. 11 hours in decanter.
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1987 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Vargellas Flawed
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Corked. Very disappointing, this should have been one of the stars of this tasting.
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1988 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Terra Feita
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Deep, slightly cloudy. Odd nose of peanut butter, capsicum, and cigarette butt. Amazingly, the palate was a marvel of balance and deep dark fruits. Thin and hot finish. This bottle really divided the table, I found it defective. Not scored.
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1988 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Vargellas Flawed
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Corked.
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1991 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage Quinta de Vargellas 90 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Deep, pure color. A little muted on the nose, but showing some blueberries and toast. Nice mouthfeel and balance, until the tannins and alcohol move forward aggressively through the finish. Despite the intrusive spirit, this might be a bottle worth giving a chance to come around in the cellar. 11 hours in decanter.
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1992 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 94 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Very dark, almost black, faintly cloudy, with garnet flashes at the rim. After 3 hours in the glass, the nose started to open. But on the palate, the concentration of blue and black fruits is stunning. Pure, primary, lightly peppery, very persistent through the finish. Fine structure also, with massive tannins and juicy acidity. A great Port, still very young and linear, to cellar for decades. 11 hours in decanter.
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2011 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 95 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Deep and inky dark cherry color, with lovely purple flashes. The nose leaps from the glass, I could easily smell this across the table. The mixed basket of red, blue and black fruits is remarkably pure, immensely deep, with a freshness reminiscent of a great young gamay. I'm not usually a fan of young Vintage Port, but this is surprisingly elegant on the palate, sweet and enticing yet rich and powerful, without heaviness or intrusive alcohol (I am now a believer in Taylor's improved aguardente quality). The fruit and tannins persist for minutes on the finish. A sensational young Vintage Port, every wine lover really should taste this, and every (young) Port lover needs to have this in their cellar. If I can find one little fault, it would be a slight lack of acidity to match the huge tannins, although this is difficult to judge through the mass of fruit and tannin. Amazing to taste now, but plainly a wine to cellar for many decades. My score is almost certainly too low.
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