This bottle came from a rather dubious source and lacked labels. Although the cork was clearly from Taylors, I am not sure about the wine itself. This was muted on the nose and at the same time extremely spirity, making it a bit of a tough slog. Shame!
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Vinøs hyttetur; 9/30/2022-10/1/2022: Rosinger og krydder (mer mot urter, og ikke så juleaktig), relativt slank, balansert, en del rød-mørk frukt igejn, noe alkohol i finish.
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Lightish color but intense flavor. It has all the plum pudding flavors wrapped around a crackling acidity that makes the wine seem still young, almost unevolved. It should be good for drinking anytime in the next 50-75 years.
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You bloody Beauty! A great bottle. One of the best wine experiences I’ve had in many a year. Bought this for £95 (half what you’d pay now retail) at a furniture auction as the levels looked decent. I reckon it must be one of the best wine purchases I’ve ever made. Grants of St James’s label. Phenomenal balance and length of flavour with a finish that goes on and on for eternity. An intoxicating nose that fills the house (my wife came through the front door and it hit her like a bloody sledgehammer) and whilst definitely that of an old VP it also riminds me a bit of a good ol’ Aussie Liqueur Muscat. The palate is all spicy raisins, overripe fig, Agen prunes and some caramel (think PX sherry) with no heat at all from the spirit which I so often find in pre-2011 VPs. There is also a lovely refreshing acidity and surprisingly a reasonable amount of tannic grip - given its balance the wine could last another decade at least. Note to self: buy and drink more port!
I have had more than two dozen bottles of this wine ver the years. It is still in its prime, having been there for two decades. There is both bottle variation and variation between bottlings, this being what looked to be an estate bottling rather than the more common Berry Brothers bottling. The colour is now a bright, clean orangey pink with traces of purple still. Plums, strawberries, damson but with strong tertiary notes of undergrowth and wood. Not too sweet and little sign of heat or alcohol. Incredible length, breadth and complexity. Port really doesn’t get much better than this.
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BBR bottling. Decanted 3 hours before drinking. Still-powerful cherry and deep strawberry fruit, with touches of sloe, but shows extremely elegantly - elements of fig, Christmas spice, walnut and smoke also come through. This is one of my favourite Taylors vintages *****
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Port with Demetri Walters MW (Zoom!): Restrained, a tad musty at first, some cigar box developing. Lots of strawberry. Spicy finish. Sherryesque and attenuated.
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Tasted blind in Vintage Port of the 60's and 70's event with Winetasters of Toronto Club 1966 Taylor Fladgate Porto Vintage the most 'intellectually satisfying', even though it was not the most hedonistic vintage port. It was clear and medium tawny in colour with lots of sediments. On the nose, there were aromas of rose, lavender and herbs, followed by raspberries, red cherries, brown sugar, leather, tobacco and a touch of farmyard. On the palate, it was full-bodied, medium-sweet with medium levels of acidity and mature tannin. Despite its age, it was painfully intense and spicy in the rather long finish of herbs, nuts and caramel. Taylor Fladgate Porto Vintage was rightly described the most intellectually satisfying, as it showed a distinctive leather, earth, tobacco and farmyard quality, as well as sheer power and intense spiciness on the palate. Doubtlessly, the preference for this style of wine would be quite divided. It was voted the third at the table, and the sixth among all the guests at the event.
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IWFSC Dinner #831 (El Ideas): Opened from IWFSC cellar. I don't drink a ton of Port, but bottles like this make me regret that. Beautiful, explosive nose of fig and spice is so rich, dense and layered. The palate is rich and unctuous with great brightness. Silky and so smooth and fresh. Toffee, caramel and fig. Yum.
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Was a little spirity immediately after opening, but noticeably clean on the nose and palate. By that I mean there was no earthiness or mustiness that you often get with older bottles. This was double decanted then transported to a restaurant where it was put back into a decanter, and spent a couple of hours in the decanter all up... probably not long enough. Brick red in colour, with cinnamon and sweet red fruits all the way through the palate with a fine long finish. I don't feel like there is any urgency here to drink up, but it is fully mature.
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Port Tasting at the cellars while on holiday in Porto; 10/2/2016-10/3/2016 (Porto): Tasted at cellar door. Denser and richer than the Croft, youthful berries mixed with rich earthy characters, really dense, thick flavours, amazing for its age, blueberry and blackberry, rich Christmas cake and caramel, also beats the 40yr tawny for depth and bright fruit, spectacular.
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2016 Port Harvest Tour; 9/18/2016-9/25/2016 (Portugal): Light ruby pink in color. Wines are from Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. Red fruit with some underlying chocolate notes. Unctuous cherry on the palate. Elegant with just a hint of spirit that gives it a wonderful character. Very long and full finish with hints of cinnamon.
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Elegant port, transparent rusty red colour thinning out to the edges. Not much fruit left, but a good balanced sweetness. Very long on palate, opens up in the mouth and has a long tail. However probably decanted too long before drinking. Decanted 7 hours before drinking, would decant and drink within 1 - 2 hours next time. Cork in reasonably good condition, broken into two extracting it, but both parts came out, probably due to lack of care on my part. Very nice, enjoyable port.
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Christmas in July (Frank's place in Matraville): Figs, walnuts, slight raisin, v.sl cork taint (cork pushed into bottle on opening), light and ethereal though still some discernible tannin. Lovely.
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Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): 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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Very pale rose color (tannins and pigments all have fallen out into the bottle's heavy sediment) Nose still quite good and with oomph. On palate still a surprising bit of tannin and bitterness left. Reasonably round, not very long finish. Overall this port did not impress me very much... (i am increasingly becoming a fan of high quality, aged sherries. I think there is more bang of the buck.
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One of our guests said this was the most elegant port she'd ever tasted and that really sums it up. This is all flowers and delicacy, a delicious contrast to the more powerhouse style of the 1970.
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Kept upright for a few days, decanted for 5 hours, very little deposit (1cm). Jewelly colour. Flowers on the nose. Incredibly elegant and persistent. Gossamer texture. Excellent intensity. Wine of the meal.
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Quite bright red. Very intense nose, earth, plum, red fruit, flowers and a bit of caramel. Delicious red fruit and cedar flavours and a long red finish. Exceptional. I preferred this wine to the 63 only because it seemed more vibrant to me.
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Very good, but past its prime. Clear tawniness around the edges in the glass. Nice raisin and some plum on the nose. Less fruit on the palate than the nose would leave one to believe. No heat; medium perhaps medium-short finish. Not bad, but this bottle is past prime.
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Lots of "oohs" and "aahs" around the table as this was served with the cheese. More powerful than the previous bottle, this remained a civilised and elegant vintage port. Decanted for around 5 hours, which was a good move as the wine grew in the decanter, and continued to gain complexity and interest in the glass.
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Fill well into the neck, but plenty of old seepage under the capsule. Beautiful ruby color. This had the same profile as the best examples of this: fruity, rosy, feminine, subtly complex. This Port is generally a light and elegant style which can be easily overpowered by spirit, as was the case with this bottle. The spirit did blow off after a couple days in the decanter, but so did much of the freshness. John Harvey (Bristol, UK) bottling.
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Dried cherries. Somewhat an elegant more feminine style. Moderate heat and lacks depth. I picked this wine, since we had just had the 66 Quinta do Noval Nacional last week. Unfortunately it is miles apart from that wine. Decent wine, but not great.
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Caramel, toffee, and deep red fruits, along with a touch of heat on the nose. SOme nice secondary nuttiness, to go along with the primary fruits, and toffee. A very pretty bouquet save the touch of heat. I've had this wine a few times, and while a lot of the parts for a great wine are there, they just do not seem to come together for me. It seems like something in the middle is missing. This certainly is no slouch, but the heat and a feeling of relative hollowness, keeps me from loving it. I am not sure how the bottle was handled ( time wise) an dmaybe with air it would have gained, but this is similar to several blles form my cellar of this wine. Still happy to drink it any day though. 90pts.
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Hart Davis Hart BYOB Burgundy Dinner (Bacchus, Milwaukee): Light cranberry color throughout. A bit spirity this time. Light, youthful, fruity, sweet and simple. A John Harvey (Bristol) bottling, with a nice fill but some seepage. Decanted for sediment, then back into bottle and recorked for 8 hours, a bit more air probably would not have hurt.
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Decanted 5 hours, plus 4 hours in the glass. Showing a bit more tired and toffee-like color than I was expecting. This did hint at an intriguing transitional mix of youthful fruit and more mature tawny elements. Unfortunately, the alcohol really never came into balance, creating a persistent, overpowering, and very volatile paint thinner impression, never giving this a chance to show anything like the elegance or subtlety of the previous bottle. This was another John Harvey (Bristol, UK) bottling. The bottle appeared in generally good condition, fill into the neck, but upon removing the capsule there was very slight wine staining on the top of the cork. No score.
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This is an exceptional port. I have quietly sipped away on a few bottles now and it has been consistently outstanding. I usually open it the day before I want to drink it and pop the cork back in. I find that the 24hrs takes the initial jamminess off it (too sweet for me) and allows the true depth to emerge. It is soft and balanced in the mouth and has great length. Better still, you can enjoy a bit too much and still feel fine the next day... unlike the 66 Dows!
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Post Christmas Day lunch with 7 others only 3 were still drinking. The initial appearance showed the wine had a top level and was still exceptionally fresh and clearly had had great provenance, with a good ruby colour, no real brownness to show its 40+ years ageing. On the nose, lovely brambly fruit. The taste was clean, rich and smooth and generally showed the wine to be in excellent condition. Bizarrely there was no sediment in the bottle which amazed me for such an age. Excellent overall and as good as the 1963.
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Beautiful pale rose color, with just the faintest sign of maturity at the rim. Pure red berries, light and elegant, with a lengthy finish that turns to cinnamon, caramel and nuts. A classy, feminine bottle that let the alcohol peek through just a bit too strongly, but still a wonderful and gracefully maturing Vintage Port. I would gladly own a cellar full of this wine. This was a John Harvey (Bristol) bottling.
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Wonderful cherry nose. Very precise on the palate with more fruit. Long finish. Some (perhaps off) "dusty" flavor on the finish that I didn't really care for. Not a trace of heat.
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Medium colour, on the tawny side. This is a wonderfully balanced port, very fresh and smooth with lots going on. Not a flamboyant style, quite restrained. The heat on the finish disappeared shortly after opening, making the finish very long and satisfying.
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For wine lovers like me, this was a special wine moment. At a lunch to celebrate a friend's 60th birthday accompanied by 12 others, the wines had been pleasant but not special. Then the host announced that he had an old dusty bottle of port in the garage which he'd been given by a friend some 10 years earlier for his 50th birthday, which had no label and he didn't know what it was. So the bottle was opened and to our delight the cork revealed it was a Taylor's vintage 1966. The initial appearance showed the wine had good levels and was still exceptionally fresh, with a good ruby colour, no real brownness to show its 40+ years ageing. On the nose, lovely brambly fruit. The taste was clean, rich and smooth and generally showed the wine to be in excellent condition. Holding out well in the glass for an hour, this wine was exceptional right now, but could clearly last for probably another 10 or 20 years. There was about 2cm of sediment in the bottle, so should really be decanted, although in the excitement of the moment, our host did not. Excellent overall and a real treat when least expected! What a pity the friend who gave it to him was not there to enjoy it with us!
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12/31/2023 - Weinberg Falls wrote: flawed
This bottle came from a rather dubious source and lacked labels. Although the cork was clearly from Taylors, I am not sure about the wine itself. This was muted on the nose and at the same time extremely spirity, making it a bit of a tough slog. Shame!
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9/30/2022 - LWI wrote: 93 Points
Vinøs hyttetur; 9/30/2022-10/1/2022: Rosinger og krydder (mer mot urter, og ikke så juleaktig), relativt slank, balansert, en del rød-mørk frukt igejn, noe alkohol i finish.
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5/6/2021 - talbot61 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lightish color but intense flavor. It has all the plum pudding flavors wrapped around a crackling acidity that makes the wine seem still young, almost unevolved. It should be good for drinking anytime in the next 50-75 years.
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12/20/2020 - Brett H Likes this wine: 100 Points
You bloody Beauty! A great bottle. One of the best wine experiences I’ve had in many a year. Bought this for £95 (half what you’d pay now retail) at a furniture auction as the levels looked decent. I reckon it must be one of the best wine purchases I’ve ever made. Grants of St James’s label. Phenomenal balance and length of flavour with a finish that goes on and on for eternity. An intoxicating nose that fills the house (my wife came through the front door and it hit her like a bloody sledgehammer) and whilst definitely that of an old VP it also riminds me a bit of a good ol’ Aussie Liqueur Muscat. The palate is all spicy raisins, overripe fig, Agen prunes and some caramel (think PX sherry) with no heat at all from the spirit which I so often find in pre-2011 VPs. There is also a lovely refreshing acidity and surprisingly a reasonable amount of tannic grip - given its balance the wine could last another decade at least. Note to self: buy and drink more port!
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9/18/2020 - TomC1369 wrote: 96 Points
I have had more than two dozen bottles of this wine ver the years. It is still in its prime, having been there for two decades. There is both bottle variation and variation between bottlings, this being what looked to be an estate bottling rather than the more common Berry Brothers bottling. The colour is now a bright, clean orangey pink with traces of purple still. Plums, strawberries, damson but with strong tertiary notes of undergrowth and wood. Not too sweet and little sign of heat or alcohol. Incredible length, breadth and complexity. Port really doesn’t get much better than this.
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8/8/2020 - MAOC wrote:
BBR bottling. Decanted 3 hours before drinking. Still-powerful cherry and deep strawberry fruit, with touches of sloe, but shows extremely elegantly - elements of fig, Christmas spice, walnut and smoke also come through. This is one of my favourite Taylors vintages *****
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5/20/2020 - NickA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Port with Demetri Walters MW (Zoom!): Restrained, a tad musty at first, some cigar box developing. Lots of strawberry. Spicy finish. Sherryesque and attenuated.
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2/26/2020 - apple1813 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tasted blind in Vintage Port of the 60's and 70's event with Winetasters of Toronto Club
1966 Taylor Fladgate Porto Vintage the most 'intellectually satisfying', even though it was not the most hedonistic vintage port. It was clear and medium tawny in colour with lots of sediments. On the nose, there were aromas of rose, lavender and herbs, followed by raspberries, red cherries, brown sugar, leather, tobacco and a touch of farmyard. On the palate, it was full-bodied, medium-sweet with medium levels of acidity and mature tannin. Despite its age, it was painfully intense and spicy in the rather long finish of herbs, nuts and caramel.
Taylor Fladgate Porto Vintage was rightly described the most intellectually satisfying, as it showed a distinctive leather, earth, tobacco and farmyard quality, as well as sheer power and intense spiciness on the palate. Doubtlessly, the preference for this style of wine would be quite divided.
It was voted the third at the table, and the sixth among all the guests at the event.
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12/15/2018 - mats13 Likes this wine: 97 Points
So fresh!
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7/7/2018 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Not a port fan but this was really nice. Mature notes of tobacco, spice, vanilla, dark fruit. Long finish.
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1/9/2018 - Nanda wrote: 93 Points
IWFSC Dinner #831 (El Ideas): Opened from IWFSC cellar. I don't drink a ton of Port, but bottles like this make me regret that. Beautiful, explosive nose of fig and spice is so rich, dense and layered. The palate is rich and unctuous with great brightness. Silky and so smooth and fresh. Toffee, caramel and fig. Yum.
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9/10/2017 - dpolivy wrote:
Port Wine Day Masterclass: A Flight of the '60s (Six Senses Douro Valley): Dark brown, almost red in color. VA and cedar on the nose. Showing maturity, with delicate notes of almond, brulee, and spice box. Persistent finish and intense acidity.
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2/10/2017 - ricknat1 wrote: 91 Points
this is a very nice port but suffered tremendously by being served with the 63 which outshone it in every way
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10/22/2016 - paulf wrote: 93 Points
Was a little spirity immediately after opening, but noticeably clean on the nose and palate. By that I mean there was no earthiness or mustiness that you often get with older bottles.
This was double decanted then transported to a restaurant where it was put back into a decanter, and spent a couple of hours in the decanter all up... probably not long enough.
Brick red in colour, with cinnamon and sweet red fruits all the way through the palate with a fine long finish.
I don't feel like there is any urgency here to drink up, but it is fully mature.
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10/2/2016 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 99 Points
Port Tasting at the cellars while on holiday in Porto; 10/2/2016-10/3/2016 (Porto): Tasted at cellar door. Denser and richer than the Croft, youthful berries mixed with rich earthy characters, really dense, thick flavours, amazing for its age, blueberry and blackberry, rich Christmas cake and caramel, also beats the 40yr tawny for depth and bright fruit, spectacular.
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9/22/2016 - theportguy wrote: 96 Points
2016 Port Harvest Tour; 9/18/2016-9/25/2016 (Portugal): Light ruby pink in color. Wines are from Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. Red fruit with some underlying chocolate notes. Unctuous cherry on the palate. Elegant with just a hint of spirit that gives it a wonderful character. Very long and full finish with hints of cinnamon.
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7/24/2016 - theportguy wrote: 96 Points
FTLOP 11th Anniversary; 7/22/2016-7/24/2016 (Sammamish, Washington): Very dark ruby in color. Semi-transparent with good clarity. Some vegetative and dusty notes on the nose. Intense flavor profile with waves of mocha, molasses, and dates.
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2/2/2016 - LWI wrote: flawed
US Cabernet Sauvignon: Mildly corked
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11/21/2015 - B Hobday Likes this wine: 85 Points
Elegant port, transparent rusty red colour thinning out to the edges. Not much fruit left, but a good balanced sweetness. Very long on palate, opens up in the mouth and has a long tail. However probably decanted too long before drinking. Decanted 7 hours before drinking, would decant and drink within 1 - 2 hours next time. Cork in reasonably good condition, broken into two extracting it, but both parts came out, probably due to lack of care on my part. Very nice, enjoyable port.
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7/25/2015 - chatters wrote:
Christmas in July (Frank's place in Matraville): Figs, walnuts, slight raisin, v.sl cork taint (cork pushed into bottle on opening), light and ethereal though still some discernible tannin. Lovely.
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3/1/2014 - petitblanc wrote: 93 Points
Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): 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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8/17/2013 - Bandreas wrote: 87 Points
Very pale rose color (tannins and pigments all have fallen out into the bottle's heavy sediment)
Nose still quite good and with oomph. On palate still a surprising bit of tannin and bitterness left.
Reasonably round, not very long finish.
Overall this port did not impress me very much... (i am increasingly becoming a fan of high quality, aged sherries. I think there is more bang of the buck.
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5/24/2013 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 96 Points
One of our guests said this was the most elegant port she'd ever tasted and that really sums it up. This is all flowers and delicacy, a delicious contrast to the more powerhouse style of the 1970.
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2/5/2012 - petitblanc wrote: 89 Points
Generally consistent with previous bottles, just a bit muted and flat, showing a shade too much spirit that never blew off.
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12/26/2011 - HamishR wrote: 94 Points
Full red colour, showing some youth still, good fruit with some toffee, long finish. A very good bottle of the '66
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12/20/2011 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 96 Points
Kept upright for a few days, decanted for 5 hours, very little deposit (1cm). Jewelly colour. Flowers on the nose. Incredibly elegant and persistent. Gossamer texture. Excellent intensity. Wine of the meal.
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12/18/2011 - David J Cooper wrote: 96 Points
Quite bright red. Very intense nose, earth, plum, red fruit, flowers and a bit of caramel. Delicious red fruit and cedar flavours and a long red finish. Exceptional. I preferred this wine to the 63 only because it seemed more vibrant to me.
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10/29/2011 - ecnemergut wrote: 85 Points
Very good, but past its prime. Clear tawniness around the edges in the glass. Nice raisin and some plum on the nose. Less fruit on the palate than the nose would leave one to believe. No heat; medium perhaps medium-short finish. Not bad, but this bottle is past prime.
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10/24/2011 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lots of "oohs" and "aahs" around the table as this was served with the cheese. More powerful than the previous bottle, this remained a civilised and elegant vintage port. Decanted for around 5 hours, which was a good move as the wine grew in the decanter, and continued to gain complexity and interest in the glass.
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12/24/2010 - petitblanc wrote: 92 Points
Fill well into the neck, but plenty of old seepage under the capsule. Beautiful ruby color. This had the same profile as the best examples of this: fruity, rosy, feminine, subtly complex. This Port is generally a light and elegant style which can be easily overpowered by spirit, as was the case with this bottle. The spirit did blow off after a couple days in the decanter, but so did much of the freshness. John Harvey (Bristol, UK) bottling.
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11/28/2010 - rnellans wrote: 90 Points
Dried cherries. Somewhat an elegant more feminine style. Moderate heat and lacks depth. I picked this wine, since we had just had the 66 Quinta do Noval Nacional last week. Unfortunately it is miles apart from that wine. Decent wine, but not great.
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11/28/2010 - cct wrote: 90 Points
Caramel, toffee, and deep red fruits, along with a touch of heat on the nose. SOme nice secondary nuttiness, to go along with the primary fruits, and toffee. A very pretty bouquet save the touch of heat. I've had this wine a few times, and while a lot of the parts for a great wine are there, they just do not seem to come together for me. It seems like something in the middle is missing. This certainly is no slouch, but the heat and a feeling of relative hollowness, keeps me from loving it. I am not sure how the bottle was handled ( time wise) an dmaybe with air it would have gained, but this is similar to several blles form my cellar of this wine. Still happy to drink it any day though. 90pts.
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9/16/2010 - petitblanc wrote: 90 Points
Hart Davis Hart BYOB Burgundy Dinner (Bacchus, Milwaukee): Light cranberry color throughout. A bit spirity this time. Light, youthful, fruity, sweet and simple. A John Harvey (Bristol) bottling, with a nice fill but some seepage. Decanted for sediment, then back into bottle and recorked for 8 hours, a bit more air probably would not have hurt.
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5/19/2010 - BradE wrote:
Good, if not great. The bottle, the moon, I don't know but the Taylor's didn't show well today overall.
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3/25/2010 - petitblanc wrote:
Decanted 5 hours, plus 4 hours in the glass. Showing a bit more tired and toffee-like color than I was expecting. This did hint at an intriguing transitional mix of youthful fruit and more mature tawny elements. Unfortunately, the alcohol really never came into balance, creating a persistent, overpowering, and very volatile paint thinner impression, never giving this a chance to show anything like the elegance or subtlety of the previous bottle. This was another John Harvey (Bristol, UK) bottling. The bottle appeared in generally good condition, fill into the neck, but upon removing the capsule there was very slight wine staining on the top of the cork. No score.
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2/12/2010 - Duncan Disorderly wrote: 98 Points
This is an exceptional port. I have quietly sipped away on a few bottles now and it has been consistently outstanding. I usually open it the day before I want to drink it and pop the cork back in. I find that the 24hrs takes the initial jamminess off it (too sweet for me) and allows the true depth to emerge. It is soft and balanced in the mouth and has great length. Better still, you can enjoy a bit too much and still feel fine the next day... unlike the 66 Dows!
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12/25/2009 - mariolanza wrote: 96 Points
Post Christmas Day lunch with 7 others only 3 were still drinking. The initial appearance showed the wine had a top level and was still exceptionally fresh and clearly had had great provenance, with a good ruby colour, no real brownness to show its 40+ years ageing. On the nose, lovely brambly fruit. The taste was clean, rich and smooth and generally showed the wine to be in excellent condition. Bizarrely there was no sediment in the bottle which amazed me for such an age. Excellent overall and as good as the 1963.
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12/4/2009 - petitblanc wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful pale rose color, with just the faintest sign of maturity at the rim. Pure red berries, light and elegant, with a lengthy finish that turns to cinnamon, caramel and nuts. A classy, feminine bottle that let the alcohol peek through just a bit too strongly, but still a wonderful and gracefully maturing Vintage Port. I would gladly own a cellar full of this wine. This was a John Harvey (Bristol) bottling.
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5/25/2009 - ecnemergut wrote: 90 Points
Wonderful cherry nose. Very precise on the palate with more fruit. Long finish. Some (perhaps off) "dusty" flavor on the finish that I didn't really care for. Not a trace of heat.
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12/16/2008 - Captain Haddock wrote: 94 Points
Medium colour, on the tawny side. This is a wonderfully balanced port, very fresh and smooth with lots going on. Not a flamboyant style, quite restrained. The heat on the finish disappeared shortly after opening, making the finish very long and satisfying.
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6/9/2008 - Brsed wrote: 93 Points
Drank at UCC wine dinner. Plenty of fruit left but not too sweet. Should continue to develop for a long time to come.
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1/19/2008 - Keith Cooper wrote: 95 Points
For wine lovers like me, this was a special wine moment. At a lunch to celebrate a friend's 60th birthday accompanied by 12 others, the wines had been pleasant but not special. Then the host announced that he had an old dusty bottle of port in the garage which he'd been given by a friend some 10 years earlier for his 50th birthday, which had no label and he didn't know what it was. So the bottle was opened and to our delight the cork revealed it was a Taylor's vintage 1966. The initial appearance showed the wine had good levels and was still exceptionally fresh, with a good ruby colour, no real brownness to show its 40+ years ageing. On the nose, lovely brambly fruit. The taste was clean, rich and smooth and generally showed the wine to be in excellent condition. Holding out well in the glass for an hour, this wine was exceptional right now, but could clearly last for probably another 10 or 20 years. There was about 2cm of sediment in the bottle, so should really be decanted, although in the excitement of the moment, our host did not. Excellent overall and a real treat when least expected! What a pity the friend who gave it to him was not there to enjoy it with us!
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