SKU: 00971

Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port 2017

wa98-100
we97
ws97

375ml

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$59.99

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Category	Port
Varietals	Touriga Nacional Tinta Barroca Tinta Cão Tinta Francisca Tinta Roriz
Origin	Portugal, Douro
Brand	Taylor Fladgate
Alcohol/vol	20%

These are Half Bottles or 375 ML. Often described as the Rolls-Royce of the Ports, Taylor Fladgate is world renowned for its high quality Port wines and its many accomplishments in the region's history. Taylor invented the late bottled vintage category (aka LBV's), and is still the category’s standard-bearer for LBV; it was the first Port firm to produce single-quinta vintage Porto ; the family became the first Porto shipper to purchase vineyards in the Douro Valley in 1744; and it is the only Porto company that has remained 100% family run throughout its history.

Produced only in exceptional vintages worthy of a vintage Porto declaration, Taylor Fladgate Classic Vintage Porto comes from the finest estate vineyards: Quinta de Vargellas, celebrated as one of the top 100 vineyards in the world, Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta de Junco. All grapes undergo the traditional foot treading method, ensuring their fullest expression. Fermentation is halted by the addition of grape spirits before all the residual sugar has been fermented, creating a sweet, fortified wine. Following two years in wood, the wines are bottled unfiltered and will continue maturing for decades.

The origins of Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman lie in the 1670s, with Job Bearsley, an English merchant in Minho. Bearsley's initial activities were in the wool trade, and the "4XX" logo, originally his woolmark, was branded on bales of wool, and later, casks of Port wine, for shipment. The firm was officially founded in 1692, and Bearsley moved his offices to Oporto; this date places Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman as one of Oporto's oldest Port houses. Bearsley’s son Peter was the first Englishman, in the early 1700s, to venture into the primitive reaches of the Upper Douro to purchase wines. Another son, Bartholomew, acquired the first British-owned property in the Douro in 1744, the Lugar das Lages. Located at Salgueiral, close to the old town of Regua, and including the 18th-century Casa dos Alambiques, it is still among Taylor Fladgate's operative holdings.

Wine Advocate

wa98-100

The 2017 Vintage Port, not quite bottled when seen but the final blend, is a field blend aged for approximately 20 months in wood. It comes in with 100 grams of residual sugar. A step up (or two) on the 2016, this shows fine depth, more focus, vivid fruit and serious power. It's not particularly thick, austere or astringent, but this is built for the long haul. It is potentially a great Taylor's, effortlessly combining brilliant fruit and structure. It tastes great now (today, it is far more vivid than its Vinha Velha sibling), but the power makes this hard to drink today. So, have some patience. It will need some time, probably a lot more than indicated, and will likely last longer than indicated as well. As noted in the accompanying article, I don't see much point to impossibly long drinking windows. At some point, reevaluation is required.

July 11, 2019

Wine Enthusiast

we97

The structure is currently very dominant in this wine. Its dark tannins are concentrated, waiting for the masked black fruits to come through. Everything is there, it just needs an immense amount of time. Drink from 2030.

December 31, 2019

Wine Spectator

ws97

This offers up a dense rumble of dark currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors, laced with hints of buckwheat, baker's chocolate and warm tar. The muscular finish is thickly layered, with threads of alder and espresso cream adding definition along the way. Should be among the more long-lived wines of the vintage. Best from 2035 through 2060. 1,250 cases imported.

December 31, 2019

Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port 2017

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