1966 Taylor's, Very Old Single Harvest Port, Portugal
Critics reviews
Very elegant, with notes of tobacco and cedar to the lush buttercream, ripe pear and dried apricot flavors. Seductive tropical fruit and spice notes linger on the endless finish, revealing citrusy hints. Drink now.
Wine Spectator
About this WINE
Taylor Fladgate
Taylor's Port, sometimes called Taylor-Fladgate (particularly in the U.S.) is one of the most well-known of all Port wine brands.
The first Taylor joined in 1816, followed later by a Fladgate and a Yeatman. Taylor’s is the only Port wine shipper to remain completely independent throughout its history. British ownership continues to this day, when, after the last Yeatman, Dick, died in 1966, the firm passed via his widow to her nephew, Alistair Robertson.
Adrian Bridge, Alistair's son-in-law, is the current Managing Director. David Guimarãens leads the winemaking team that is responsible for maintaining Taylor’s position as a premium Port wine producer.
In addition to Vintage Port, Taylor's has also enjoyed considerable success with its Quinta de Vargellas, under which label Vintage wine is made in good years that have not been declared.The range has been augmented by the 116-hectare Quinta de Terra Feita in the Pinhão valley and Quinta do Junco, Vila Nova da Gaia and Xisto.
The Port wines are typically closed and austere when young; it is only with adequate ageing that they loosen up and offer their subliminal qualities. Worth waiting for, though, to secure stocks one is best advised to buy young.
Vintage Port
Vintage Port accounts for only a small percentage of the total Port production - which includes Tawny, Ruby, Late Bottled Vintage, Single Quinta Vintage styles, among others - but is the finest, longest-lived and most expensive style that is produced. The best are as good as any wine in existence.
With the exception of legendary vineyards like Quinta do Noval Nacional and Quinta do Vesuvio, Vintage Port is made from a blend of wines from a producer's finest plots. It is aged for around 18 months in wooden casks before bottling; from then on the watch-word is patience. At least 15 years ageing – and for the top wines it will be significantly longer – is required before the tannins, spirit and fruit are fully integrated. Indeed, the finest examples can last well over 50 years.
Vintage Port is only made in exceptional years (normally around three times per decade) with considerable stylistic variation between different years and shippers. However, they all share a sweet, warming, spicy richness, power and complexity. In other good but not great vintages, many shippers produce a Single Quinta Vintage Port from their finest vineyard. These are made in the same way and have the same style as Vintage Port but tend to mature faster and are less profound. All Vintage Port throws a sediment as it matures, and thus requires decanting.
Port Blend
There are around 40 different grape varieties permitted in the production of Port - however the vast majority of Ports are produced from a blend of 5 grapes - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão.
Touriga Nacional produces small, dark-skinned grapes that produce opaque black wines of great extract and high tannins - it gives grip, body, and structure to the blend.
Touriga Franca has a thinner skin and consequently produces wines lighter in colour and tannins than Touriga Nacional. It contributes fruit, aroma, suppleness and roundness.
Tinta Roriz is the Portuguese name for Tempranillo and its high sugar content and low acidity contribute colour and fruit.
Tinta Barroca which is normally grown at highish altitudes and on north-facing slopes, is prized for producing wines of delicacy, finesse and with smooth, velvety fruit. It brings elegance and sweet, ripe fruit to the final blend.
Finally Tinto Cão produces fine and complex wines, though it is probably the least important of the 5 grapes as its painfully small yields have reduced plantings to almost insignificant levels.
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Description
1966 was a great success in the Douro and, almost, universally declared. Some of the quality of that vintage is suggested in the strength of colour in this very lovely, sensually flavoured wine full of notes of dried figs, raisins and spices, all seamlessly integrated. Many tawny / colheita wines of this age would expect to be paler but the strong colour is mirrored in the wine’s strength and luscious persistence giving it a wholesome attitude. Now fully ready to drink, this would make the centrepiece of any imminent 50th anniversary or, simply, revel in the pleasure of drinking a very fine glass of port.
Tom Cave - Cellar Plan Manager
Quite a delicate yet complex nose of Muscavado sugar, caramel, honeyed walnuts, pine kernels and a twist of citrus all supporting a high-toned raciness. The gentle spice and zesty thread at the core really keeps this 50 year old wine bright and invigorating and perfectly contrasts the mouth-coating viscosity. Evolving as it goes, I picked up hints of coffee, gingerbread and burnt orange along with brown sugar. There was also a gentle bitterness to the finish that reminded me of fresh homemade lemonade and left me reaching for a top up.
Peter Newton - Private Account Manager
Single Harvest Ports are blended wines from a single year which have been judiciously aged in oak casks.
The 1966 offers a laudable opportunity to drink and enjoy a fully aged and wonderfully mature Port wine of the aged Tawny / Colheita style. Having been aged in wood, decanting is not necessary and once the bottle is open the wine will not deteriorate for at least a week.
Taylor’s is the most aristocratic of Port shippers and is respected as one of the leading holders of mature Tawny Port.
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