Taylors Late Bottled Vintage Port | 75 cl

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Read on for our full guide including what the difference is between red and tawny ports, decoding the label, and the best way to serve it for maximum flavour. You might think port lasts forever after it’s been opened, but sadly that’s not the case, though it differs by type.

The grapes tended to be small with little juice resulting in deep, dense powerful wines for the medium-to-long-term. It was declared by the Symington-owned houses Dow’s, Graham’s, Warre’s, Smith Woodhouse, Gould Campbell and Quarles Harris in preference to 1992. Taylor’s and Fonseca declared single-quinta wines. 1991 was a watershed vintage in that, for the first time, more vintage Port was shipped to the US than the UK. Best wines Eat well, live better, stay healthy - sign up for our free monthly Food & Health newsletter for the latest insights delivered straight to your inbox Vintage ports are the top-quality red ports from a single year – and only the best years. They’re aged in wood for just a couple of years. Unlike most ports, they have the potential to develop in the bottle (more on that later).In their second Spring, they are tasted again. If they are judged to be of exceptional quality, the Port wines of the three estates are blended together, Vargellas bringing structure, elegance and complexity to the wine and Terra Feita and Junco body, depth and powerful, concentrated fruit. It’s safe enough to drink, but if you’re sensitive to the smell, it can be offputting, and impacts the flavour of the drink. At this stage it must be decided whether a Vintage Port is to be ‘ declared’. For a declaration to be made, the Vintage Port blend must be of outstanding quality: austere in its youth, with tremendous depth of flavour and massive structure, capable of evolving over years, or decades into that quintessence of great Port, a mature Taylor Fladgate Vintage. Ruby port is the youngest and cheapest style of red port. The best of these are bright, fruity and peppery. The 2003 vintage was blessed with warm weather at the end of May, supporting a successful flowering, followed by intense summer heat in early August.

An exceptionally wet winter prepared the vines for a hot, dry summer. In August, temperatures of 45C were recorded twice at Pinhao in the heart of the Cima Corgo but with so much ground water, the grapes did not dry up or raisin-ise. Rain finally arrived during the harvest, but with yields well-down on average the crop came to no harm. The fermentations were helped by cool weather and musts registered higher-than-average readings with excellent colour. It was clear at the end of the harvest that a fine vintage was in prospect. After each harvest, the tasting panel selects the finest Port wines from the three properties and these are then left to age for two winters in oak vats. Port is a Portuguese fortified wine often enjoyed alongside a cheese board, after a big meal or simply as a relaxing evening treat.You can find a range of ports at most major supermarkets, as well as specialist retailers. Supermarkets that sell port wines include: Taylor's three iconic port wine estates, located in the best parts of the Douro Valley - Terra Feita, Vargellas and Junco - encompass a huge area and various different styles of wine. Each estate is distinct from the others, with different strengths and styles to complement each other brilliantly. It’s partly because of this that the House is rated so highly, often known as the one to beat when it comes to vintage ports; with their iconic blends of the very best from each estate, a bottle of Taylor’s vintage port is always unique and invariably among the best available. It is for this reason that theirs are some of the most sought-after and expensive ports in the world.

There is a tradition of giving port to a newborn to enjoy years down the line, once they’re old enough to drink it. However, the vast majority of port these days is sold to be consumed immediately, and very few will develop at all once they’re in the bottle – much less improve.Late bottled vintage ports are of even higher initial quality, and are matured in wood for four or five years.

Related articles Port vintage guide: 2000-2022 Know your Port styles Seasonal Ports: 15 to try this winter Video: How to decant vintage Port Taylor's Port has a three hundred year tradition focusing solely on its port wines, finding the very best methods of production and refining them to produce some of the best examples in existence. Video produced by Smith & Taylor Private Cellars of Chelsea Bridge Cellars - Private Cellarers of wine & Designers and Makers of Wine Rooms We asked Charles for his tips on choosing the best bottle of port, and explain what we found when we tested supermarket ports.Tawny keeps better than vintage since it’s already been exposed to air during maturation. Kept in the fridge or cellar, a tawny port can be enjoyed many weeks after the bottle is opened.