Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
Learn More About Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Through its Reviews
2018 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
96 Pointz Wine Spectator
“Highly Recommended”
“Remarkably harmonious already, with a beautiful display of unadulterated blueberry, blackberry, and plum sauce flavors that fan out, while anise, ganache, and cassis accents fill in. So lush and seductive through the finish, it’s nearly drinkable. But just wait.”
95 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2018 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for approximately 18 months in very old and large wooden vats. It comes in with 100 grams of residual sugar. This is the third straight declaration (2016, 2017, and this 2018) of a classic Vintage Port for Taylor's. Of those three, this so far would be my least favorite, but it's close and time will tell. Aromatic and expressive, this adds a big bang for a finish that reminds you that it is, indeed, Taylor's. After opening it on the first day tasted, it tightened fast and showed the structure I like to see in serious Ports. It has that classic flavor profile as well and shows fine concentration. Even 48 hours later it had no problem showing off a little muscle, even though it drank decently at that point. The fruit is expressive, as noted, but it is still a bit closed just now.”
95 Pointz Wine & Spirits
“Capturing the brisk power of a classic Taylor vintage, this wine opens with a centrifugal force to its flavor intensity, then continues to evolve over the course of several days, its presence almost completely savory, its power developing a quiet exuberance. As is typical for a young Taylor, the wine is branded by austerity and the floral notes of esteva—the local rockrose that grows at the top of the vineyards at Vargellas, Taylor’s home quinta on the south bank at the entrance to the Douro Superior. The wine’s schist tannins are finely integrated into its shades of blue, black, and red fruit, making this a graceful vintage of Taylor, easily the wine of the vintage in our tasting of 2018s.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
98 Pointz Decanter
“A blend from Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior (the backbone) and Quintas Terra Feita and Junco in the Pinhão Valley. Deep, scented (violets and esteva or gum cistus), minty too, restrained but already quite expressive; lovely pure mint and berry fruit backed by fine-grained tannins, which rise in the mouth to a long, level, linear finish. Not especially big but beautifully poised and very elegant. This has all the qualities of a long-term keeper. It is already magnificent and will be even more so in 15 to 20 years.”
2017 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
100 Pointz Wine Advocate
“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.”
99 Pointz James Suckling
“Complex aromas of tar, wet earth, dark berry, and flowers follow through to a full body, medium sweet, and amazing compacted concentration. Vertical and so deep. It goes on for minutes. Truly excellent.”
98 Pointz Vinous
“The 2017 Taylor's Vintage Port comes from their three quintas: Vargellas, de Terra Feita and do Junco, picking commencing at Vargellas on September 1, the earliest since 1945. Now this boasts a bold and more flamboyant bouquet vis-à-vis the Croft with layers of blackcurrant, blueberries, violet, and allspice. Wonderful definition here and as it ratchets up through the gears with aeration manages to maintain impressive delineation. The palate is medium, rather full-bodied. The first impression is one of freshness, completely disguising that summer’s dryness and warmth, a disarming finesse built around the frame of tannins that would have been impossible years ago. It is a silky-smooth Taylor’s, one of the most polished 2017 Vintage Ports with energy and tension flooding through the finish. Aristocratic as ever, totally Taylor’s, yet still translating the growing season with aplomb.”
97 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
“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.”
97 Pointz Wine Spectator
“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.”
96 Pointz Wine & Spirits
“This 2017 has all the markers of a legendary Taylor Port—scents of green fig, the complex tannic impact of schist, the consternating sense of elegance in the face of massive structural power. David Guimaraens bases this wine on fruit from the Quinta de Vargellas, an estate on the south bank of the river in the arid Douro Superior. In our tastings, it came after several 2017s that were sourced from vineyards on the north bank, closer to Pinhão, and, while it would be simplistic to consider this a definitive difference (there are many exposures in each quinta, and other quinta parcels in the blends), there was a stark shift from the blackness of those wines to the sour-cherry impression of this wine, and its floral fraise des bois notes. Those flavors keep pushing up against the dark shadows of the wine’s schist tannins, an undulating wake of red fruit and minerals that carries the wine’s muscular power into memory.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
97 Pointz Decanter
“A blend from predominantly north-facing Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior and quintas Terras Feita and Junco in the Pinhão Valley. This has lovely ripe mulberry fruit on the floral nose, also showing lovely concentration. It's dense and fleshy initially on the palate, displaying silky-velvety damson fruit and broad, fine-grained tannins which rise in the mouth and lead to a big peacock’s tail of a finish. It's a bold wine with great finesse, already beautifully integrated.”
18.5/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson,
Master of Wine
“Deep purple. Dark-fruited, dusky, smoky, full of blackberry and blueberry fruit. Like a bottomless well of fruit, so deep and smooth. Power and polish to the densely layered but welcoming tannins, the power hidden by the fruit depth. As it opens on the nose, there’s a more wild elderberry character and more chocolate on the finish. Amazing length, the tannins creating a paradoxically dry, savoury finish. Even with all this exceptional fruit, it seems more corseted on the palate than some in this vintage. Fladgate MD Adrian Bridge suggested this wine had an aroma of orange blossom and he is right, but I am not sure I would never have identified it without his prompt.”
2016 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
100 Pointz James Suckling
“OMG. This is really the most amazing young Taylor's I have ever tasted. Full-bodied and lightly sweet with super power and intensity. So racy and focused. Yet this has such muscle and intensity. Needs at least eight years to show you everything it has to offer. Drink in 2025.”
98 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
“Cellar Selection”
“Ripe, structured while also fruity, this intense, perfumed Port is opulent while also elegant. Its tannins and great fruit are finely integrated and are rich with potential. Black fruits, berries, and a juicy aftertaste add freshness to the wine. Drink from 2028.”
98 Pointz Wine Spectator “Collectibles”
Top 100 Wines of 2018
“This is packed with raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry fruit flavors that play off one another, melding with anise, fruitcake, and ganache notes. A warm tarry edge coats the finish, revealing an echo of bramble. A seriously grippy, strapping Port, this revels in its power. Best from 2032 through 2055."
97 Pointz Vinous
“In 2016 Taylor's began picking in Vargellas on 17 September, followed by Pinhão Valley estate on 23 and 26 September. The 2016 Vintage Port has an aristocratic bouquet with tight wound aromas of blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, black olive, and a light, marine-tinged element, perhaps almost peat-like. The palate is just beautiful with fine, chiseled tannins and a perfect line of acidity. There is that almost "arching" structure one always seeks in a great Taylor’s with a gentle but insistent grip towards the finish. It is everything you really want from a Vintage Port.”
96 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend set to be bottled about a week after this tasting. It was the final blend. It was aged for 20 months in wood and comes in with 102 grams of residual sugar. The Croft might be as rich--although I don't think so; we'll see as they age--but this is more expressive right now. The most delicious of the three Fladgate Group offerings, this has the sexiest fruit, although the Fonseca seems to have more pure power. Even allowing that it had a fair bit of air, this was showing surprisingly well for young Taylor's. That is speaking relatively, of course, because this still has power and energy. Personally, this year I'd definitely pick Fonseca, though. Fonseca just seems to have a little more upside potential. With Port, of course, things change over the decades. This is a first look, not a final word. Winemaker David Guimaraens said that 2016, the first declaration since 2011, was a cooler year with purity of fruit and less power compared to the muscular and concentrated 2011s. That is pretty obvious on tasting them. They are enchanting for their freshness, though.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
96 Pointz Decanter
“Dense and heady on the nose with an attractive green, leafy edge. Sweet and plump on the palate with lovely bright cherry and damson fruit – nicely defined but not as big as some. Firm, tight-knit tannins on a long, linear finish which shows off the lovely purity of fruit. Drinking Window 2030-2055”
18/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson,
Master of Wine
“Two main sources are Quinta de Vargellas, which is north-facing and so protected from excessive heat, and giving floral notes, plus Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco around Pinhão for earthier characteristics. Only 6,500 cases were made, instead of the usual 12,000-14,000. Dark crimson but without the blueish purple of the Grahams. Tight, refined nose -- rather claret-like. Not as obviously sweet as some. Restrained aromatically: backward with sharp, linear blackcurrant and violet notes. This tastes like a somewhat shouty, scratchy baby at the moment -- which is no criticism of a wine designed to age as long as a vintage port. But then there are masses of sweet fruit with liquorice surrounded in a scratchy skein of tannins and acidity. Drink 2043-2070.”
2011 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
98 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2011 Taylor’s Vintage has a multifaceted, Pandora’s Box of a nose that is mercurial in the glass: cassis at first before blackberry and raspberry politely ask it to move aside, followed by wilted rose petals and Dorset plum. Returning after one 45 minutes that nose has shut up shop. The palate is sweet and sensual on the entry, plush and opulent, with copious black cherries, boysenberry, and cassis fruit, curiously more reminiscent of Fonseca! It just glides across the palate with a mouth-coating, glycerine-tinged finish that has a wonderful lightness of touch, demonstrating how Vintage Port is so much more accessible in its youth nowadays. But don’t let that fool you into dismissing the seriousness or magnitude of this outstanding Taylor’s.”
97 Pointz Wine & Spirits
“The greatness of this wine is subtler and more hidden than many of its siblings in 2011. It’s skinnier than Fonseca, austere in a Taylor--Douro Superior way, clouding the brain with schist dust before revealing its more sensuous blue-fruit richness. The tarry density and umami tannins are slow to yield what becomes seemingly endless flavor, dynamic, and sleek. A pure revelation of the Douro, this has the stamina to outlive many of its peers in a long-lived vintage.”
97 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
Ranked #10 Wine Enthusiast
Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2013
“There is an initial smoky character, followed by a burst of ripe, rich black fruits, giving the wine weight and a dark, brooding core. Black plum and berry fruits, considerable acidity, and a delicate final perfume. For serious aging.”
97 Pointz Wine Spectator “Collectibles”
“Powerful, featuring concentrated dark plum and spicy cherry flavors that are finely balanced, showing notes of raspberry preserves. The mocha and wild herb accents are interwoven and supported by powerful tannins. The finish offers intense grip and violet hints.”
96 Pointz James Suckling
“Very pretty pure fruit on the nose: crushed berries and minerals with a licorice and graphite undertone. Full body, medium sweet with chewy tannins that are polished and firm. This shows balance and harmony, but remains powerful, muscular, and toned.”
96 Pointz Stephen Tanzer’s
International Wine Cellar
“Knockout nose combines smoky dark fruits, exotic flowers, spices, dried lavender, minerals, and a balsamic nuance. Hugely concentrated, dense, and primary but with penetrating minerality giving finesse and precision to the mid-palate. Extremely fine-grained, classy wine with fresh acidity and restrained sweetness. The firmly tannic, mineral-tinged finish features outstanding perfumed persistence and the structure and balance for decades of development in the cellar. Still, this is not as austere in its youth as some recent vintages.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
19.5/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson
“This wine was placed immediately after the super-opulent Fonseca in the BFT tasting which may have been a mistake. This is restrained. Well mannered, discreet, keeps its powder very dry. But on the palate it opens out in the most superb, Burgundian peacock's tail sort of way. Another wonderful wine from The Fladgate Partnership. Utterly different from the Fonseca. Upright and straight backed. But irreproachable. My gums are virtually impervious to sugar and acid but this wine set them vibrating a bit. Dried prunes ground up with rocks.”
2009 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
97 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Now with a couple years in bottle, I am erring to the Taylor’s over the Fonseca (although these can always change!) The Taylor’s show more delineation and refinement with pure black currant, cassis, pencil box, hints of marzipan, and a hint of dark chocolate. The palate is full-bodied and sumptuous with super-fine tannins, very pure blackberry, and boysenberry notes interlaced with cedar, dried fig, and a touch of black pepper on the beautifully refined finish. Excellent.”
96 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
“Cellar Selection”
“Taylor Fladgate's vintage Ports are always among the legendary wines. This hugely structured wine keeps the dense, perfumed tradition very much alive. Along with the power, it also has wonderful fruit, bursting out with blackberry jam. Even with all the fruitiness, it needs to age for decades.”
94 Pointz Wine Spectator
“Intensely fruity and dripping with luscious dark cherry, blackberry, and blueberry flavors, leading to touches of sandalwood. Medium-grained tannins carry through to the lush, spice- and chocolate-filled finish. This shows fine grip and balance, with a very modern feel.”
93 Pointz James Suckling
“Aromatic and bright with violet, blueberry, and sandlewood character. Full-bodied and medium sweet with fine tannins and a long finish. Refined.”
93 Pointz Stephen Tanzer’s
International Wine Cellar
“Very ripe, expressive nose offers cassis, black cherry, licorice, and exotic herbs. Hugely rich, thick, and powerful in the context of the vintage, but with lovely purity and a saline complexity to the flavors of crushed black cherry and boysenberry. This will need some time in bottle to harmonize its brandy but has the spine for a slow and graceful evolution in bottle.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kindom
18/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson,
Master of Wine
“Blackish purple. This, unusually, had the headiness of Fonseca 2009 on the nose and seemed more luscious and velvety than the Quinta da Vargellas Vinha Velha on the palate. Very rich, round, and thrilling. Dense and pure. A bit of a schoolmaster in terms of straight back and firm structure. Very long, firm, and thrilling – surely a long term bet with additional early charm, presumably from the exceptionally hot, dry vintage.”
2007 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
96 Pointz Wine Spectator
“This is a giant of a wine lurking behind fresh flowers and ripe fruit. Starts off in a friendly way, then takes hold of the palate, with intense blueberry and blackberry fruit and chewy yet fine tannins. Mouth puckering, but impressively complex and long. Really kicks in on the finish. The best Taylor since 1994.”
95 Pointz Wine & Spirits
“At its best, this wine is a vibrant, huge young Porto knocking out all the others with its delicious power-a Master of the Universe wine. It's a blast of schist, cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, and black licorice, all held in a supple grip that slides down the throat just as slowly as the wine's color slides down the side of the glass. At this stage, the score shows some restraint, the wine having gone into a funk after a day of air and becoming reduced and difficult, only to rebound the following day. Still, this demonstrates the potential to be one of the greatest Port wines David Guimaraens has made, coming from a balanced year with beauty rather than aggression in the tannin. It will be fascinating to compare this to the 2003 as the wines age over the next 50 years.”
95 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
“Cellar Selection”
“Enticing violet and black currant aromas are followed by ripe plum and spice flavors. Maybe this isn’t the most powerful Taylor Fladgate vintage ever, but it is balanced, opulent, beautifully made, the tannins fine, layered, with exquisite final acidity.”
94 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The Taylor’s 2007 is in a rather odd phase at the moment, its sweet, marzipan-tinged bouquet tending to dominate the ripe black fruit. The palate is much more controlled, with very fine tannins, supremely well-judged acidity, and a very elegant, composed finish that has more purity and poise than the Fonseca. I would give bottles another decade to allow the aromatics to calm down.”
94 Pointz Stephen Tanzer’s
International Wine Cellar
“Bright, deep ruby. Superripe but youthfully clenched aromas of kirsch, blueberry, black licorice, smoke, and minerals. Densely packed, suave, and thick; has the texture of liquid velvet but urgent minerality gives it outstanding energy and a light touch. Best today on the slow-building, firmly tannic, spicy, palate-staining finish, which shows more grip and thrust than the Vargellas. This gained in complexity and definition for upwards of 72 hours in the recorked bottle. The Vargellas is an outstanding site expression while this is a great blend-and likely to enjoy a slower evolution in bottle. As usual, this should be among the longest-lived wines of the vintage.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
18/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson,
Master of Wine
“Subtle dark ruby with massive layers of different flavours. Good tannins and sufficient freshness. Massive thick fruit and tannins; really very grown-up, sophisticated and proper. Hint of juniper. Very complete.”
2003 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
97 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
“Inky purple in color, this youngest Taylor vintage Port boasts a floral, wonderfully open, and appealing bouquet, backed by layers of rich fruit. What makes this wine extra special is the seductive texture—somewhere between creamy and syrupy—and ample length.”
96 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“The 2003 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for approximately 21 months in oak vats. It comes in with 93 grams of residual sugar. This oldie will be rereleased soon. As much as the Fladgate Group's 2003 oldies in this report all have bragging points, this is Taylor's, and the structure takes the lead for all of them. Still a wee bit tight, this is far younger than the Croft, not fully mature or at peak, and classic Taylor's. The remaining tannins support the fruit perfectly, but nothing to me is better here than the flavor profile. This is a fine Taylor's, still with plenty of room to evolve and improve. It could actually use a few more years, not to tame the tannins, but to acquire more maturity. Of the three (including Croft and Fonseca), this is the winner, but the Fonseca shows better today and the Croft seems to be at peak. So, cellar this a bit more and drink the others now.”
96 Pointz Wine & Spirits
“The 2003 vintage surrounds Taylor's classically hard-core iron grip with fruit that's generous, succulent and rich. The aromas of violets and spice seem to rise out of a blast of black rock, the muscular tannin inseparable from the fresh fruit. Though the ripeness and richness of the vintage tends to blur many of the distinctions among the best Ports, the relatively dry style of Taylor stands out, the extreme power of its structure bringing to mind a wrought iron fence stretching off into the distance. Winemaker David Guimaraens describes 2003 as a concentrating year, and points to 1966 as a parallel to the vintage. Likely the longest lived of the '03s, this should be drinking best from 2033 through 2055, then mature into a firm old age for decades after.”
94 Pointz James Suckling
“This is coming around beautifully now with dark plums, orange peel, chocolate and graphite undertones. It’s full-bodied with fine and chewy tannins and a long finish. A very fresh and elegant Taylor for this hot vintage, which slightly surprised me from the beginning. Drinkable but better in five years for me.”
94 Pointz Wine Spectator
“Lovely aromas of currants, blackberries, and licorice. Full-bodied, with medium sweetness and layers of ripe, round, velvety tannins. Flavorful finish. More round and refined than from barrel.”
93 Pointz Stephen Tanzer’s
International Wine Cellar
“Bright, saturated ruby. Vibrant, pure aromas of blackberry, violet, and bitter chocolate. Juicy, minerally, precise and penetrating, but quite primary and unevolved today. Shows strong but integrated acidity and a tight kernel of fruit. Best today on the slow-building, rising, aristocratic finish. But today the wine's tannins are less obvious than its acids. This seems distinctly less ripe and chewy than the great 2000 Taylor's but it's still extremely unevolved. Latour-like in its structure and reserve.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
93 Pointz Decanter
“Leather, coffee, and spice at the outset. Sweet spices, chocolate, and mocha bring depth and structure supported by firm, ripe tannins and leading to a berry fruit and bitter chocolate finish.”
18/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson,
Master of Wine
“David Guimaraens is a huge fan of 2003s, saying they are in the shadow of the 2000s the way 1966 was in the shadow of the 1963s but 'when you have a warm year following a cool year, the wines have incredible longevity'. But he is not thinking of touching them yet. Very subtle nose indeed and to me, someone without unlimited access to vintage ports(!), this seems pretty delicious now. Yes, there is lots of tannin but also lots of very charming pruney fruit. Exciting with sufficient freshness as well as sweetness and interest.”
2000 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port Reviews
98 Pointz Rober Parker’s Wine Advocate
“At present it offers very pure blackberry, mulberry, and a touch of smoke...not giving much away at the moment but surely destined to down the line. The palate is very refined, very pure with svelte tannins with ebullient ripe red fruits laced with tobacco, nutmeg, and white pepper. Long and caressing on the finish, this should evolve into a masterful Taylor’s Vintage.”
96 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
“This was perhaps the most prototypically 'Taylor' wine of the vertical, with complex floral and spice aromas backed by firm, black cherry and berry fruit. The fruit is fresh and almost crunchy in character, underscored by solid tannins and a long, dusty finish. Immense power combines with intricate nuance and a supremely ageworthy structure. Hold.”
95 Pointz Stephen Tanzer’s
International Wine Cellar
“Brooding, complex aromas of cassis, minerals, graphite, licorice and damp earth; distinct hints of surmaturite. Dense, chewy, and powerful, with a saline impression of extract. At once strong and seamless, with penetrating, youthfully primary black fruit flavors that really expand and reverberate in the mouth and on the very long, gripping finish. Exhilarating late note of dark chocolate. By no means a painfully backward Taylor, but structured to evolve for at least 25 to 30 years.”
95 Pointz Wine Spectator
“Fresh and sleek, with cassis, cherry paste, and linzer torte flavors that drive along nicely, picking up red licorice, alder, and briar notes along the way. The anise- and spice-infused finish has focus and energy. This is rock-solid and nearly at peak.”