Taylor - Vintage Port 2017 - Magnum

Druerne til Vintage-portvinene fra Taylor’s dyrkes i Dourodalen på Taylor’s egne vingårde, samt finere marker Quinta de Vargellas og Quinta de Terra Feita, hvis jorde begge er klassificeret i gruppe A, som er den absolut bedste gruppe. Mikroklimaerne på de to gårde er meget forskellige, og det resulterer i komplekse og kraftige portvine, som er særdeles velegnede til henlægning.

Om Vintage Port siges der, at den er drikkelig efter 4-5 år, men at den først virkelig kan nydes efter 15-20 år. Pga. det naturlige depôt, der er i Vintage Port, skal man huske at lade flasken stå oprejst i 48 timer, inden man åbner den – på den måde falder bundfaldet til bunds. Derefter bør man forsigtigt dekantere portvinen, således at bundfaldet bliver i flasken. Portvinen er klar til servering 2-3 timer efter dekanteringen – og bør drikkes inden for 24 timer efter åbningen.

Efter et vådt 2016 startede året med en kolde og tør vinter. Knop skydning opstod relativt tidligt omkring 10. marts. De tørre forhold fortsatte ind i foråret og det varme vejr i april og maj tilskyndede vinstokkene til hurtig vækst. De første tre uger i juni var ekstremt varme og forårsagede skader på de nye klaser i nogle områder af Douro. Den tidlige cyklus fortsatte med véraison omkring den 18. juni, en måned tidligere end året før. Bortset fra nogle tordenvejr og nedbør tidligt i juli forblev forholdene tørre indtil slutningen af ​​september, skønt temperaturen meget af modningssæsonen var moderat. Som forventet modnede druerne meget tidligt og viste høje sukkerniveauer, hvilket førte til længere gæringer og meget effektiv farveekstraktion. Plukningen startede ved Taylors Quinta de Vargellas den 1. september, den tidligste i en generation. Sidste gang plukning blev registreret som startende så tidligt var i 1945 - en af ​​de største årgange fra det 20. århundrede. Temperaturen ved høsttid var mild med kølige nætter, hvilket førte til afbalanceret gæring og fremragende udvinding. Mosten var tæt og præget af enestående farvedybde og imponerende fænoliske stoffer.

Vingårdens hjemmeside Her og en lille video HER

98-100 points Robert Parker's 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. (MS)  (7/2019)

99 points 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.  (6/2019)

98 points 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. (NM)  (6/2019)

97 points 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. (RM)  (7/2019)

97 points 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. (RV)  (12/2019)

97 points 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. (JM)  (10/2019)

96 points 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.  (10/2019)

Jancis Robinson

 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. (JH) 18.5/20 points  (5/2019)

Firmaet Taylor's - eller Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, som det helt korrekt hedder - er over 300 år gammelt. Taylor's er stadig et personligt ejet familiefirma, som er fuldstændig uafhængigt. Taylor's hovedsæde er beliggende i Vila Nova de Gaia. Her afskibes portvinene, som eksporteres til mindst 54 lande verden over - derudover sælges portvinene selvfølgelig også i Portugal. Druerne til portvinene fra Taylor's dyrkes i Dourodalen på Taylor's egne tre vingårde; Quinta de Vargellas, Quinta de Terra Feita og Quinta do Junco. Portvinene fra Taylor's var, er og vil fortsat være nogle af de største portvine!