TAYLOR FLADGATE Single Harvest Vintage Port 1970 Bottle

Description

Taylor’s Single Harvest 1970 Port is an exquisite representation of maturity and depth, earning a remarkable 98 points from Decanter. Richard Mayson praises its pale red-mahogany hue with olive highlights, noting the gloriously lifted nose infused with sultana, molasses, and roasted coffee. The palate is rich and beautifully intense, featuring a smooth, slightly syrupy texture softened by a lively streak of acidity, ensuring freshness throughout its long, languorous finish. Vinous follows closely with a score of 95 points, highlighting a striking bouquet of dried quince, camphor, and grilled walnuts, complemented by a medium-bodied palate with spicy notes of five-spice and orange zest, presenting a tempting allure. This elegant port offers a sumptuous and hedonistic experience, perfect for indulgence over the coming years.

*****

Pale mahogany core surrounded by a broad pale gold rim with subtle olive highlights. On first impression, the wine is lifted and ethereal but soon begins to unfurl layer after layer of multi-dimensional aroma. First to emerge are notes of sawn wood and cigar leaf, against a background of cedar, balsam and citrus. These are followed by a warmer, mellow redolence of marzipan, walnut and coffee, notes of sultana and plum and spicy hints of black pepper and cardamom. Finally, the nose opens up a discreet savoury dimension, with hints of toast and wild herbs. On the palate, the wine has a smooth, velvety texture. Rich, dense and sumptuous, it coats the tongue with opulent mellow flavour, coffee and butterscotch with hints of walnut and candied orange peel, but with a remarkable freshness from the current of lively acidity which runs through the palate into the extraordinary long finish. A wonderfully elegant, finely constituted and beautifully matured port delivering a surge of rich flavour with every sip.

DECANTER 98 points
Tasted by: Richard Mayson (at Bakewell, 27 May 2020) Part of First taste: Taylor’s Single Harvest 1970 Port
Drinking Window: 2020 - 2025
Pale red-mahogany in colour with an olive-green tinge to the rim. Gloriously lifted and maderised on the nose with a touch of sultana, molasses and roasted coffee. Rich and beautifully intense on the palate; a smooth, slightly syrupy resonance offset by a lithe streak of acidity, which keeps the wine fresh all the way through. Long and languorous on the finish, with lovely toasty, malty complexity. Superbly laidback and hedonistic.

VINOUS 95 points
In addition, Taylor Fladgate has recently released a 1970 Single Harvest Port, the seventh in a series of limited-edition 50-year-old colheitas, aged in the Taylor Fladgate cellars at Vila Nova de Gaia, that comes suitably attired in a frosted glass bottle and beech wood box. Released from the end of May this year, it does not come cheap, at £220 per bottle. Maybe a little deeper in color than expected, deep mahogany with very slight green tints on the rim, it has a striking bouquet of dried quince, camphor, a touch of furniture polish and grilled walnuts, and later just a touch of espresso. The palate is medium-bodied with a spicy opening: Chinese five-spice, cloves, satsuma and orange zest, then touches of California raisins and Medjool dates. Smooth and very sensual, this is a tempting and moreish Port with hedonistic flair. - Neal Martin

JANCIS ROBINSON 17 points
Dark gamboge colour tinted with chestnut highlights. Smells just the tiniest bit woody when tasted immediately after the glorious Kopke colheitas. Sweet and round with some real power. Even a hint of chestnut flavour? Very smooth with a dry finish. Only the nose is less than glorious. (JR)