IS THE TAYLOR 1994 THE GREATEST T SINCE 1948T

[Symon B]

hi is the t1994 the greatest blockbuster t since the 1948 thankyou symonb

[Roy Hersh]

In a long line of great Taylor's that followed 1948:

1955
1963
1966
1967 Vargellas
1970
1977
1987 Vargellas
1991 Vargellas
1992 Taylor

The 1994 is at least as good as any in that list, imo.

[Symon B]

[Moses Botbol]

In a long line of great Taylor's that followed 1948:

1955
1963
1966
1967 Vargellas
1970
1977
1987 Vargellas
1991 Vargellas
1992 Taylor

The 1994 is at least as good as any in that list, imo.

Might as well say most of their vintages...

[Symon B]

hi i suppose i was realy asking as well was is t94 of the same blockbuster ilk as 1948t potentialy i rated the 48 t as a division above for instance the t 70and 2 divisions above t85 and the 77t came close in power to 48t iv never had the great t94 is it a diferent beast thankyou symonb

[Glenn E.]

hi i suppose i was realy asking as well was is t94 of the same blockbuster ilk as 1948t potentialy

I've never had the T48, but I would guess that yes the T94 is a blockbuster in that same vein. It is a huge wine that to me needs at least another 20 years to mature. 30 more years would probably be safer.

Don't overlook the T92, though. To my oft-confused palate it also has the potential to be a 100-year blockbuster.

I rate the T70 and T77 similarly. They're both very good, but I seem to prefer the T70 very slightly. It is entirely possible that my preference is based solely on the extra 7 years of age, though, because I tend to prefer either very young or very old Ports. 1977s are neither. 1970s are still generally still too young for my taste, so 1977s just don't have a chance.

I don't think the T85 is in the same league as any of the above. It's a very nice Port, but 1985 has much better offerings.

[Richard Henderson]

I am most late to this discussion but what happened to Taylor in 1983 and 1985. I know Roy has told us but feeble memory.....

[Tom Archer]

I am most late to this discussion but what happened to Taylor in 1983 and 1985

For reasons that I'm not entirely clear about, Taylor went through a relatively weak period during the 1980's. Noval did the same. Fonseca punched below their weight in 1980 & 1983, but came back fighting in 1985. Other great names such as Croft, Cockburn and Sandeman also suffered varying degrees of upset during this period.

The Symington brands kept the flag flying however, and some of the Offley wines from this period are also very good.

Tom

[Al B.]

I was re-reading this post from Symon and realised that there is a big gap in my tasting experience with regard to recent, but not the latest Taylor vintages. Believe it or not, I have never tasted a Taylor port (not counting the Vargellas labels) from the years between 1985 and 2003. I've never tasted the 1992, 1994, 1997 or 2000.

Am I missing something or should I wait until they reach maturity and pop one of each when they arrive at the age of 21?

If these ports are as good as their reputation, can I realy afford to wait to try them for myself?

Shockingly, I can also confess that I have a similar gap in my tasting experience of Fonseca - I have never any of their releases from the generally declared years between the 1985 and 2003. Is this another gap I need to fix urgently?

[Roy Hersh]

Alex,

If you come visit the US during the 4th quarter this year, I will gladly pull all of the Taylor/Fonseca Ports from those vintages (from my cellar) and arrange an offline in honor of your 2nd coming to Seattle.

[Roy Hersh]

The last person to take me up on such an offer was Nicos Neocleous. I told him that if he came from the UK to Seattle, we'd pull all major declared vintages from 1955 to date (at the time that was 13 VPs) and without repeating a single producer would come up with a very solid and unique vertical tasting. The article appears online somewhere.

I really hope your schedule might permit this. I'd imagine that would be just the beginning of a fine and memorable weekend.

[Al B.]

Alex,

If you come visit the US during the 4th quarter this year, I will gladly pull all of the Taylor/Fonseca Ports from those vintages (from my cellar) and arrange an offline in honor of your 2nd coming to Seattle.

As much as I am flattered and honoured (with a "u") by the offer, I just will not be able to make the trip. My work these days is very much limited to the UK and any travel that I do for work is over to Germany. Any trips to the US will be purely leisure and will be very infrequent because of competition for my vacation days from other family holidays. Seattle is on the list of cities for my wife and I to visit together one day, but it will be a few years yet.

But then the good news is that if I visit Seattle in a few years from now then all these ports will be mature and drinking beautifully...

[Roy Hersh]

The offer stands in perpetuity. You and your wife are welcome to stay with us anytime Alex, next month, next year, next decade!

[David Spriggs]

I've never tasted the 1992, 1994, 1997 or 2000.

I love all of those vintages or Taylor. For me the 1994 is one of the all-time great Ports. The 1992 is close to the 1994, but very expensive due to the Parker 100 point score. The 1997 is a sleeper and is very reasonably priced at auction. It was very impressive the last time I had it. The 2000 I have not had since release... but it's buried in my cellar. Yes, you are missing out if these aren't in your collection.

As for Fonseca, I love the 1994 as well, althought I slightly prefer Taylor. Otherwise I don't think you are missing much. IMHO, the 1985 and 2003 are legendary - and other than the 1994 I don't think any of the intervening vintages of Fonseca offers anything to rival them. (I am not counting any vintages of Taylor and Fonseca SQVP.... only VP).

[Eric Menchen]

... I have never tasted a Taylor port (not counting the Vargellas labels) from the years between 1985 and 2003. I've never tasted the 1992, 1994, 1997 or 2000. Am I missing something or should I wait until they reach maturity and pop one of each when they arrive at the age of 21?

Missing something? Maybe missing a good experience, but based on the 1994, you can certainly wait until they are 21, or older. I have some of the 1994 and 1997, but am in no rush to open them. I should buy some of the 2000, and while I'd like to buy some of the 1992, it is exorbitantly priced over here.

[Glenn E.]

Am I missing something or should I wait until they reach maturity and pop one of each when they arrive at the age of 21?

As I recall, our tastes are reasonably similar. Really old or really young. If my memory is correct, then I believe you will find them to be less than appealing at the age of 21. These seem to me to be Ports that will age for decades, so 21 years old is still far too young even for evaluation. Wait until 30 if you can, and that should give you a better idea of whether the subsequent test bottle should be opened at 40 or 50.

Of the vintages in question, I can only recall tasting the 1994s. I have a pair of T92 750s and pair of T94 magnums, but none of the rest. I'd love to get some of the '97, '00, and '03 of each but have neither the storage space nor the funds to do so at this time.

[David Spriggs]

Ah... I understand now. You have some of all of these in your collection and don't know if it's worth opening one now. Personally, if you have a lot (like a case or more), then I think opening one is appropriate. But as Glenn hs noted, these are in no way ready for business. The 1992 Taylor in particular is very closed (the last time I had it). If you are asking if you are missing something by holding off opening some of these for another 5 years, I would say that the 5 years will help, but not that much.
-Dave-

[Al B.]

Ah... I understand now. You have some of all of these in your collection and don't know if it's worth opening one now. Personally, if you have a lot (like a case or more), then I think opening one is appropriate. But as Glenn hs noted, these are in no way ready for business. The 1992 Taylor in particular is very closed (the last time I had it). If you are asking if you are missing something by holding off opening some of these for another 5 years, I would say that the 5 years will help, but not that much.
-Dave-

The main reason for my question is pure curiosity. I have some of these ports in my stocks, but not all of them and the ones that I have are generally 6-packs rather than full cases. Much as I would like to fill the gaps and increase stocks of what I do have, under the influence of Uncle Tom I recently modelled the way my cellar would change over time as the bottles matured and I drank port with the age profile that I typically do. This indicated to me in no uncertain terms that I already have too much port from the 90s and 00s and not enough from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. Hence, at least for the next few years, my buying will not be topping up 90s and 00s.

However, given the high regard that these particular ports seem to have in the eyes of the folks on the port forums, I was wondering if I should make an exception and try to buy single bottles from these two shippers for each of these 4 vintages and have my own little comparative vertical tasting.

[Andy Velebil]

However, given the high regard that these particular ports seem to have in the eyes of the folks on the port forums, I was wondering if I should make an exception and try to buy single bottles from these two shippers for each of these 4 vintages and have my own little comparative vertical tasting.

Alex,
If you've not had them yet, then yes I'd recommend trying them just so you know what they are like young. As others have already mentioned, the last time I had these they were very tight, super tannic, and not very pleasant to drink at the moment as a result. But IMO it's very educational to periodically check in on any VP to see where they stand and to chart their evolution.....I now need to find a 1997 Quinta do Noval VP to check it out, as I've had the Nacional, but I've still not had the regular version which is so highly regarded.

[Roy Hersh]

Slightly off topic, but within the guidelines of the original posting. A small group got together the other night to indulge in a pristine 1948 Taylor, with the fill level well into the neck and gorgeous coloration. The bottle was one of the two best T48s of the handful I've tried. Absolutely stunning and fresh. This bottle was in my friend's cellar for 40 years and only moved once and it was his only bottle of this Port.