For The Love Of Port

Has anyone come across Taylor's Special Quinta 1950 VP before?

I have purchased some bottles of this, UK bottled by Corney & Barrow, but cannot find any information about the history of this wine. According to the Taylor website they did not commercially release an SQVP (Vargellas) until 1958. Could this be an early attempt to test the market before they went for full commercial production?

Any tasting notes or information on the production of this wine would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Derek

Don't believe everything you read on websites.

I own a -- now empty -- bottle of 1912 Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port. I have read that 1910 was the beginning of their bottling it seperately.

Regardless, I will do my best to find info on YOUR bottle.

Thanks, Roy

Derek

I cannot help you with any info on your bottle Derek, but here are some quotes from James Suckling's book "Vintage Port" (1990):

Bruce Guimaraens, winemaker and vice chairman of Fonseca and estates director for Taylor Fladgate, said that his company had reconds indicatng that the first bottling of Quinta de Vargellas was in 1822, and that some single-quinta Ports were shipped to London. The wines were primarily made for family consumption.

It was not until 1958 that Vargellas went on the market again.

Interstingly, there is one TN in the WineSpectator database for a Taylor Special Quinta - the 1947. The is also a TN for the Vargellas of the same year: the Sp.Q got 94 points, the Vargellas 87 points (both tasted in 1997, but at different occasions).

Roy,

I think the key word on the Taylor's website is "commercially", which is how they describe the 1958 release. Perhaps, as Steve's Suckling quote indicates, all previous bottlings of Vargellas were produced mainly for the shipper's private cellar.

I found a tasting note for the 1947 Tayor's Special Quinta in my Broadbent book - he seemed to rate this fairly highly and, interestingly, it was bottled by Corney & Barrow, the same merchant who bottled the 1950 that I have 8)

Derek

As soon as I receive the return email, I'll let you know Derek. I sent it a few days back.

Here is what I found out from a friend who is also a family member of The Fladgate Partnership:

Quinta de Vargellas was one of the 1st vineyards maybe the first to produce a single quinta vintage Port. Quinta de Vargellas was producing vintage port as a single quinta since the 1820's. I don't have any record of a 1950 Vargellas being produced but that is not to say it was not. We actually have a few bottles of Vargellas 1948 so the 1950 Vargellas could have been produced.

I asked about this in a another thread, being about to open a bottle bought in 2003. It seems strange that there is so little information about it.

Julian,

Here are the notes taken by Alex Bridgeman and I when we shared one of the three bottles we purchased in late 2006. Please post a note here if you open your bottle.

Alex: The pale rose colour of a tawny, distinct orange rim. Warm nose of dough and croissants. Dusty in the mouth, hot and alcoholic. Sweet strawberries come through the mid-palate, with some liquorice and leather. The aftertaste was dominated initially by the alcoholic heat but faded quickly into a warm strawberry flavour that lasted a reasonable time. Overall, this wine was an interesting experiment, well worth trying and pretty decent. Probably fading slowly. 90/100.

Derek: Darker than I expected for an unknown wine of 56 years old. Not as dark as some of the others in the line-up but seemed to gain colour as the night went on. Smooth and thick mouth-feel. Very sweet raspberry cream and bitter chocolate. Slightly syrupy, like an old tawny. I have to say I was astonished by how well this wine stood up in this company. Although not as good as the Sandeman or Graham, both 13 years its junior, I found its appearance and freshness remarkable for a wine that seems to have no recorded history. I have one bottle left and I may put a note on it to be opened in 2050!

Note: the company was Noval Nacional 1958 and 1964 - Graham's 1963, Sandeman 1963 and a South African thing [not Port] that Alex brought along.

Posted edited to fix punctuation.

Helpful notes: thank you.

Terrible apostrophes.

The notes are more important.

I must remember not to assist you again

Derek

Sorry: I should have added a few smileys

Il'l let u of

Julian,

Derek and I also followed up on this wine when we visited Vargellas last year. Although the actual wine could not be traced in the records, there was some speculation that the wine was a special, family "bottling" that consisted of a pipe or two that was sent over to the UK for a special Taylor / Fladgate / Yeatman family event such as a birth, wedding or christening.

The speculation went on that the wine was bottled by Corney & Barrow for the family and in return for their bottling services, C&B were allowed to retail some of the surplus wine that the family did not need. We have confirmed that the wine was listed by C&B on their price lists between 1953 and 1966.

Who bottled the one that you have? Was it Corney & Barrow? Can you trace its provenance to know whether it was a wine retailed by C&B or one that was bottled by C&B but given to the family?

Alex

The bottle is in Sussex (and I in New York). But it was purchased at Christies in December 2003, being described in the catalogue as “Taylor Special Quinta—Vintage 1950: English-bottled by Corney & Barrow. No label, embossed.”

Your bottle sounds identical to the 3 bottles Alex and I purchased

Derek

Pictures of the capsule, also posted here.

Julian,

The pictures you posted are identical to the bottle that Derek and I opened in August last year. Interesting to know that there are a few of these around.

Alex