For The Love Of Port

1983 Taylor

Day one

Nice mouthfeel. Delicate bouquet, strawberry jam. It was a classic Taylor. A little thin, but very nice. More strawberry fruit on the palate. Short but good finish. 88 points.

Day two
Bouquet still there, good fruit, a nice silky mouthfeel. Pale ruby color. Overripe grapes and strawberry jam on the palate. Good finish, still short. Still 88 .

I am not sure what happened to this Taylor that Lord Parker rated 94 at one time. Maybe the fruit they used was just not quite right and that flaw did not show up for 20 years.

I think it is a very fine port. More subtle and delicate, like the old French clarets. That style has gone out of fashion. Some call it thin and diluted.
I think there is a place at the table for these wines but they don't sell well nor get high ratings.

The reason for opening this bottle from the collection was a crazy sell off of wines at a local shop and the 83 Taylor is $39. I like it good enough still to pay $39 so I am picking up 3-4 more bottles.

Thanks for the TN

Richard,

That seems about right. Good, but not remotely a blockbuster.
A lesser Taylor for sure

Ted

I dug up this old thread because it was the right topic.

This wine was served with dessert at a dinner I attended last night. It was really dissappointing. This was not Taylor's best effort by a long shot. At best, medium to light ruby in color. There's a little alcohol heat on the palate, but not oppressive. The wine had very little sweetness. This bottle was from a case bought upon release and stored in pristine conditions since then, with no movement. Several bottles were served and all came out looking the same, and some compared notes revealed the same impressions.

sadly this is one vintage that Taylor's didn't do well with. I've seen some people say this is a very good bottle, but all my experiences with it are similar to yours John. The sad thing is this and the '85 still command faily high prices considering the relative poor qualilty of the juice. I've drunk all mine and will never by more of the '83s, even at a good price its not worth it.

I agree with both John and Andy and have had both quite a few times in the past couple of years. The 1983 lacks any real excitement and when I read others who tout this as a really fine VP, I just sit and scratch my head. But then again, they probably do the same when reading my TNs and scores too, as clearly we seek different qualities in our VPs. That is ok too.

IMNSHO, the '85 is definitely the better of the two vintages, but although enjoyable, it has never inspired me like so many other Taylor's have (and do).

Heck for $29, the VP I listed in the "Marketplace" a few minutes ago ... is a screaming deal, although it does not have 25 years of bottle age on it either.