1970 Taylor Vintage Port

[John Sel]

3 hours after decanting: Reddish tawny with darkness at the core. Quite pale at the rim. Noticeable glycerine tears. Sustained complexity on the nose. Top note is slightly floral, perhaps a hint of the Vargellas violets. Underneath is some caramel and below that a dark woody spiciness rounded off with a hint of menthol. On the palate, perfectly mature rounded fruit enveloped by glycerol richness. At the heart, dark fruit flavours supported by excellent acidity and a firm tannic finish. Mouthfeel is reminiscent of a rich Sauterne, a touch of raisining perhaps. Very good intensity of flavour, indeed the typical Taylor combination of lightness and intensity. A fine wine which, on this showing, promises well for the future as it is still in transit to the ethereal stage. 95 points. Day 2 (stoppered decanter at 16C): still impressive, but some falling off in quality. Loss of complexity on the nose and, though there is more dark fruit flavour on the palate, the finish is becoming quite fiery. Overall the raisiny character is much more the fore. Looks like one to get stuck into on the first day.

[Roy Hersh]

indeed the typical Taylor combination of lightness and intensity.

Very nice TN, John. I was intrigued by your use of the word, "lightness" and would like to understand your impression of that, better if you care to elaborate. Thanks!

[John Sel]

Hi Roy, what I had in mind by "lightness" was probably a combination of two separate thoughts. The first concerns colour. The second concerns impact on the palate. I should say that my experience of Taylor is mainly of the vintages 1980, 1983 and 1985, which may be too slender a base from which to draw general conclusions. But, for what it's worth, my impression, based on those vintages, and comparing them, in particular, with wines from the Symington stable, has been that, when Taylor has had, say, 15 to 20 years in bottle, it tends not to exhibit the same intensity of colour as other VPs. But the relative lightness of colour does not necessarily mean any lack of strength. Indeed, I find that Taylor generally makes a strong impact on the palate which combines complexity and power. But the impact does not derive so much from a sense of massive fruit, as is perhaps the case with many VPs of that age. Rather, the particular strength of Taylor seems to be its ability to pack a serious punch while still being comparatively light on its feet - a case, perhaps, of "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee". The floaty bit may be something to do with the wine's typical glycerol richness. Hope that makes sense.