1970 Taylor Vintage Port
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:01 pm
I purchased this 1970 Taylor at auction for a mere $49. It was, by far, the best "find" I have had so far. The auction house's policy is for multiple bottle lots, to display the picture of the bottle with the "worst" condition. In this case, the bottle had a severely stained label, suggesting that it might be a bad bottle. I decided to take my chances and bid on a bottle, with my final price, including shipping, about $49.
When the bottle arrived, I was thrilled to see it's condition. The wax capsule was almost completely intact, although the one small crack might have been enough to let air in past the cork. The rest of the bottle looked great - no label stains, and I could see through the light-green glass that the level was high shoulder. Things looked promising...
At my brother-in-law's wedding this weekend, I brought the 1970 Taylor, as well as pristine 1970 Warre, thinking that if I opened the Taylor and it was, in fact, a bad bottle, I could open the Warre instead and I could salvage the evening. I decided at the last minute to decant the Warre and bring it to the rehearsal dinner instead of the Taylor, and it was a very nice bottle:
1970 Warre Vintage Port - Medium red in color. Still, some nice fruit on the palate, though a little one-dimensional. Slightly sweet approach with balanced tannins and a smooth finish. 93 Points (9/14/2007) (This TN is also copied into a second post to make for easy searching.)
On Saturday for the Wedding reception, I brought the 1970 Taylor's Vintage Port. I hadn't decanted it yet, and the caterers ran me out of the small kitchen so I was relegated to an upstairs bathroom to chip away the wax capsule and examine the cork. The cork was a little darker than I anticipated it would be, and inserting a corkscrew revealed that the cork was very soft and crumbly. An Ah-So was produced to ease the cork out, which crumbled but finally came out.
And now, the moment of truth... I poured an ounce or two into a glass, and took my first smell - the aroma was lush and wonderful. One small sip and I knew that I'd stumbled onto a treasure...
1970 Taylor Vintage Port - Rich and full-bodied, hints of herbs on the nose. The approach was a little tight given the short decanting time (~3 hours), but was lightly sweet, with cherry and plum. The mid-palate gave way to some light cinnamon and some wonderfully balanced acidity. The finish was long and pronounced, with well-rounded tannins. This was a magnificent bottle! 97 points (9/15/2007)
When the bottle arrived, I was thrilled to see it's condition. The wax capsule was almost completely intact, although the one small crack might have been enough to let air in past the cork. The rest of the bottle looked great - no label stains, and I could see through the light-green glass that the level was high shoulder. Things looked promising...
At my brother-in-law's wedding this weekend, I brought the 1970 Taylor, as well as pristine 1970 Warre, thinking that if I opened the Taylor and it was, in fact, a bad bottle, I could open the Warre instead and I could salvage the evening. I decided at the last minute to decant the Warre and bring it to the rehearsal dinner instead of the Taylor, and it was a very nice bottle:
1970 Warre Vintage Port - Medium red in color. Still, some nice fruit on the palate, though a little one-dimensional. Slightly sweet approach with balanced tannins and a smooth finish. 93 Points (9/14/2007) (This TN is also copied into a second post to make for easy searching.)
On Saturday for the Wedding reception, I brought the 1970 Taylor's Vintage Port. I hadn't decanted it yet, and the caterers ran me out of the small kitchen so I was relegated to an upstairs bathroom to chip away the wax capsule and examine the cork. The cork was a little darker than I anticipated it would be, and inserting a corkscrew revealed that the cork was very soft and crumbly. An Ah-So was produced to ease the cork out, which crumbled but finally came out.
And now, the moment of truth... I poured an ounce or two into a glass, and took my first smell - the aroma was lush and wonderful. One small sip and I knew that I'd stumbled onto a treasure...
1970 Taylor Vintage Port - Rich and full-bodied, hints of herbs on the nose. The approach was a little tight given the short decanting time (~3 hours), but was lightly sweet, with cherry and plum. The mid-palate gave way to some light cinnamon and some wonderfully balanced acidity. The finish was long and pronounced, with well-rounded tannins. This was a magnificent bottle! 97 points (9/15/2007)