1966 Taylor Vintage Port
Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 1:13 am
Taylor Vintage Port [1966]
I have always thought that Taylor made fantastic Ports and although some don’t like them as much, for me, they will always be one producer that holds a special place, perhaps it is just because they seem to be the standard that many North Americans hold Vintage Port to. Inexplicable.
Having attended a Taylor Horizontal in November 2007, this is one that was off the menu so I was delighted to try yet another example of a classic VP. Immediately after opening, this Port showed a butterscotch nose but less fruit than any of the other Ports we opened that night. It also was the weakest in colour, with a light red, fading to pink colour.
Heavy white pepper spoke volumes about this being a classic Taylor Port. It had a more complex palate than the Warre '63 with a full-bodied mouth-feel that seemed weighty and vast. Loads of sweetness up front with a silky finish once you got past the pepper spiciness.
As the night went on, this VP gained an awful lot of steam and had I rated it after only 2 hours when we started, the score was a 91/92. 3 hours in it crept up to 93. 4 and 5 hours in it had jumped up to a solid 94 pts and may have been dignified with another bump to 95 had there been any more left after 5 hours. Sadly, the decanter was drained, leaving me to wonder if perhaps we had started drinking this one too early.
Descriptors on my small scrap of paper I was scribbling notes onto went from Good (2 hrs) to Great (3 hrs) to Beautiful/Gorgeous! (4 hrs) and at 5 hrs, only one of the two words can be printed here. Both began with the letter F and the 2nd word was “Fantastic.”
:naughty:
In the end, there were no real identifiable fruit notes in this Port, but the complexity and beautiful structure, combined with a fantastic nose of butterscotch demonstrated to me just why people hold the Taylor house in such High regard. This led to a final scoring of
94+ pts
I have always thought that Taylor made fantastic Ports and although some don’t like them as much, for me, they will always be one producer that holds a special place, perhaps it is just because they seem to be the standard that many North Americans hold Vintage Port to. Inexplicable.
Having attended a Taylor Horizontal in November 2007, this is one that was off the menu so I was delighted to try yet another example of a classic VP. Immediately after opening, this Port showed a butterscotch nose but less fruit than any of the other Ports we opened that night. It also was the weakest in colour, with a light red, fading to pink colour.
Heavy white pepper spoke volumes about this being a classic Taylor Port. It had a more complex palate than the Warre '63 with a full-bodied mouth-feel that seemed weighty and vast. Loads of sweetness up front with a silky finish once you got past the pepper spiciness.
As the night went on, this VP gained an awful lot of steam and had I rated it after only 2 hours when we started, the score was a 91/92. 3 hours in it crept up to 93. 4 and 5 hours in it had jumped up to a solid 94 pts and may have been dignified with another bump to 95 had there been any more left after 5 hours. Sadly, the decanter was drained, leaving me to wonder if perhaps we had started drinking this one too early.
Descriptors on my small scrap of paper I was scribbling notes onto went from Good (2 hrs) to Great (3 hrs) to Beautiful/Gorgeous! (4 hrs) and at 5 hrs, only one of the two words can be printed here. Both began with the letter F and the 2nd word was “Fantastic.”
:naughty:In the end, there were no real identifiable fruit notes in this Port, but the complexity and beautiful structure, combined with a fantastic nose of butterscotch demonstrated to me just why people hold the Taylor house in such High regard. This led to a final scoring of
94+ pts