Taylor's : Vintage Port 2024

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for Taylor's Vintage Port 2024

Tasting

Colour
The red colour reveals an extremely deep hue, ranging from an almost opaque purple to a violet-black, edged with a fine amethyst rim. The wine is clear and brilliant.

Nose
The nose opens on dense aromas of blackcurrant and forest berries. It then reveals lovely complexity through delicate herbal nuances as well as floral notes reminiscent of rose petals and violet.

Palate
On the palate, this wine shows a tight, athletic tannic structure, supported by abundant yet finely polished tannins. There is remarkable balance between fruit vibrancy, freshness and structure, leading into a long, energetic and persistent finish.

Food and Wine Pairing

This wine pairs beautifully with blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort or Stilton. It is equally wonderful with lightly sweetened dark chocolate desserts or dishes made with dark berries, such as a blackberry tart. For bolder pairings, it can accompany roasted red meats or game served with a slightly sweet or spiced sauce.

Serving and Cellaring

To fully appreciate this 2024 vintage, it is recommended to let the bottle stand upright for a few hours before carefully decanting it to separate out the natural sediment. The ideal serving temperature is between 16 and 18°C. Once opened, it will show its best expression within one to two days. Stored on its side in a cool place away from light, this wine is built to evolve harmoniously for several decades.

Other Characteristics

This fortified wine retains a natural sweetness from the grape's residual sugars, perfectly balanced by lovely acidity.

The restrained power and precision of a Taylor's Vintage Port

The Estate

Founded in 1692 by Job Bearsley, Taylor's is one of the oldest wine trading houses in Portugal. Historically based in Vila Nova de Gaia and in the Douro Valley, this absolute benchmark of the Duriense terroir has remained independent. Now owned by The Fladgate Partnership group and led by Adrian Bridge, the estate continues to uphold exacting standards of craftsmanship. Renowned for its environmental commitments, the house combines tradition and modernity to produce wines of consistent quality and remarkable longevity.

The Vineyard

The grapes used for this Port wine come from the Douro Valley, a rugged landscape where the vines are planted on narrow terraces supported by stone walls. The poor, well-drained schist soils force the vines to root deeply. The continental climate, marked by hot, dry summers, encourages excellent phenolic ripeness. The estate relies notably on Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior and on plots in the Cima Corgo, cultivated using sustainable practices.

The Vintage

2024 brought particularly favourable weather conditions to the Douro Valley, allowing for slow, even ripening of the berries. The harvested grapes reached optimal concentration, full phenolic ripeness and excellent health, all while retaining lovely natural acidity. These factors led the house to officially declare this year a classic vintage.

Winemaking and Aging

Winemaking begins with a short fermentation of two to three days, accompanied by intense extraction, traditionally carried out by foot-treading in granite lagares or by mechanical methods. Fermentation is then halted by the addition of a neutral grape spirit. The wine is subsequently aged in tank or in large neutral vessels for around two years in the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia before bottling.

Grape Varieties

The blend is composed of the native red grape varieties Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão and Sousão.