Opaque, purple/black color with a narrow purple border. Characteristic Vintage Port: Stylish and spicy, with a nose of dense blackcurrant and forest fruits overlaid with discreet herb nuances and scents of violet and rose petals. As always, Taylor’s classic elegance and understatement hide the wine’s energy and power. On the palate, it shows the lean, sinewy and tight tannins so typical of the Taylor style and the lively and clearly defined fruit flavors characteristic of the 2007 season.
To taste: Deep purple/black with a narrow magenta rim. Powerful, exuberant, fresh blackcurrant and cherry nose. Nice floral notes. Firm, but well-integrated tannins on the palate. Fresh, ripe, mouth-filling black fruit and plum flavors. Long aftertaste of Blackberry and dark chocolate to taste. A very balanced, stylish wine.
Storage: Bottles should lie horizontally, in a cool dark place. Matures slowly, develops and refines in the bottle for decades.
Serve: Decant and serve between 16 and 18ºC, in a suitable glass. Walnuts are an excellent complement to Vintage Port, as are various cheeses such as Stilton and Dorset Blue Vinny. So are dried fruits such as apricots or figs. Or just enjoy the unadulterated taste in a good glass with good company.
Tasting notes:
Tyson Stelzer: How can a wine with such monolithic proportions have such elegance, uplift, balance and finesse? Laced with violets, cassis, rose petals, pepper, cloves, nutmeg and huge black fruits. Epic tannic presence and integration. Magical freshness and floral perfume, impeccable seamlessness and perseverance. Score: 100
A very nice Vintage port of Taylor’s from 2007. A classic port year. Scents of violets and black fruit come to you. In the mouth you taste full of fruit with a fine spiciness. The aftertaste is fresh and intensely long.
Full deep red-purple color, scents of violets and black fruit come to you. In the mouth you taste full of fruit with a fine spiciness. The aftertaste is fresh and intensely long. A classic baby Vintage Port nose of blackberry, currant and a little green lemon leaf. Full and medium sweet. There is a solid core of ripe fruit and powerful tannins, with grip. The real thing. -J.S. Score: 94-97 points Wine Spectator
Michael Schuster: Black purple; fine, closed combination of refined ripe fruit and subtle minerality; rich, concentrated, moderately muscular midweight Taylor; nice elegant, balance with a very refined tannin; sweet, forged wine, long on the palate, ripe black cherry fruit and subtle mineral aromas; persistent aroma, and with a long, fragrant finish that reflects the soft mouth coating character of the mid palate. The lingering fine, dry tannins on the finish suggest, as usual, that this will require bottle years of 15 to 20 years. Characteristic balance, class, aromatic complexity and finesse of the Vargellas component. Typically refined and complex Taylor in a more subdued expression. Very good. 18 / 18.5
Reviews and awards:
100 points in Tyson Stelzer;
96 points in Wine Spectator Magazine;
95 points in Wine & Spirits Magazine;
95 points in Wine Enthusiast Magazine;
94 points in CellarTracker;
94 points in Stephen Tanzer.
