Taylor Fladgate 2016 (1.5L)

100 JS / 98 WS / 98 WE / 98 FS / 97 VM / 96 WA / 96 DE / 18 JR

#4 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2018

#23 Wine Spectator Top 100 2018

OMG. This is really the most amazing young Taylor's I have ever tasted. Full-bodied and lightly sweet with super power and intensity. So racy and focused. Yet this has such muscle and intensity. Needs at least eight years to show you everything it has to offer. Drink in 2025. - James Suckling

This is packed with raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruit flavors that play off one another, melding with anise, fruitcake and ganache notes. A warm tarry edge coats the finish, revealing an echo of bramble. A seriously grippy, strapping Port, this revels in its power. Best from 2032 through 2055. From Portugal - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

Ripe, structured while also fruity, this intense, perfumed Port is opulent while also elegant. Its tannins and great fruit are finely integrated and are rich with potential. Black fruits, berries and a juicy aftertaste add freshness to the wine. Drink from 2028. — Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

Deep dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, very DELICATE brightening to the rim. Ripe blackberry fruit, fine nougat, DELICATE dried fruit, mint, fine tobacco nuances. Taut, tightly meshed, fine chocolate touch, ripe, supporting tannins, elegant texture, very complex and great persistence, as if from a single mold, almost dry in the finish, an aristocratic style, Vintage Port at its best, excellent ageing potential, a wine full of noble restraint. - Peter Moser, Falstaff

In 2016 Taylor's began picking in Vargellas on 17 September, followed by Pinhão Valley estate on 23 and 26 September. The 2016 Vintage Port has an aristocratic bouquet with tight wound aromas of blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone, black olive and a light, marine-tinged element, perhaps almost peat-like. The palate is just beautiful with fine, chiseled tannins and a perfect line of acidity. There is that almost "arching" structure one always seeks in a great Taylor’s with a gentle but insistent grip towards the finish. It is everything you really want from a Vintage Port. Production is 6,200 cases. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

Dense and heady on the nose with an attractive green, leafy edge. Sweet and pump on the palate with lovely bright cherry and damson fruit – nicely defined but not as big as some. Firm, tight-knit tannins on a long, linear finish which shows off the lovely purity of fruit. 6,500 cases in total. - Richard Mayson, Decanter

The 2016 Vintage Port was originally seen about a week before bottling in a more unsettled incarnation. It is now in the USA and showing in a rather forward fashion for Taylor's. It was aged for 20 months in wood and comes in with 102 grams of residual sugar. This is a pleasure just to smell, with its hints of herbs, eucalyptus and blackberries. Some more time in bottle has made this a classic Port from start to finish in terms of aromatics and flavors. In my almost-40-year history of Port drinking, Taylor's was and is always one of my benchmarks for what a Port should taste and smell like. This delivers all that in spades. - Mark Squires, Wine Advocate

Two main sources are Quinta de Vargellas, which is north-facing and so protected from excessive heat, and giving floral notes, plus Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco around Pinhão for earthier characteristics. Only 6,500 cases were made, instead of the usual 12,000–14,000. Dark crimson but without the blueish purple of the Grahams. Tight, refined nose – rather claret-like. Not as obviously sweet as some. Restrained aromatically: backward with sharp, linear blackcurrant and violet notes. This tastes like a somewhat shouty, scratchy baby at the moment – which is no criticism of a wine designed to age as long as a vintage port. But then there are masses of sweet fruit with liquorice surrounded in a scratchy skein of tannins and acidity. - Jancis Robinson

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"There's no formal regulation for Vintage Port declarations—any house can declare a Vintage Port in any year. But when essentially everyone declares, it's called a general declaration, with the obvious implication that the vintage is of particularly high quality.

Any general declaration is worth checking out, as Port producers are known for a commitment to quality, averaging just two or three vintage declarations out every 10 harvests.

The 2016s are definitely going to make a splash. The growing season got off to a late start, following a very rainy spring that would pay dividends later in the season. As Portugal's Douro Valley entered into its typically hot and dry period in June and July, the vines had enough water reserves to help them along, with only a few areas suffering from hydric stress. Then, on Sept. 13, a light rain fell, giving the vineyards a freshening, and with the vintage running a week behind, growers could take advantage of ideal weather conditions into October, picking the later-ripening varieties such as Touriga Franca at optimum quality. Yields are markedly lower—lower than 2011 and 2007, so expect demand to be high, with prices slated to be about 10 to 20 percent higher than the 2011s.

Across the board, the 2016s are brimming with ripe, expressive fruit, inlaid with fresh acidity and backed by ripe and ample tannins.

Based on this early preview, I rate the 2016 vintage a preliminary 95-98 points, pending final review of the wines in official blind tastings." - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator