2024 Taylor’s Vintage Port 1 x 0.75L 1 Bottle Port Wine WINEMAKER: David Guimaraens. WINE VARIETIES: Traditional from Douro Region. HARVEST The winter of 2023/24 brought a welcome return of rainfall for the second consecutive year. Although temperatures were relatively mild, an early budburst on 5th of March set the season off to an early and promising start. Spring and early summer was cool with occasional useful light rainfalls, arriving at well-spaced intervals that supported healthy vineyard growth. From July onwards the weather settled into a long, dry period that extended through to the end of harvest. Veraison began on 18th of July, and the mild summer conditions encouraged a steady, even ripening cycle. As temperatures rose towards the end of July, August provided warm conditions, with consistently high night-time temperatures that put the vines under some stress. Crucially, at the end of August temperatures moderated, with slightly cooler days and notably cooler nights throughout September. These conditions were ideal for the final stages of ripening, and to achieve full phenolic maturity. The harvest began with very attractive fruit from varieties such as Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, while Touriga Francesa and Tinta Cão benefited from a little additional time on the vine to achieve full perfection. The combination of the field blends, co-fermentation, have produced ports which are going to be very complex and memorable. In general, the 2024 ports show very good freshness of fruit, lovely flavours, very fine tannins and great acidity TASTING NOTES Opaque purple black colour with a fine amethyst meniscus. Characteristically stylish and racy, with a nose of dense blackcurrant and woodland fruit, overlaid with delicate herbal nuances and scents of rose petals and violets. The Taylor elegance and understatement conceal the wine’s energy and vigour. On the palate, lean, tightly knit, sinewy tannins, beautifully balanced with vibrant and delineated fruit flavours and herbal notes, produce a stylish wine with the unmistakable Taylor combination of stamina and refinement. SERVING Serve at 16ºC to 18ºC. Vintage Port is best drunk one to two days after opening. Vintage Port forms a natural deposit in the bottle and should be decanted. Stand the bottle upright a few hours before decanting to allow the sediment to fall to the bottom of the bottle. Continues to improve for decades after bottling. The bottle should be kept lain down in a cool place, ideally at a temperature below 16ºC. HISTORY For many, Taylor’s is the archetypal Port house and its wines the quintessential Ports. Established over three centuries ago in 1692, Taylor’s is one of the oldest of the founding Port houses. It is dedicated entirely to the production of Port wine and in particular to its finest styles. Above all, Taylor’s is regarded as the benchmark for Vintage Port. Noted for their elegance and poise as well as for their restrained power and longevity, Taylor’s Vintage Ports are blended from the finest wines of the firm’s own quintas or estates, Vargellas, Terra Feita and Junco. These three iconic properties, each occupying a distinct geographic location and with their own unique character, are the cornerstone of the company’s success and the main source of its unique and inimitable house style. Taylor’s is also respected as a producer of wood aged ports and holds one of the largest reserves of rare cask aged wines from which its distinguished aged tawny Ports are drawn. The house is also known as the originator of Late Bottled Vintage, a style which the firm pioneered and of which it remains the leading producer. Above all, Taylor’s is an independent company in which some family members play a leading role in all areas of the firm’s activity. The firm’s long and unbroken family tradition has provided continuity and clarity of purpose, essential attributes of any great wine house. It has also allowed the skills and knowledge required to produce the finest ports to be constantly refined and added to in the light of experience as they are passed down from one generation to the next. Based in Oporto and the Douro Valley the company is closely involved in all stages of the production of its Ports, from the planting of the vineyard and the cultivation of the grapes to the making, ageing, blending and bottling of the wines. The family’s commitment to the future of Port is demonstrated in its single minded dedication to the highest standards in Port production, its continued investment in all aspects of the firm’s operations and its determination to preserve the unique environment of the Douro Valley through the promotion of sustainable and responsible viticulture. PLEASE NOTE: This is a recurring auction. The seal number(s) you see on the photos might differ from the one(s) on your bottle(s). Please note that for countries outside the European Union, any customs fees will be responsibility of the buyer.