Simon Field MW reviews Taylor’s Victory 80-Year-Old Tawny and 1975 Single Harvest Port.
Founded in 1692, conspicuously anglophone, and led by Adrian Bridge with engaging vigor, Taylor’s has long been active in fostering the luxury end of the market for its finest Ports. Scarcity of the Vintage category has led to renewed focus on the Tawny colheita style, the newly released single-harvest bottling from 1975 being the eighth in the series; 1964 was the first.
Older releases are welded to years of historical significance—especially, it seems, to anniversaries of the British royal family. This latest bottling is special, however, in that it celebrates both a specific event (the end of World War II) and the creation by the Port Institute (IDVP) of a new age designation, 80-year-old, for cask-aged Port. This new category joins the 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-year-old canon, the last of which underwrites the 1975 Single Harvest bottling. The Victory Port is the first bottling falling under this new designation and is therefore of particular significance.
Only a symbolic 1,945 bottles will be released. The wine is a blend of various casks from the “Treasury” of the very best of the best in the extensive Taylor’s inventory, which is stored in lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Oporto itself. The categorization refers to an average age, so not all of the fruit comes from the victory year; according to winemaker David Guimaraens, some of the wine comes from centurion casks, but this venerable contribution has been balanced, in the name of acidity and vigor, by younger wines, some a mere 50 years old. This is clearly an outstanding piece of work, in no small measure due to the quality of the blending. It has been important to allow the final blend several months to achieve integration of its components. Amat victoria curam (“victory loves preparation”), one might say. Guimaraens describes the project as a labor of love, and the Port as “a wine of immense character, depth, and complexity.” It would be hard to disagree.
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A fiery time
The same may be said of the 1975, from another exceptionally warm summer in the Douro Valley. It was a fiery time metaphorically, too, with the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution marking a period of great political upheaval. It has to be admitted that 1975 was not as universally declared as a vintage as 1945, usually the bulwark of qualitative assessment, but this may have been dictated by factors not directly linked to the quality of the wine. Indeed, those who did declare made some impressive wines, even if they are not quite in the league of, say, 1970. Or 1945, for that matter. This cask-aged Tawny is certainly impressive, its character marked by purity and precision—quite a feat for a wine that has rested in wood for so long. It is more of the solo virtuoso; the Victory blend assumes the orchestral amplitude that one might expect from its assertive connotations. They are pleasingly different, for sure, not homogenized by the passage of time and its gentle oxidation. On the contrary, inherent quality has been magnified and stylistic pointers amplified. They are both excellent. To the Victory the spoils!
Tasting
Taylor’s Very Old 1975 Single Harvest Port
Garnet, with crepuscular hints of amber, and a gentle fade in recognition of half a century’s worth of sylvan maturation. The nose recalls crushed peppercorn, sandalwood, and juniper leaf; dates, bergamot, and cigar box, too—an understated but confident greeting. The palate rehearses the notes of spice and tobacco already aroused, adding raisin, ripe plum, and a hint of fennel. Very composed and deft. A hint of something approximating star anise on the finish gives lift and a reassuring freshness. Upstanding and dignified, and beautifully integrated. | 94
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Taylor’s Victory 80-Year-Old Tawny Port
Mahogany, a rosehip or amber tease beyond the core, lively and bright for a putative octogenarian. A fabulous nose decants morello cherry, fig, and eau de vie, the harmony at its core informed by dark chocolate, cinnamon spice, and vestigial yet disarmingly fresh dark fruit, bilberry and blueberry, then Victoria plum and gum cistus. Caramel and raisin underwrite the ensemble and accommodate a palate that surprises with its dark, sweet intensity. Plenty of spirit here! Cigar box, cayenne pepper, molasses, violets, and incense; a fortissimo expressionist finish, careless of the vicissitudes of age. Victory, appropriately enough, is a timeless abstraction. | 96
