Taylor Fladgate - 30 Year Tawny Port
Price: $173.50
| Producer | Taylor Fladgate |
| Country | Portugal |
| Varietal | Port Blend |
| Sku | 42725 |
Taylor Fladgate Description
Taylor Fladgate is one of the few remaining houses to produce a 30 Year Old aged tawny Port. Selected red Ports produced in the eastern areas of the Douro Valley are matured in seasoned oak casks in Taylor Fladgate cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. Here, the cool and damp coastal climate encourages a slow and gentle ageing process, producing aromas of great complexity and finesse.
Only every two or three years is a reserve of Port with sufficient structure, fruit and power to age is laid aside to age in oak casks. Those that have reached their peak after thirty years are then blended together for balance and finesse, and to ensure consistency of quality and style. The 30 year old tawny is one such wine.
TASTING NOTES: Deep, old gold color with hints of dried fruit and honey offsetting the rich nutty aromas. Lush, silky richness with an elegant, slightly austere quality which is quite distinctive. Subtle dried fruit flavors underlying, exotic layers of caramel and nuts culminating in an endless finish.
Serving Suggestions: It is an excellent accompaniment to many desserts. It combines well with flavors of figs, almonds and caramel. It is an excellent compliment for a crème brulée or a plate of wild strawberries. It may also be appreciated on its own, at the end of the meal, with walnuts or dried fruit, and can be served cool in the summer.
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
This is lovely, displaying warm date, toffee and persimmon notes entwined with sesame oil, green tea and ginger flavors. Shows a lovely interplay of sweet and dry, with flashes of hazelnut cream and juniper contrasting each other on the long and deep finish. Drink now. — JM
Wine & Spirits: 95 Points
Beguiling concentrated flavors of dried nectarines and cherries, apricots and marmalade. Smoky tones perfume the nose. This is a seriously rich, mature, complex Tawny with a never ending finish.
Vinous Media: 94 Points
The 30-Year Old Tawny is probably my pick of the various aged Tawnies currently sold by Taylor Fladgate. The nose is beautiful: very pure with crushed strawberry, rose petal, quince and pressed flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with ginger and allspice on the entry, a fine line of acidity and a very harmonious, almost nutty finish that lingers in the mouth. This is what Tawny Port is all about! Tasted at the Big Fortified Tasting in London. -- Neal Martin
Wine Advocate: 92 Points
The NV 30 Year Old Tawny Port was bottled with a bar-top cork and comes in with 126 grams per liter of residual sugar. The last release of this I saw was the 2014. Obviously, the differences are typically small from year to year and they are not side by side, but this didn't show quite as well early on, whether due to it being a different release or just a different context. It shows good concentration while retaining some mid-palate finesse. It is complex, then it adds a powerfully intense finish laced with burnt orange peel and molasses as it warms. If I had a quibble, there was some noticeable alcohol, especially when retasted the next day. Some three or four days later, it was far smoother, but it is always a little edgy. Overall, this is a fairly stern style, dry and brooding, with that hint of spirits in the background. It reminds me of the stereotypical scene with Port (or Cognac), cigars and blue cheese. It just has that serious feel to it, along with that long finish. It seems to be one, as discussed in the accompanying article, that leans more to a 40-year Port. As always, these last indefinitely, barring cork failures, but they are not really meant to be held.
