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Wine Description
The Story
Taylor’s Port is the last of the original English founding port companies to remain family owned. It has never been bought, sold or taken over. The company is run by descendants of the founders. This ensures its outlook and philosophy remains focused on the production of top quality ports.
Taylor’s were also the first to invest heavily in property in the Upper Douro. The recent acquisition of Quinta do Junco illustrates the continued commitment of the firm to producing premium quality wines. Their Estates at Vargellas, Terra Feita and Junco, have been carefully selected and all have the prize Casa do Douro “A” classification. The main grape varieties used are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cão and Tinta Amarela.
Each Estate has a carefully planned programme of new planting to maintain the standards of the estate wines - used for the famous Taylor’s Vintage Ports, single Quinta wines, and the backbone of Taylor’s Late Bottled Vintage Port.
Taylor’s Vintage Port is made from grapes grown on the firms two properties Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. The stature of its Port is acknowledged by experts everywhere - and by the international wine auctions which regularly price Taylor’s Vintage Port ten to fifteen per cent above its rivals.
Wine Information
TAYLOR 2003 VINTAGE
Taylor’s owns two great vineyards in the Douro, Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. Both are categorised grade A - the highest possible rating. In years when Taylor’s produces a classic vintage, wines from these two estates are blended together. As they are some 20 miles apart, and subject to very different microclimates, they combine to produce a powerful, long-lived and complex vintage port.
Notes on Viticultural Year and Harvest
The Winter preceding the 2003 harvest was very wet with 1,000mm of rain falling in the Pinhão Valley between November and March. This helped to restore reserves of water in the soil following dry conditions the previous year.
Flowering took place in bright warm weather at the end of May in some of the best conditions seen for several years. The weather remained fine after flowering, providing an excellent environment for development of the berries. Véraison (colouring of the berries) started relatively early on 1st July but was very slow, taking about three weeks to complete.
The first two weeks of August provided the intense Summer heat which often precedes a great port vintage. Temperatures at Quinta de Vargellas varied between 33º and 43ºC and relative humidity below 10%. The second half of August was cooler and two days of light rain occurred with perfect timing at the end of the month to round off the ripening of the grapes.
The picking season in September was warm and dry, a critical factor for wine quality. The vintage started at Quinta de Vargellas on 12th September. Picking started later in the Pinhão Valley, on 18th September at Quinta do Junco and on 22nd at Quinta de Terra Feita.
Yields were very even across all grape varieties, another critical factor, ensuring balance and complexity in the wines. As a result, excellent wines were made throughout the Douro Valley, from the Baixo Corgo in the west to the eastern reaches of the Douro Superior.
Winemakers’ notes highlight the very intense colour and large amount of tannin released by the skins during fermentation, as well as the powerful fruitiness of the young wines.