Taylor's Very Old Single Harvest Tawny Port NV

If the Scion was Katherine Hepburn, this is Jane Russell. The 1863 Tawny is a Port from another time and another world, but whose pleasure is with us today. I cannot remember the last time I encountered such a jaw-dropping drop of alcohol as Taylor’s 1863 Single Harvest Tawny Port. Since I was overseas for its launch, managing director Adrian Bridge kindly sent me a half-bottle, which was given a couple of weeks to recover in the fridge, next to the anti-bacterial yogurt and Japanese tonkatsu sauce, both disbelieving the sell-by date of this temporary occupant. Then I allowed the sample to gradually warm up for tasting, sharing the remainder with a couple of oenophiles, not just because of my boundless generosity, but because I was so keen to gauge their reaction vis-à-vis mine. Indeed, one experienced imbiber was a mere 140 years out when he guessed the vintage. That gives you an indication of how this 1863 performed. Let’s gather a little background information first. The release of this 1863 came about after Taylor Fladgate acquired Weise & Krohn last year. Weise & Krohn were actually selling the 1863 in a pack that included an 1896. Taylor’s decided that the 1863 deserved its own individual bottling, thereby neatly serving as a follow-up to the successful Scion. As you might guess, luxury packaging is part of the deal and the 1863 Tawny has been issued across the world in 1,600 velvet-lined crystal decanters in maple burl veneer. Of course, this begs the question whether it should be sold as Weise & Krohn or as Taylor’s? I can see both sides of the argument, but in those days, all Port wines were sourced from dozens of growers and so perhaps whether it is Weise & Krohn or Taylor’s is a moot point. It is what it is. And what it is, is a time-defying pre-phylloxera humdinger that’ll knock your socks off. Simply pouring the wine, I noticed how deep and clear the color was, the intoxicating sumptuous aromas filling the room long before I had put nose near glass. We find extravagant and luscious aromas of blackberries, black plum, camphor, rosemary, iris, caraway seed and walnut, fig jam, a quite extraordinary and heady bouquet. The palate follows suit with a sumptuous, quasi-viscous texture that instantly seduces the senses. It comes armed with a sweet and candied core of black and red fruit, yes fruit, because there is astonishingly little degradation here. It is a powerful and flamboyant tawny with quince and marmalade, later cloves, raisin and dried fig on the long flowing finish. It has such youth and vigor that part of me wondered whether I should be parsimonious with my score. Aren’t such antiquarians supposed to get old and offer secondary, third and fourth evolutionary aromas and flavors? Perhaps like some readers, I speculated as to whether it had been given a little 'rejuvenation' during its life. Adrian Bridge’s reply not only quashed that idea but went some way in explaining why it comes across so vivaciously in analytical terms.

Score: 98

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 01 August 2014