Taylor | Vintage Port 1985

PV Tasting Notes

Deep ruby – purple inky colour. Powerful ripe berry fruit aromas. Excellent balance and complexity. Delightful fresh intensity. Big, full bodied, well structured palate. Intense mixture of rich dark fruits, liquorice and spice. Superb depth and richness. Good long finish.

93 Points Wine Spectator 2008
Medium ruby. Beautiful aromas of flowers and fresh plum, with hints of stems. Full-bodied and medium-sweet, with gorgeous silky tannins and a long, long finish. This is just starting to come around and offers wonderful flavors. Long life ahead, but ready to try. '77/'85/'97 blind Port retrospective. Drink now. –JS

Walnuts are an excellent accompaniment to Vintage Port, as are blue veined and other richly flavoured cheeses. So too are dried fruits such as apricots or figs. Alternatively, simply savour the rich and complex flavours of the wine on their own in a generously proportioned glass with good company.

Background Information
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 1985 vintage was preceded by an exceptionally cold, wet winter, with night temperatures at Pinhão well below freezing point between the 7th and 15th January. Bud burst took place early in April and flowering around the end of May. Berry set was excellent, and the young bunches perfectly formed. The summer was hot throughout.
Picking took place under clear skies, with mild, warm days and cool nights. The grapes were healthy and evenly ripened, giving well balanced must with high sugar levels. By the close of harvest it was apparent that the year had produced wines of exceptional quality in all areas of the Douro and there was justified optimism amongst the shippers.