Taylor's, Vargellas Vintage Port

Dark reddish garnet in color with ever so slight clearing at the edges. Full, forward & fragrant nose of ripe fruit aromas of dark cherries, blackberries & dried figs with overtones of floral notes of violets, spices notes of cloves & some earthy/dusty notes, orange peel, minerals, cocoa, toffee, anise & a slight touch of vanilla in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of blueberries, cherries & dried …

1991 vintage

Excellent! Definitely past the fruit stage and evolving into a nice caramel taste. Great texture, taste and finish.

1991 vintage

Fresh blueberries and blueberry jam with a touch of menthol. Quite sweet with restrained tannins and a medium-long finish. Consumed over 3 nights with an initial 8 hr decant.

2001 vintage

Soft nose of raisins and dried plums, mushrooms. Elegant palate, elements are in great balance, but the focus lies at the finish - long-lasting and shapeshifting. Started off with dried figs and raisins, fresh almonds kick in and gets increasingly herbal. Slight menthol kick towards the end. Even better showing than last encounter. Lovely.

1998 vintage

Tenth bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2001. Pristine condition, cork extracted without difficulty. Decanted. Acrolein taint. Bitter and raw. Flawed.

1991 vintage

More developed than anticipated but perhaps just the bottle. Mostly red fruits, dried cherries, leather, licorice. Spirity nose too but not load of complexity. A decent wine but nothing to write home about.

1998 vintage

Even after more than three decades, this is still very young and still somewhat closed, but the potential is obvious. The nose was seriously muted--it took two and a half hours in the glass for the nose to start to wake up. In the mouth, coffee, black plums, black cherries, cloves, and, for an instant, a faint touch of ashes, followed by an extremely long and dramatic aftertaste ending on a note of milk chocolate. If this bottle was typical, …

1991 vintage

Tasted at an event of "wine at maturity" in January 2025 Really beautiful showing of a vintage with perfectly integrated sugar and alcohol with the old vine quality of refined and focus finish. Black fruit, red fruit, spices, velvety and smooth with a long aftertaste. Awesome !

1994 vintage

Drink this over a week and it didn't deteriorate. To begin with it's the red fruit and violet character with quite firm tannin at the end. Over time it develops cherry, chocolate almost sacher torte type flavours always with that freshness. This is really an exceptional wine which is only going to get better over the next ten years or more.

2015 vintage

Small clear edge, otherwise dark purple. Red and black fruit nose, menthol nose. Sweet, elegant, menthol and spice but not at all heavy. Long chocolately finish, with slight tannin. This is showing so well!

1991 vintage

In the bouquet friendly red and dark berries and sweet spices. On the palate raisins and currants lovely sweetness, sweet chocolate, round and mild acidity and silky soft tannin. Great length and a great pleasure.

2001 vintage

Recent notes are right about this one - pretty underwhelming. Nose is nice enough - has a great dark roast coffee note as well as burnt caramel, toffee, raisin... the alcohol already shows up and has an astringent aroma. Palate flavours are a bit like cough syrup - sweet cherry and a caramel undertow. The texture is beautiful though, silky smoothe with a whisper of tanning leftover. The weight of the wine almost imperceptibly sticks to your tongue, and the …

2001 vintage

Decanted three hours. In a good fully mature place. Open knit but vigorous, blackberry, black cherry, chocolate and tobacco. Fleshy with good layering and complexity. Nice finish and length.

1991 vintage

In a really good spot at the moment, some of that characteristic Taylor Red Hots note, warm raspberry fruit, tannins in a good spot, this is singing. Maybe not an all time great, but definitely a good example of SQVP giving good value (assuming you’re not trying to buy it now). Would grab more if it was available at $50-70

1991 vintage

En accord avec les notes precedentes, lourdeau, alcooleux et fruite cuit…

2001 vintage

Really wanted to like this but I ended up being underwhelmed. Cherry cough syrup on the nose, alcohol. On the palate dark sherried cherries and maple syrup. Alcohol is too prevalent and the finish is short. Won't be buying this again.

2001 vintage

Fresh floral nose, Sturdy tannins but with that lovely perfumed floral note standing out, red fruit and clove spice. Young and one with great potential Showing well now but I'd wait at least 5 years.

2015 vintage

Drank in Lisbon market. Lots of power/tannins, very young but good pure dark fruit & lots on the finish.

2015 vintage

👀 Look: 👃🏼 Nose: Dates and plum with a distinct sharpness. 👅 Palate: Great balance and richness. 📝 Overall:

2015 vintage

Guys Port Weekend - Vegas, Jan 2024; 1/25/2024-1/26/2024 : Decanted 3 hours. Dark amber-purple with dusty brown hints. The nose reveals mint, herbal notes, dark plum, and blueberry. Rich dark fruit on the palate with well-structured tannins and fantastic balance. Red currants and a touch of tartness linger on the medium-long finish

1991 vintage

Didn’t love this. Red fruits, a bit hot, medicinal. Smoothed out with time but still lacked finesse. Cork wasn’t in the greatest shape.

2001 vintage

This is a really lovely port drunk far too young. It took a very long time to open, but when it did some really nice notes of strawberry, lavender, lilac playing to an overall rich but not overly heavy wine. A nicely tannic, drying finish that was maybe a bit too grippy now will, I suspect, only become more refined with age. This is one to keep in the bottle for a good while longer, and it should reward you …

2015 vintage

So here's what i did First I took a zip when opening the bottle. Could tell that it needed to breathe, so.... I poured the wine from the bottle into a decanter and let it sit for one hour. In that hour the bottle went into the fridge. After the one hour I took, the now cold, bottle out of the fridge and poured the wine back in = so an hour of decanting including a double decant, for this …

2015 vintage

Half bottle. Having drunk an excellent bottle two years ago , this one was showing a lot of heat. Behind which there is a wine of medium weight and distinction. Disappointing given high expectations. Bought on release in 1993.

1991 vintage

Colorado Memorial Day Tasting; 5/26/2023-5/27/2023 (Longmont, Colorado) : Dark ruby color with light garnet on the edge. A little mustiness on the nose with dusty red fruit and a touch of cocoa powder. Medium-bodied with a touch of tannins on the medium-long finish. This is a smooth wine with just a touch of heat on the finish.

1994 vintage

A muted nose and a sweet fairly straightforward flavour profile with blueberry jam and cinnamon standing out. It was consumed over three nights and improved each night, maintaining tannic structure while smoothing out over the duration. Still a few years until it peaks I'd say

1998 vintage

Drinking well but still quite tight and i suspect will be better in 5 years time

2001 vintage

Sammamish Port Club - March 2023 (Seattle, Washington) : Decant time six hours. Dark purple in color with bricking. Complex aromas with floral notes with milk chocolate on the nose. Rich intense entry with some good acidity. The mid-palette is pleasant with just a touch of black pepper on the finish.

1991 vintage

Année de naissance du plus vieux. Robe tuilée. Nez légèrement sucré, toffee, chocolat. Une bouche sur l'alcool, sucré, boisé.

1998 vintage

Fruit not as strong and alcohol starting to show, but it still has sufficient power and some elegance. In last year or so of drinking window. Drink up.

1991 vintage

My first Vargellas 2001 and an absolute joy to drink. Quite crisp dark cherry among the red berries, and great elegance on the finish. Not at all cloying nor over-bearing, just deliciously supple and refined.

2001 vintage

Bank Holiday Monday dinner with son & d-in-l. Aerated decant and stoppered. Drunk over three or four days. Packed with dry spice (esp clove) and liquorice traits. Dense dark fruit (esp black cherry) at core for contrast and suffused with velvety tannins. A tad of alcohol heat actually enhanced grip. Held up well in decanter over the 3-4 days. Splendid now but should easily make it 40yrs+ from vintage with definite evolutionary potential. 93+

1991 vintage

Beautiful, complex and intense bouquet with dark berries, figs, and oak. On the palate figs, raisins, currants, chocolate and dates. Good sweetness and acidity. Not as great as the 1991, but certainly a beautiful port wine.

1998 vintage

In the bouquet beautifully round ripe blackberries. On the palate ripe red and black berries like blackberries and blueberries. Firm sweetness and good acidity. Very juicy and still a very youthful ruby style. This wine can easily last several decades longer. It is still a blockbuster, but of great beauty. 92 - 93 for tonight.

1991 vintage

Lots of sediment as expected. Grape and damp stone nose. Very nice port.

1991 vintage

Very mild and soft ripe dark and red berries. Beautiful sweetness and pleasant acidity. and very mild tannin. A great pleasure.

2001 vintage

The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like fig, raisin and black currant (cassis). It tastes like black currant (cassis), dust, forest floor, fig and raisin. The body is full. The wine has smooth texture. The wine finishes long.

1998 vintage

Quite good for the closeout price I picked this up at. Dark fruits and heavy on the clove, licorice and pepper. Still quite grippy and could use a good decant to soften it up a bit.

2015 vintage

Still dark with a primary nose of eucalyptus and blackberry. Full and concentrated. Enjoyable and good value. A bit rustic on the finish and lacking complexity, so this a port I would think is best now rather than hoping for great things in the future.

2001 vintage

Solid peppery fruit profile with great concentration. A total success for this range. Popped and poured, likely better tomorrow.

1991 vintage

Tremendous depth & power. Well knit. On this showing will hold well for 5+ years.

1991 vintage

A Fond Farewell (Sammamish, Washington) : Decanted eight hours. This wine is mostly opaque with a dark purple-amber color. There are boatloads of chocolate on the nose of this wine. Even on the palate, where I normally find at least a few mint or herbal notes, there is primarily chocolate covered cherries. The structure and tannins are exactly what I expect from this wine, as is the long finish. I probably would have given this a higher score, but it …

1991 vintage

Delightful, rich and complete...perhaps still young and had not been decanted in advance. Not as complex...waiting to try again tomorrow.

1991 vintage

Really good with chocolate.

2015 vintage

Bought about two weeks ago. Cork bone dry, crumbled. Five hours in the decanter helped the wine to open up and tame the alcohol. Dark garnet colour. Dark and some red fruit, raisins, chocolate, spices, and light tobacco with good, medium to medium(+) acidity, ripe, round tannin and good length. Quite sweet, yet well-balanced and smoothly textured. Average complexity. Early maturity, starting to show tertiary notes. Drank best at around 16C. Enjoyable, but nothing to write home about.

1998 vintage

Deep purple in glass. Mulberry, cassis liquor, plum, cloves and minerality. Cool acidity balanced by the tannins. No discernible heat. Medium plus finish. Held up well after 3 days. Quite enjoyable for the price.

2015 vintage

Mature dark berries, spices, some coffee, chocholate and vanilla. Discrete nose - more clear on the palate. Mature but still good going acid and round tannins behind. Long lenght with good balance. Drink relatively warm between 14-16 Celcius.

1998 vintage

From a 375. Decanted, not much sediment. Fruit has muted off slightly. Plum jam in the background. Not much tertiary flavor development. A bit of a disappointment.

1998 vintage

Eighth bottle from a full case purchased at auction in 2001. Pristine condition, cork extracted without difficulty. Decanted. Mature but lively appearance. Initially quite closed, firm and cedary. Needs time to open up to its customary, suave, dark chocolate and amarena cherry character. Fresh and well balanced, good tannic grip, relatively dry finish but not stalky or hot. A fine bottle. Holds up well in the decanter over two days.

1991 vintage

A good, honest port that lived its life along the straight & narrow... never truly did anything spectacular for the palate, though.

1998 vintage

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Taylor's, Vargellas Vintage Port

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