The VVOP is the latest in a series of limited releases of very fine and rare Ports drawn from Taylor’s treasury of very very old cask-aged reserves. This unique blend is one of the oldest wines released to date. It is made from a selection of rare lots matured in wood in Taylor’s cellars, some of which have been quietly concentrating to a magical quintessence since before the Second World War.

Deep chestnut brown at the centre gradually fading to amber and a narrow edge of pale straw at the rim. The age of this magical Port is immediately evident. It represents the pinnacle of what long wood ageing can achieve particularly when skilful blending provides additional definition and symmetry. The wine has the precision and intricacy of a watch movement, all its complex elements working together in harmony. The nose is intense but finely constituted and the aromas remarkably delicate and ethereal given its great age.

Undertones of butterscotch, dried figs and freshly ground coffee intermingle with marzipan and sultana to give the wine an opulent, plum pudding character but this remains discreetly in the background and is lifted by fresh notes of orange peel and apricot. Hints of vanilla, cedar wood and cinnamon provide a subtle spicy redolence. On the palate the wine has a light touch displaying bright acidity and perfect balance but holds massive reserves of aroma which emerge on the long finish in a seemingly endless mellow surge. Very few Ports retain such balance and finesse after so many years maturing in cask.

Touriga Nacional

Tinta Roriz

Tempranillo is also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez, Aragonês or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, among several other synonyms. It is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in the Iberian Peninsula.

Tinta Barroca

Douro