Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman

Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman

Porto, Portugal

August 31, 2013

LBV tank at Taylor's Port Lodge.

Taylor Fladgate Yeatman, more commonly known as “Taylor Fladgate” or “Taylor’s” has a long and storied history of being one of the premier Port shippers. Today Taylor’s is respected by their peers and admired the world round as one of the greatest producers of fine ports in many different styles and varieties. Located in Portugal near the coastal town of Porto, Taylor’s is actually located across the mighty Douro River from Porto in Villanova de Gaia. In fact Villa Nova de Gaia is home to the “Lodges" of all the great Port shippers. The Port Lodges sit clustered amongst each other in Villanova de Gaia on the hillside rising up from the south side of the Douro River bank, seemingly overlapping each other since they sit so close together.If you are not familiar with Port you may be thinking what exactly is a Port shipper and what is a Port Lodge. The term Port shipper is derived from the fact that companies like Taylor’s originally, and for decades after their inception hundreds of years ago, mostly only received finished wine, fortified the wine with Brandy, aged the fortified wine in “pipes” (large wood casks), bottled it and then shipped the finished Port wines off to the United Kingdom. The base of a Port shippers operations where they received the wine, processed, blended and aged it into fine Port wine is called a Port Lodge. The Port shippers were almost exclusively founded by persons from the UK and is part of the story of how Port wine was discovered, or rather invented (more on that later). This British connection is also why the majority of the Port shippers have Anglo names in a country where the indigenous last names sound nothing like an Englishman’s surname. 

Boat used to carry wine from the Douro Valley to Porto destined to become Port.  Note the huge rudder off the back on the right.

Since Port shippers had a much different role then a winery for the first century or so of their existence, it is hard to call them a winery or anything similar to a chateau. In many ways the inner workings of a Port shipper are very different and quite diverse compared to your typical winery, and in some ways they are very similar, especially in the modern era of Port production. Up until the most recent decades almost all Port shippers did not tend vineyards or harvest and process grapes into wine. Taylor’s was a rare exception in that they did own vineyard property in the Douro Valley buying their first property in the mid 1700’s. They would receive the vinified wine at their Lodges down river from the Douro Valley via boat in huge casks that held the pre-fortified wines and were then aged in the pipes in the Port Lodges.

Part of the huge Quinta de Terra Feita estate vineyard north of Pinhao along the Pinhao tributary river that flows into the Douro River

Nowadays it’s a different story. Almost all Port shippers exclusively own multiples of vineyards and Quinta where they tend vineyards, harvest and then process grapes into wine to use in the Port production process. Quinta is a term that most closely relates to a winery or Chateau in the Douro Valley. The Quinta can represent the entire estate with multiple vineyards or the main building or structure at a vineyard site in the Douro Valley.

So, how did Port wine come about? Well, based on a few different books and stories from people in the Port business, the English discovered Port wine while trying to find a replacement for the French wines they could not purchase when at war with said country. Now, if you remember your history classes even a little bit, the English and French fought like cats and dogs most of the 11th through the early 19th centuries. Heck one of the wars lasted 100 years and is named just that. If the war was not so bad, there was only a heavy tax making the wines prohibitively expensive. If the war was bad, you simply could not get casks of wine imported. So some resourceful chaps with a nose for discovery went in search of new sources of wine and stumbled upon Portugal, more specifically the Douro Valley. These Port Pioneers first found wines in Porto that caught their attention but it was supposedly not to their liking but a good start. Eventually they made their way up river to the far eastern navigable reaches of the Douro River. There they had finally found the wines they were looking for. The wines were rich, fruity and full bodied. As the story goes, in order to protect these wines from the harsh rigors of a journey by sea back to England brandy was added to the wines to fortify them from spoilage.  Thus, Port was born and the sole reason why the English influence has been so strong. Reading through the history of this great Port Shipper, you get the sense of the hard work, skill, patience, fortitude and luck that it took to get the Taylor Fladgate Yeatman company to the stature of where it is today and most of the 20th century (Official History).  Since it's inception in 1692, Taylor's has been led by hard working men with a knack for strong leadership coupled with great vision. 

Yours truly in front of the entrance to Taylor's Port Lodge.

For our stay in Porto, we only had time for one Port Lodge visit so I decided that it had to be Taylor’s for its storied history and impeccable reputation as being one of the finest Port producers in all of Portugal. I really wanted to see the Vargellas vineyard in Douro Superior but there are no facilities there to host guests to taste through the range of Port wines they offer. We also decided to stay at the Yeatman hotel across the street from the Taylor Port Lodge for our lone evening in Porto.  The Yeatman was by far one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed at in all of our travels around the world. Each room is named after a sponsoring Portuguese wine producer; ours was room #301 Comenda Grande from the Alentejo region. The elevators are lacquered with panoramic scenery from the Douro and inside the dark cellars of the Taylor's Port Lodge. The hallways are finely appointed with original works of art from different times in the history of the city of Porto, with each floor having a different time period of art. The Yeatman exudes excellent service, with enormous beautifully appointed rooms, an amazing view and balcony for every room, an even more amazing decanter shaped infinity pool, and the crown jewel the delectable Michelin starred restaurant. 

The lower entrance gates to The Yeatman Hotel, this is NOT where guests arrive.

Speaking of the restaurant at the Yeatman, we had one of our best meals of the entire trip that night. It was hard to beat, the top notch service for both the cuisine and especially the wine. Our Sommelier that night was Helmer and he introduced us to many of the different wine regions of Portugal. We chose the wine pairing and he asked us for our input so he could tailor our wines to match our palates and the level of discovery we wanted to embark on with the cuisine. The restaurant at the Yeatman has an incredible 1,200 selections (all Portuguese wines) in their wine cellar for diners to choose from and 82 of them are available by the glass. This allows for the Sommelier team to match the diners preferences to the wines paired with the cuisine, adventurous or not. This was by far the best wine pairing we had ever encountered for a meal, ever. I tend to be skeptical of wine pairings in general as many are small pours from wines specially picked to exploit as much profit from the wine pairing as possible. This was not the case as Helmer brilliantly contrasted a Lisboan Pinot Noir (blind I would swear it was from Oregon or the Sonoma Coast) with a Douro red blend that was elegant and leaned more to a Burgundian sensibility as it showed the earthy and mineral inspiration of a red Burgundy. Bravo to the Yeatman’s Wine Director Beatriz Machado for a talented staff and an adventurous wine program that thrills the senses and simultaneously educates the diner about the many great wines of Portugal. That evening at dinner I knew few Portuguese wine producers by name, minus a few of the larger names and those highly praised by critics.  I only knew a tiny fraction of the 82 wines on the list. On the flight home I went back through the wine list I took with me and recognized many, many more of the wines. 

Our fantastic Sommelier Helmer gave us a peak at the kitchen the evening we dined at The Yeatman

Large vats holding vintage Port at Taylor's.

The tour of Taylor's Port Lodge started with a tasting of the Chip Dry White Port, a simple and easy going fortified white wine.  White Port these days is being diversified into the cocktail set in Portugal as a mixer. The Connoisseur tasting was almost every wine they produce, plus I had asked for the 2011 Vintage Port (VP) Port to try and they came through and had it available. But first was the walking tour of the facilities which was in a large group of about 20 persons. The tour guide was great and managed the big group to make you feel like you were the only people on the tour, giving us a ton of factual information about the history, processes and products of Taylor’s. 

Port pipes holding wine destined for Tawny ports.

Initially we came upon huge vats containing a vast array of port wines ageing to perfection. Then later we walked down a long corridor lined with the pipes that contained wines dating back to the late 1800s. At the end of the corridor was a huge wooden tank, probably the largest I have ever seen. This was the LBV tank where the Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) port aged before it was bottled, destined for earlier consumption of a VP by the consumer. Taylor’s invented LBV and now every major Port house produces an LBV. At about $16-20 it is one of the best deals one can get for a VP ready to drink as it hits the shelf. We saw some stock of old bottles aging quietly and a few more tanks, but the tour came to an end and the real fun started with the tasting of the port wines.

A very old wood tank, not sure if this was for blending or fermentation, it may not even be used anymore.

The following was a private tasting conducted in the tasting room at Taylor's. The Tawnies were great, especially the 20 and the 40 year old. The 2008 LBV port is a must buy, 2007 is the LBV in the market right now in the US but I will be keeping an eye out for the 2008 and will purchase this when it is released here in the USA. Of the VPs, I liked 2009 right now, was fascinated with 2011 though it is too young to enjoy its full potential.  But the 2011 will be a special VP once it comes into its own. The Vargellas 2008 VP was great, a much different style that was more voluptuous and flamboyant than the classic VP. Below are my tasting notes:

2008 Late Bottle Vintage Port
The LBV is an easy drinking, jovial, and full of character, classic everyday ruby port. Not expensive at around $18 this delivers a great vintage port experience for the money. Lisa had said before this trip she does NOT like Port wines. After one sip of this she said, whoa, this is really good I like this one. Black cherry, cola, subtle spice with supple and fine tannins. Ultra silky on the entry and through to the finish. Full flavored but not weighty or cloying, fresh with good length and fruit.

10 Year Tawny Port
A red-brown color with light red edges. Whiffs of your standard Tawny port where the orange, brown and golden yellow spectrum of aromas and flavors are always standard. Orange peel, caramel, and citrus spritz notes were immediate, full bodied and a bit of alcohol fug, to me not as fresh as its older siblings.

20 Year Tawny Port
An orange-red color with amber edges. Similar aromas and flavors to the 10 year Tawny but with a brighter and fresher nose, more depth in the palate, plus more mature notes from the extra years of age in barrel. There is less spice and the alcohol is better integrated, more complex orange and citrus flavors and aromas, and a little brown sugar that lead to a fresher impression. Good intensity, with an elegance to its weight, this sails to a long and fresh finish.

30 Year Tawny Port

A red-brown color with amber edges. This has the most pungent nose of the three Tawny ports. More sherry-like with saline and oxidized notes that further complicate the palate in a good way. The caramel is enhanced and plays a foil well to the orange zest, almond and creamy notes one gets in the palate and especially the nose. This palate impression is more full bodied than the 20, 30 and 40 Tawny ports. This ends with huge finish.

40 Year Tawny Port
A lighter orange-brown color with amber edges. As expected, this was the most elegant, complex and balanced of the bunch. The nose rises easily and immediately shows you the kaleidoscope of aromas that later unfold on the palate in gentle waves of complexity. Medium plus bodied with elegant but persistent layers of orange zest, caramel, maple candy, roasted nuts, and dabs of cream and brown spices that repeat gently wave after wave of flavor. Great acidity and an uber clean and long finish that sails on forever. Outstanding.

Quinta de Vargellas 2008 Vintage Port
A vintage ruby port from a single Quinta sourced from the Quinta de Vargellas vineyards in Douro Superior, the furthest east region in the Douro Valley. The color is an opaque purple and red core with red edges. Meaty and pungent plum, blackberry, sweet tobacco, vitamin, and spice notes that rise from the glass. The full bodied and extracted palate adds mocha chocolate, black raspberry, and leather notes. A medium+ finish, the freshness is less so than the others, but this wine’s difference is a nice contrast to the 2009 and 2011 traditional Taylor's VPs. Lisa’s favorite of the group.

Taylor’s Vintage Port Overview
Probably the most important port wine that Taylor’s produces, and certainly its most recognized ruby port, is the classic vintage port. With small production compared to their other bottlings, the vintage port is made only when there is an excellent vintage that is “declared” by the house as an exceptional vintage worth bottling for a single year. The sources for the vintage port wine are only from the best lots of the 3 estates Quinta de Vargellas, Quinta de Terra Feita and Quinta do Junco. Once the lots are harvested Taylors will select the best lots from the three properties and then aged them for two years in large oak vats.

Vintage Port 2009
The color is an opaque red and blue, with red edges. Immediately the nose gives the impression of a distinct wine, not so much of a sweet wine that port can be. Outstanding elegance, Bing cherry, blueberries, spice and saddle leather aromas rise from the glass. The palate has superb grip, a full bodied structure with layers of flavor. At first it was still a little tight, but with 30 minutes in the glass, the air changed the dimensions of the wine nicely, allowing the wine to blossom and open more. Firm tannins are less noticeable, but with more purposeful detection they were apparent through the fresh fruit and perfectly integrated brandy fortification. The structure echoes through the finish, framing a long, complex finish of fruit and spice. Awesome. Still a baby, I’d wait a few years. If you can’t wait decant for several hours checking in along the way.

Vintage Port 2011
My first taste of the heralded 2011 vintage ports did not disappoint. Of course different than the 2009 vintage port and not yet fully integrated, you could however get a good indication of quality from the different parts of the wine. Impeccable freshness, perfectly ripe and structure tannins, well balanced fruit and acidity were all traits in this wine. When these different parts of the wine integrate over time, what will be left is a sublime and legendary port wine. Again more wine like in the nose. Currants, licorice and graphite concentrate in the nose and flow through to a palate complex with blueberry, black cherry, licorice, and spice. Medium plus tannins are young, ripe and tight; fresh acids add lift and push the finish even further along with solid length and complexity. A legend in the making.

A Bientot!

Tom

Discovering Portugal - An Overview

Discovering Portugal 

An Overview

September 2013

Lisa & I standing above the Pintas vineyard overlooking one of the best site in the Douro Valley

Earlier this month we made our most recent trip to Europe. Our destination was Portugal to see the cities of Porto and Lisbon, as well as the wine regions of the Douro Valley and Alentejo. We decided on Portugal for a few reasons, initially we were drawn to the fact there are many new hotels focused specifically on wine tourism. Another reason was the relative affordability. Even with the Euro exchange rate higher than the Greenback, the relative affordability of the country was very favorable. Traveling to Portugal from New Jersey gave us the option to fly to and from either Porto or Lisbon. This allowed us to efficiently move to each destination without having to waste time going back to our starting place to fly home. That being said we flew to Porto, took the train to the Douro Valley, drove to Alentejo and drove again to our departure city of Lisbon.

The Abandonado vineyard at Alves de Sousa in the Douro Valley

Before planning for this trip, when I thought of Portugal, like I am sure many other wine enthusiasts do, I think immediately of Port wines. I am here to tell you that Portugal from a wine perspective is so much more than just Port wine. The Port wines are  fantastic, but the real discovery is in the amazing variety and high quality of the table wines. The really good stuff is available in the USA, but you have to seek it out. It’s not a hard search, just use wine-searcher.com if your local shop does not carry what you want. If all else fails there are many charming Douro or Alentejo regional wines that are a steal around $10-15. This series of writings on our journey through Portugal will help the reader discover many of these table wines as well as uncover new Port wines.


Part I – Porto

The Ponte Dona Maria (constructed by Gustave Eifel) connecting Porto to Villa Nova de Gaia

We flew overnight on a Friday so we would land on Saturday morning and enjoy the entire day with no further travel. We booked a tour guide for the first 3 parts of our trip and I can’t recommend more to do the same if you ever travel to Portugal. Miguel Leal, the CEO and founder of ML Private Tours, was our guide and met us at the gate when we arrived. Like any gentleman he took Lisa’s bags and led us to his sharp and sleek Audi A5 four door luxury sedan which would be our ride for the next 6 days. Little did we know at the time that Miguel would be a great new friend by the end of those 6 days.

The sun setting over Porto from our balcony at the Yeatman in Villa Nova de Gaia

We made our way through the main parts of Porto, visiting or driving by many of the sights in town and along the Douro River which led to the Atlantic Ocean not far down river and easily in sight. We took in many of the beautiful views as the banks of the Douro River rise gradually to higher elevations over the river in Porto. On the north side of the river is Vila Nova de Gaia where the Port lodges are located and where our fantastic hotel, The Yeatman, is located. But first, we stopped just across the road at the Port lodge Taylor Fladgate. There we enjoyed a tour and a private VIP tasting of all of the serious Port wines, including the much hyped 2011 vintage port. I would have liked another day or two to visit more Port lodges, but more importantly to enjoy the fantastic Yeatman hotel.

The decanter shaped infinity pool at The Yeatman, the Ponte Dona Maria and Porto in the background

Part II – The Douro Valley

Above the Douro river looking west towards Pinhoa, the heart of the Douro Valley

The following day on Sunday morning we hopped on a train headed to the Douro Valley. Our stop was in Regua 2 hours east, but you can take the train further up valley past the sleepy town of Pinhao, which is the heart of the Douro Valley. The train itself rides along the Douro River after about an hour allowing for beautiful views of the rolling hills, vineyards, and picturesque villages perched on top of the hills.

The Hotel at Quinta do Vallado (right), our home base for our stay in the Douro Valley

When we arrived in Regua, we grabbed a taxi to our home for the next 3 days at the Hotel at Quinta do Vallado. We checked in quickly and made our way to the wine tour scheduled for that late morning. Later in the afternoon we made our way to Pinhao for a boat cruise up the Douro River where we saw the true beauty and splendor of the Douro Valley from the river. We made our way a few miles up-river, sipping Port, taking pictures and absorbing the gorgeous scenery the whole way. Later that evening we enjoyed a spectacular meal at DOC. There we sampled a wide variety of Portuguese wines that were paired with each course of our testing menu that was locally sourced and influenced.

My favorite photo of the trip taken with an iPhone above the Pintas Vineyard in the Douro Valley

The next morning we rose early for a full day of wine and jaw-dropping vineyard tours starting at Wine & Soul, Quinta do Portal for lunch, and then finally at the gorgeous Quinta do Crasto to finish the days’ wine festivities. On our last full day we enjoyed the wines of Van Zeller and Quinta Vale D. Maria in the morning, tasting their exceptional wines and getting a tour of their facilities. For lunch we stopped at the amazing Castas e Pratos in Regua on our way to our afternoon appointment at Alves de Sousa where we had a phenomenal tour of the Alves de Sousa vineyards, visiting the vineyards high above the valley floor. After the tour we tasted through their exceptional wines. Later that evening we had dinner back at Quinta do Crasto with a selection of some of their best wines with our friends Miguel and Andrea of Quinta do Crasto. What an unforgettable 3 days, we were already panning our trip back!

In the infinity pool at the fantastic Quinta do Crasto before dinner there at the Quinta on our last evening in the Douro 

Part III – Alentejo

The vineyards at Herdade do Esporao in Alentejo

Sad to leave the Douro but excited for Alentejo, we departed Wednesday morning heading south and then east to Alentejo in the far southeast part of the country. We cut the drive in half with a stop at Fatima for lunch. Fatima is famous for 2 things. The first being a holy site of the Roman Catholic Church where 3 local children witnessed revelations of the Virgin Mary’s spirit in 1917. The second is Tia Alice, a local restaurant serving some of the country’s best versions of classical Portuguese dishes like Acorda.

Lunch at Tia Alice in Fatima

We arrived at our wine hotel L’and and were ready for some pool time to relax the remainder of the afternoon and then the early evening in our spacious skysuite. We later had dinner at L’and and had a delicious and relaxing meal.

The beautiful new wine hotel L'and was our home in Alentejo.

The following Thursday morning we rose early to make our way to wine and vineyard tours at Cartuxa and Esporao where we also had a spectacular lunch. Later that evening we had my favorite regional dinner at Sao Rosas in Estromez. 

Part IV – Lisbon

High above Lisbon from the Castelo de Sao Jorge

Friday morning we rose early one more time to make our way west to our last stop in Lisbon. On our way to Lisbon we stopped in the Setabul wine region to tour the wine cellars and wine making facilities at Jose Maria de Fonseca, make cheese at a local cheese producer, and enjoy a fantastic lunch at a local spot serving a mixed grill mix of meats, fish and vegetables.

The original family home at the winery Jose Maria de Fonseca in Setabul.

In Lisbon we parted ways with our good friend and guide Miguel. Miguel is a consummate professional, a passionate Portuguese who loves his country, a fantastic guide and a great companion on the road. The trip would definitely not have been as good without him and his expertise. We had a private tour at almost every location we stopped at with our own interpreter (where needed, which was not much in the north), how can one ask for anything better?

The 25 de Abril Bridge spanning the Tejo river from Lisbon, with Jesus overlooking from Almada south of Lisbon.

Lisbon was great, but not what I was expecting. I was expecting a city that was cleaner and more elegant, though it is very cosmopolitan with a certain charm that is very European. It is a gritty city plastered with graffiti in the midst of a strangling rate of unemployment amidst this latest stage of the great global recession. There are however many beautiful pockets of the city. The Alfama district where Fado, the musical soul of the city, calls home was a beautiful part of the city. Small and delicious restaurants are tucked into random nooks in the streets and alleys. In Lisbon there are many of your standard museums and monuments, as well as a huge castle at the highest point of the city, a look-alike of the Golden Gate Bride of San Francisco, as well as a giant Jesus statue like the one in Rio de Janeiro. We saw most of these in passing or on foot and enjoyed our remaining days in Lisbon before we flew home. We ate our way through some of the best restaurants in Lisbon such as Assintura, Alma, and 100 Maneiras.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) in Belem, Portugal.

We enjoyed our journey of discovery in Portugal and can’t wait to get back. We want to head deeper into the Douro, stay longer in Port, and maybe check out other wine regions like the Dao, Vinho Verde or the island of Madeira. We also want to head back to Alentejo for a longer stay and then hit the southern coast beaches.

I can’t recommend Portugal more if you are looking to get to Europe, not only for its value or because of the great wine and food, but for the warm and friendly people that make this a special place to visit and make new friends.



A bientot!



-Tom