A Port Story
The story of Taylor’s is deeply entwined with the history of Port.
story and photos by Mary Bailey
There once was an Englishman named Job Bearsley, who came to Oporto in 1692 to trade in wine. Things worked out well. His son Peter, upon hearing that the wines made up the Douro River could be of interest to their customers, went to see for himself, becoming the first member of the English wine trade to go upriver.
Fast forward to the present. Port, the fortified wine created in Portugal in those days, is now celebrated around the world. Through partnerships, lean times, marriages, phylloxera, political upheavals, alliances and wars, Job Bearsley’s company, now known as the Taylor Fladgate Partnership, has continued to exist, to prosper and to innovate.
I am a fan of Douro wines and Taylor’s Ports in particular, yet, it’s my first time in Porto. First time in Portugal for that matter.
Porto in April is a lot like Victoria. Same gusty moisture-laden breezes, same scudding clouds and short-lived bursts of rain. The weather further inland, as Peter Bearsley discovered, is remarkably different. The Marão mountains are a wall of granite that keeps the coastal dampness on the coast. Upriver endures cold winters and dry and fiercely hot summers—weather that is just right for the thick-skinned red grapes that make great Port.
In the Taylor’s Visitor Centre a self-guided tour explains the Port process, starting with the vineyards. We learn that one of the optimum places to grow grapes for Port was Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior, far up the river. It had been known for its fruit since the early 1800s, but, after the company bought it, it was up to Frank Yeatman to rebuild the estate which had been devastated by phylloxera. His son Dick became a viticulturist and, along with his cousin Stanley, began to replant the terraces by single variety. This was revolutionary. Douro vineyards had always been mixed plantings of several varieties altogether (and many still are).
One of the key practices used in making Port was the crushing of the grapes by foot, considered to be the best way to extract colour and the right kind of tannins. Not all Port producers still practice foot treading in lagares, the shallow rock vessels where the grapes are crushed. All Taylor Fladgate wines are foot-treaded for the first four hours, and the grapes from Terra Feite and Vargellas vineyards continue to be foot-treaded until ready, whereas the grapes from the other vineyards are finished mechanically.
The first two hours of treading is called the cut and must be done with military precision. Then comes the liberdad treading which is a bit more free-flow. Throughout the 11 vineyards, about 450 people are employed at this time of year.
After fortification, the wines stay in the upper Douro for the first year to help integrate the spirit, then are brought down to the coast to age in the temperate, humid climate of Porto, where we are now. Cask after cask display a code. The ID refers to the cask number and the vineyards the wines came from. The two and nine markings? The old school Arabic measuring system.
We end the visit in Taylor’s busy tasting room. Most of the Port houses have tasting rooms in Porto. You can wander the alleys and cobbled streets of that delightful city and fall into several over an afternoon. Taylor’s and Croft still have their tasting rooms on the Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river, nestled among the historic Port aging lodges with their blackened clay tile roofs where all Ports used to be aged. Many of the lodges are in complete disrepair (one burned down during the annual St. John’s Day Celebration).
Many think it would be a shame to lose an integral part of Porto’s wine heritage to the wrecking ball. So does Adrian Bridge, CEO of the Fladgate Partnership. He has a plan for those historic lodges. In 2020 Taylor Fladgate will open the World of Wine to showcase Portugal’s vital place in the history of wine. What to expect? Museums and event spaces with interactive experiences about wine, cork, and Portugal’s contributions to fashion, olive oil and food and drink.
A terrific reason to go back to Porto.
This is my go-to Tawny. It hits the sweet spot between depth of flavour, elegance and value. With less fire than a younger Tawny, yet still fresh. It’s concentrated and complex, with balanced sweetness, a mellow nuttiness, hints of burnt orange, vanilla, raspberry jam, toffee and a subtle and attractive woodiness. Tawnies are also entirely practical. You can leave them open in the fridge for a couple of days (or longer) with no loss of quality. I had always thought of Port as a winter drink best enjoyed with cheese and nuts. Now I am starting to think Tawny, especially, is ideal with an Alberta sunset on a long summer’s evening.
Taylor’s stash of reserve cask wines is like no other. The plan is to release a limited number of 50-year old single harvest (colheita) Tawnies. The 1968 was the fifth in the series. Know any 1968 babies? This is the ideal gift. Mellow flavours of toffee, walnut and vanilla with a lingering finish like a seductive whisper. A meditative wine.
This is the first rosé Port on the market. It’s produced by limited skin contact of classic Port varieties and a gentle extraction process which preserves the fresh and fruity flavours. With a lot of oomph both in the flavour and the alcohol (20 per cent) it tastes like Port only more, summery. Expect a riot of sweet red fruit—raspberries, cherries, plums, strawberries along with baking spice, cigarbox and dried flowers with a hint of toffee on the finish. Drink chilled over ice or with soda and a squeeze of lime for a new take on pink lemonade. Or, make this delicious cocktail.
The Crimson
Dark and sultry. The recipe is courtesy Dick’s Bar at The Yeatman.
| 3 cl | Croft Pink |
| 2 cl | cranberry juice |
| dash | Campari |
| 2 cl | Bin 27 |
| dash | orange juice |
| 2 drops | Tabasco |
Shake over ice and strain into a small cocktail glass. Decorate with orange peel.