Taylor Fladgate: The Unboxening

Last Christmas my parents gave me a great gift – a gift set of a bottle of Taylor Fladgate Late Vintage Bottled port complete with two lovely little glasses.

Fast forward to this past weekend, when I was tidying up the bar area in my apartment and was faced with the same gift box, sad and a little dusty, patiently waiting for me to give it my attention.

Confession time. I am a hoarder of things I love. The more I like or appreciate something, especially gifts, the more I put off enjoying it. I am a nut for anticipation apparently! Friends make fun of me for being able to resist the sweets in my cupboard for months and months, sometimes to the point that they go bad and have to be let go. And the ultimate case in point is this lovely gift that I’ve ignored for months. Sorry, Mom!

But no more. I finally opened the box up and enjoyed its contents, a bottle of Taylor Fladgate 2009 Late Bottled Vintage port.

Simple and classy.

Oh, hello!

What Port is All About

Port is a fortified wine made in Portugal, mostly the Douro region. It comes in both red and white varieties and, like a lot of European countries, is often a blend of a bunch of different grapes. Port is higher in alcohol content so the serving size is 3 ounces instead of the standard 5 ounces usually poured for wine. Port is often aged for a period of time in barrels before being bottled and sold. Personally, I find that port often has a richer flavour and body compared to regular wines, which is a big reason why I love it. Heads up though, it can be sweeter than regular wines, so keep that in mind when trying out this delicious nectar.

Late Bottled Vintage port has its beginning as port that was barrelled with the intention of being bottled as vintage port but because of a lack of demand it was left in barrels even longer. Poor sad port, all alone in its little barrel! I’ll save you! Come hang out with me and we’ll be friends! Delicious, delicious friends.

One step closer…

These are typical port glasses. Except these are TF branded, because they’re AWESOME.

But enough about history and pictures of unopened bottles. What does this stuff taste like? Well, let me tell you, it’s GOOD. It took a couple of minutes to get anything off the nose because I’d just opened it up, but after that it started giving up some lovely mellow, sweet, warm notes. It’s easy to tell the sweetness in port because the inside of the glass had so many legs it looked like a film coated the whole thing. The flavour was just wonderful. Smooth and fruity with great sweetness and spiciness all mingling on my tongue. If you like mulled wine, pumpkin pie or mincemeat tarts you will love this port.

Getting a good smell in!

Ready to get to know port yet?