For The Love Of Port

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Deep, pure color. A little muted on the nose, but showing some blueberries and toast. Nice mouthfeel and balance, until the tannins and alcohol move forward aggressively through the finish. Despite the intrusive spirit, this might be a bottle...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Corked. NR (flawed)

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Deep, slightly cloudy. Odd nose of peanut butter, capsicum, and cigarette butt. Amazingly, the palate was a marvel of balance and deep dark fruits. Thin and hot finish. This bottle really divided the table, I found it defective. Not scored.

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Corked. Very disappointing, this should have been one of the stars of this tasting.

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Very slightly pale in the glass, but pretty, with cinnamon reflections. Very generous nose, intensely fruity and peppery, like a California zinfandel but structured and balanced. Just wonderful to smell and fun to drink. Drink now or cellar m...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Reticent nose, a bit volatile, showing mineral and earth. On the palate, this opened up to show pretty wild fruits. A little warm, with silky tannins. 10 hours in decanter. (88 pts.)

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Somewhat muted nose, showing some interesting cherry pie. Nice balance on the palate, with generic fruit and weak structure. Short. No faults, nothing disagreeable, this just didn't show much interest or personality, unlikely to improve with ...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Beef bouillon nose, medicinal palate, chemical finish. Very disappointing, I rarely see this Port. Not scored. NR (flawed)

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Shy nose, but very pretty, lots of plum and anise and balsamic notes. Very full palate, nicely balanced, refined tannins, good acidity, just a touch of heat. Persistent and pleasant finish. A nice surprise to me. 10 hours in decanter.

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Looking a little pale in the glass. Prominent alcohol on the nose at first, but with air this was generous, fruity, primary. Too thin on the palate, with heat that just would not go away. Still very young and I wasn't expecting great complexi...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Garnet color. Interesting nose, soapy, showing exotic incense and balsamic notes. Similar exotic, spicy profile on the palate, also some red pepper. Nicely structured, a bit hot. Simple and linear, but I found this interesting. This should ho...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Fairly pale garnet-orange color, not looking good. Muted, tawny nose. Plenty of red fruit on the palate, yet light, austere, and hot. Again, a hint of TCA here. Not scored. NR (flawed)

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California): Corky, dishwater profile. NR (flawed)

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Beautiful color, with just faint signs of development at the rim. Generous nose, intensely fruity, almost medicinal. Simple on the palate, light, pretty fruit. Nice length, silky tannins, good acidity. The spirit is a bit forward, but this is...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Cheerful, young, cherry-garnet color. A slightly reductive nose at first, but quickly opening up to show ripe red fruits, light and bright, fresh and appealing. This is how this bottling shows when it shows well, pretty, fruity, a bit light a...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Deep and youthful color. Very fresh nose of red fruits and exotic incense. Nice freshness on the palate also, with pretty cherry and cinnamon notes. With air, this seemed to show the faintest bit of mustiness, and the spirit never really came...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : A bit of wet seepage under the capsule and light tawny color were not promising. Smoky, caramel nose, with a vegetal note. Caramel and hazelnut on the palate, with a hint of red fruit. Overall short and light, balanced well enough to be drink...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Medium-deep color, a shade of mahogany-tawny. Cola, exotic spices, buttery caramel, with a touch of heat and volatility. A little simple, but showing superb balance, very easy drinking. Hunter & Oliver bottling, base neck fill, 3.5 hours ...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Always a moving wine, for the "peace" vintage and for its brown wartime bottle. Perfect dark cherry-garnet color with glints of ruby. Slightly shy but pleasing nose of chocolate, black pepper, and plums. A stronger chocolate note on...

Taylor Vintage Port Vertical (Los Angeles, California) : Caramel-orange in color, a lightish shade. Complex and delicate nose shows tawny notes, orange peel, cinnamon, celery seed, and buttery caramel. Similar tawny profile on the palate, weak but sufficient acidity, warm but not unpleasant alcohol...