TN: 1970 Taylor Vintage Port
Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2017 5:10 pm
- 1970 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (4/14/2017)
Decanted 7 hours before service. Purchased recently. Oddly, this wine was disappointing, yet successful this evening.
The disappointing part was the wine itself. The color was light brick red, far to light for this producer and this vintage. Clearly it had not been stored properly. It still had a lot of alcohol heat, which did not die down while in the glass. I expected a whole lot more. On the palate, the wine showed 55% cacao dark chocolate and Luxardo cherries, which turned out to be its savior (see below).
The successful part was the pairing with the food. The dessert course was a warm chocolate soufflé with a dark cherry sauce. The Taylor in its current condition paired marvelously with the dessert. The lighter dark chocolate worked well with the chocolate level in the soufflé, and the Luxardo cherry in the wine was perfect with the cherry sauce put inside the soufflé. This is a perfect example of why I look at wines in the context of the food, not just in and of themselves. (87 pts.)
