Taylor-made: Quinta de Vargellas
Vinha Velha Vintage Port 1995–2017
There is little visual difference between the labels of the Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha and the Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Ports from Fladgate’s flagship brand Taylor’s.
By definition, a single-quinta Vintage Port can be made only from grapes from the named quinta (estate), and the limited-edition Vargellas Vinha Velha, only from grapes from very selected plots of this quinta.
As a reminder, the Fladgate Partnership bottles three different types of Taylor’s Vintage Port:
1. Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vinha Velha Vintage Port (limited edition)
2. Taylor’s Vintage Port (or classical Taylor Vintage Port)
3. Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas, or Quinta de Terra Feita Vintage Port (single-quinta Vintage Port)
Like the prestigious Quinta do Noval Nacional, the Vargellas Vinha Velha (or “triple V”) does not follow the crowd when it comes to the generally declared years for Vintage Port. First produced from 1995, it has since been bottled from the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2017 vintages. So, you will notice that years like 2003, 2015, or 2016 have been passed over, and less widely declared years like 1995 and 2004 have been privileged. Head winemaker David Guimaraens is convinced of the remarkable characteristics of the Vinha Velha Vintage Ports, their multidimensional complexity, and their distinctive and subtle personality. He decides to bottle only when the grapes tell him to.
Unlike most comparisons of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port and Quinta do Noval Nacional from the same year,
This Article was originally published on World of Fine Wine
