1896 Taylor's Very Old Single Harvest Tawny Port

Deepest mahogany in hue, with an olive-green rim. Wonderfully lifted and scented on the nose, the quintessence of colheita, with its profound figgy intensity and concentration. Words fail me. Similarly and gloriously intense on the palate, with spellbinding textural depth and richness, dried figs, spice, and old saddle leather leading to a lovely, long, reassuring, warming finish that goes on for ever. A wine to sip and with which to meditate, and in this context, there can only be one mark.

This is very intense, with burnt brown sugar, toffee, caramel, treacle tart and volatile notes. Burnt orange peel, too. Hint of turpentine, but it’s no bother. It’s full-bodied, very sweet and dense like molasses, but it remains liquid and lightly syrupy. The finish is intense and powerful with a light acetone note to the caramel character. It was aged 125 years in cask in a forgotten cellar in the Douro Valley and bottled in 2021. A tiny-production, uniquely historical fortified wine. Drink now.

So, what does it taste like? It has a greenish, tawny rim, quite deep at its mahogany core more than you would expect for a Port of this age. The nose is quite arresting, does not hang about, delivering a cornucopia of aromas: grilled walnuts, espresso, smoke, antique bureau and dried fig, all extremely well defined. Monitoring this over three or four hours, it gains intensity, hints of liquorice and menthol joining the chorus line, just the right amount of volatility. The palate is medium-bodied, slightly viscous on the entry, very spicy with sweet honey and brown sugar notes, completely offset by the combination of natural and volatile acids. Despite its age, this is a fiery Port with extraordinary lingering notes of Japanese shiso leaf, fig jam, damson and stem ginger, clean and poised with that volatility kicking towards the finish. This has wonderful sweetness, with 218g/L residual sugar that counters any oxidation. At around £4,000 per bottle, it is not inexpensive. But you are paying to drink history, knowing that it will never be released again. Of course, this 1896 is ready to be drunk now, but such is its concentration and vigour, that it could be cellared if you insist on your fortified wine being at least 125 years old.