2018 Taylor Fladgate - Porto Late Bottled Vintage (750ml)

Taylor Fladgate is one of the oldest Port houses still standing, tracing its roots back over three centuries and remaining the last of the original British founded firms to stay fully independent. Today the company is run from Oporto by descendants of the Yeatman and Fladgate families, both of which joined the business in the 1830s, and the family's continued hands-on involvement has kept traditional craft alive across generations. Taylor Fladgate pioneered the Late Bottled Vintage category in 1970, creating a style meant to offer much of the depth of a true Vintage Port without the long bottle aging it requires.

This 2018 LBV was assembled from a reserve of full-bodied red Ports produced that harvest, sourced from Taylor's own vineyards along with select partner sites in the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. The 2018 growing season brought a damaging hailstorm in late May followed by an intense August heat wave, though ample groundwater kept ripening steady and balanced through harvest. Rather than the two years given to true Vintage Port, this wine spent four to six years maturing in wood before bottling, a longer rest that leaves it ready to enjoy without further cellaring.

The color is a deep ruby core fading to a vivid ruby rim, with a nose layered with strawberry jam, cedar, and a touch of leather and mocha. The palate is full-bodied and polished, framed by firm tannins that give way to a long, fruit-driven finish. It pairs beautifully with blue cheese or a dense chocolate dessert.