Taylor Fladgate Vargellas Vintage Port

A top ten list is rarely complete without a vintage port, and there are none better than the Vargellas by Taylor Fladgate. While Dow received a perfect 100-point rating from the Wine Spectator for their 2007 vintage port, it's producer Taylor Fladgate who consistently stands above the rest. And by no means was Taylor's 2007 vintage port a bust. Their '07 received a 97 from the Wine Spectator, a 95 from Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate, and a 95 from the Wine Enthusiast. The story of port is long and bitter, so I will make it short and sweet (pun intended).

Basically, a couple of Englishmen traveled to Portugal, looking for a new wine market. They stumbled across the Abbot of Lamego putting brandy in wine. This made the wines more stable for transportation and sweet, because the spirit killed the yeast leaving sugar behind. Meanwhile the British were feuding with the French, so they needed to get their fix elsewhere. Enter Portugal. The British invaded the port wine scene, and quickly monopolized its production, hence the reason most Port houses carry British names (Warres, Taylor Fladgate, Graham's, Croft, Cockburn's, Sandeman, etc).

The traditional method of stomping grapes for the production of port was done by foot in huge troughs, called legares. Today most have abandoned the practice, but not Taylor's. Since they were founded in 1692 they have honored the tradition. Because of labor-intensive practices like these, a bottle of their 2007 vintage port can be picked up at your local retailer or online for around $110. Their higher-end Quinta de Vargelles Vinha Velha (translated: old vines) is closer to $250 a bottle for the '07 vintage. Buy a bottle, and forget about it for a couple of decades