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Graham 1983. The darkest Port until the 1997. Dark red in colour with a narrow rim. Youthful dark fruit on the nose, sweet and ripe. Restrained entry; the fruit builds beautifully with lovely grip within the black cherry. Dark chocolate and dried blackcurrant. Fabulous blackcurrant finish with great...

Graham 1980. Very dark in colour, darker than the 1985 sitting alongside this glass. Distinctly different on the nose than the previous wines, younger with raspberry fruit rather than spiced fruit. Sweet raspberry fruit on the palate, dark chocolate tannins give a youthful and firm mouthfeel. Bright...

Graham 1977, the oldest of the wines which are rose-red in colour rather than burnt ochre; 50% opaque. Muted nose showing a little fruit; spiced and lovely. Restrained on the palate but delivers a fabulous aftertaste and finish, full of aniseed and cranberry. Generous acidity making for a wine which...

Graham 1975, copper bronze colour with a golden core; 40% opaque. Attractive nose, sweet redcurrant and rosewater - but there is something slightly dirty under the fruit and the spirit sticking out over the top. Sweet, light and elegant; plenty of honeyed fruit. Good acidity on the palate keeps the ...

Graham 1970, bottled in Oporto. More evolved in appearance than the 1966, more lightly pigmented despite being a similar tone in colour; 30% opaque. Magnificent on the nose, spiced baked apples combining sweetness and fruit with a dusting of spices. Very expressive. The mature fruit shines on the pa...

Graham 1966, Oporto bottled. A dark and mature appearing burnt ochre colour, 50% opaque. Wonderful on the nose with plenty of sweet fruit; just delicious. Sweet on the palate with bright and vibrant fruit. This is lovely, a wine for the ages, but hasn’t yet developed the spiced complexity of its old...

Grahams 1963, Oporto bottled. Double decanted 8 hours. Modest copper colour, 30% opaque. Sweet butterscotch on the nose, with an orange undertone and a clear element of oxidation in bottle. Light and evolved on the palate with little fruit, drying out. Tired, oxidised and not showing well. 84/100. T...

Graham 1960, bottled by JG Thomson of Leith in autumn 1962. Double decanted at 07.20 and tasted at 20.20. A matured bronze colour, rich in depth at about 70% opacity. Fresh on the nose with dried fruit. Surprising ginger biscuit flavours on the palate – little fruit but lots of spice. Sweet without ...

Graham 1955, bottled 1957 in the UK by an unknown merchant. Fabulous on the nose, lively and full of spiced and complex dried fruit. The richness and complexity hinted at by the nose is also delivered on the palate. The aftertaste is stunning, an explosion of fruit just like bringing a newly baked r...

Graham 1948. A rich burnt ochre colour, 50% opaque. Sweet, mature and attractive on the nose — a nose of fabulous dried fruit and citrus zest. On the palate the wine presents an interesting contrast between sweet fruit and a dry cedar undertone, highlighting the bitter orange or lemon oil. The bitte...

Graham 1945, Oporto bottled in 1947. Double decanted at 10.15 and initially tasted 7 hours later. Dark red-brown in colour, like a burnished copper; 50% opaque. Initially very limited on the nose, perhaps nothing more than being a little bit oxidised. Smooth and sweet on the palate with orange oil a...

Graham 1942, bottled in Oporto in 1945. Initially tasted Pop and Pour, which did the wine absolutely no favours. The bottle had clearly been rewaxed although the cork appeared to original. First tasting note taken 10 minutes after decanting: a wonderful copper-red colour, 30% opaque. Gentle on the n...

Being able to take part in a tasting like this one is a real privilege. Thank you Martin for taking on the challenge of organising it.

My highlight was the 1997. Probably the best bottle of 1997 from any producer that I have ever tasted. Perhaps I need to revisit my scepticism of this vintage...

I've just noticed the report - and loved reading it. Harry - thank you for taking the time to share with us the fun of the trip.

On Thursday 16th May 2024, Neil most wonderfully organised a tasting of all of the Taylor Single Harvest Tawnies from 1961 to 1971 and added the bonus bottles of Taylor Golden Age 50YO Tawny, Taylor VVO - Platinum Jubilee Edition and Taylor VVO - Coronation Edition. It was a splendid evening with so...

I'll ask Seckford to choose 1 bottle each of the missing intervening vintages from my stocks with them 1960, 1975, 1980, 1983 and then for them to decide how many should be Taylor and how many should not be Taylor i.e 0-4 Taylor bottles. Then to remove all labels and capsules and simply label the b...

Taylor’s 1961 Single Harvest Port, bottled 2020. Most of the single harvest tawnies at this tasting were bottled with about 50 years of cask age; this wine had nearly 60 years before being bottled. Very dark brown in colour with a lovely nose of molasses and Golden Syrup. Great complexity with the f...

Taylor’s 1964 Single Harvest Port. Bottled in 2014. The lightest of the single harvest tawnies, but still a warm amber colour. A lovely nose of quince paste and bruised peach, fruity yet sweet. The best smelling wine out of the vintages 1971-1964. Light texture on the palate, honey with a little lim...

Taylor’s 1965 Single Harvest Port, bottled 2015. Light Green on the rim. Muted on the nose, a little orange and candied ginger. The nose improved and opened after an hour in the glass to become much more attractive. Light texture on the palate but without compromising on the intensity of flavour. Fa...

Bottled 2016. A little smelly on the nose, with a surprising amount of bottle stink. Persistence allows the stink to turn into a bruised orange. A little hollow on entry, some tannins providing a frame which the flavours of dried orange and marmalade slowly fill. Dry edged aftertaste; sticky orange ...

Bottled 2016. Fresh nose, although a little muted, some honey and lemon. Although limited, what there is is quite inviting. The palate is lighter than most but develops a nice depth. Great acidity offsets the high residual sugar. Coffee, dates and some molasses on a ling, sticky and not wholly perfe...

Sweet yet restrained bletted quince and some pear on the nose. Lovely balance on the palate with generous fruit giving a delightful combination of citrus flavours. The balance on the palate is impressive with a lovely grip on the aftertaste. Sweet caramel and torched sugar with a powerful citrus shi...

Bottled 2018. Soft quince and caramel on the nose - making it sweet and attractive. Balanced on the palate and much more elegant than the 1970 Colheita tasted alongside. Orange caramel but with flashes of the bitterness of orange zest brightening the sweet palate. So persistent on the fabulous finis...

Bottled 2020. Warm marmalade on the nose, with btter-sweet citrus fruit. A delightful intensity of flavour on the palate. A rich set of flavours backed by generous lemon acidity. There is considerable sugar on the palate, but this is nicely balanced by the acidity. The wine delivers a long lemon fin...