On 23rd April, Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft Ports – all members of The Fladgate Partnership - by tradition, announce whether they will release a Vintage Port and, if so, which wines they will bottle. The harvest of 2018 produced an unusual situation and on St George's Day last year, Taylor’s declared a ‘Classic Vintage’, something that neither Fonseca or Croft did. Bottled in 2020, the 2018 Ports are now available to offer.
Commenting on the decision in 2020, Taylor’s managing director, Adrian Bridge said, “This is a year in which overall conditions were excellent; but exceptional in the Douro Superior. As Taylor’s is the only one of our companies with extensive land holdings in this part of the Douro, it has been able to make a Classic. All our properties are always farmed so that every grape has the potential of being made into Vintage Port.”
“Although a Classic declaration normally only happens about three times a decade, the exceptional run of years has meant that Taylor’s is able to make a third in a row. This is very unusual but our principle is that we only declare a Classic Vintage when the quality is there and this is dictated by the year, not by any other consideration.”
Fonseca will release a 2018 Guimaraens Vintage Port, the first bottling under the Guimaraens label since 2015. Adrian Bridge remarked, “I am delighted that we are releasing Guimaraens Vintage from 2018. The Guimaraens concept is unique, a wine with the same make up and character as the classic Fonseca Vintages but made in a more approachable, early drinking style.” Head winemaker David Guimaraens added, “I believe that the 2018 is one of the finest recent examples of a Guimaraens Vintage, with its rich, dense woodland fruit and sturdy but well integrated tannins.”
Finally, Croft will release a 2018 single-quinta Vintage Port from its historic Quinta da Roêda estate. Adrian Bridge commented, “The Quinta da Roêda 2018 delivers the characteristic ripe fruit and scented quality which are the hallmark of the Roêda wines together with the taut tannins and freshness of the year.”
Fladgate Ports
In the Douro Valley, with its complexities of climate and topography, no two vintages are ever alike. 2016 was a wet year with a late harvest producing elegance & finesse; while 2017 was a drought year producing classic "old-fashioned" Ports of yesteryear with great power, yet silky tannins. Old vines and the finest terroir yielded wonderful wines. In 2018, the Douro Superior enjoyed the combination of abundant ground water and hot summer weather which often produces great Vintage Port. “It has given us the excellent maturity typical of a hot ripening season but the fine multi-layered fruit, fresh acidity we normally see in cooler years.”
2018 - a wonderful yin & yang of the previous two vintages!
“It is important to note that the 2018 wines have the highest colour intensity of recent vintages, always a sign of good extraction and longevity.”
Why Buy 2018 Port?
- To taste the hat trick with Taylor's 2016, 2017 & 2018;
- Guimaraens is great value; halves & magnums available to order now;
- Will you be celebrating 2018 in 5 to 15 years' time? Then it's Croft's Quinta da Roeda to enjoy then!
Offered pre-arrival end 2021
Taylor's 2018
£325 per 6 bottles in bond
£330 per 12 halves in bond
£330 per 3 magnums in bond
£237 per 300cl in bond
£480 per 600cl in bond
A ‘classic’ declaration from Taylor’s: a blend from Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior (‘the backbone’) and Quintas Terra Feita and Junco in the Pinhão Valley.
Drink 2035-2060
The 2018 Taylor’s Vintage Port comes predominantly from two vineyards: Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. It has a classy, aristocratic bouquet, a signature note apropos Taylor’s Vintage: dense black fruit with touches of melted tar, cloves and white pepper. This just builds and builds in the glass. The palate is very harmonious with fine tannins, perfect acidity and very pure with a gentle, almost caressing second half. White pepper interlaces the black fruit with a very precise finish. Pure class.
97pts Neal Martin, Vinous
Aromatic and expressive, this adds a big bang for a finish that reminds you that it is, indeed, Taylor's. After opening it on the first day tasted, it tightened fast and showed the structure I like to see in serious Ports. It has that classic flavour profile as well and shows fine concentration. Even 48 hours later it had no problem showing off a little muscle, even though it drank decently at that point. The fruit is expressive, as noted, but it is still a bit closed just now.
95pts The Wine Advocate
Fonseca Guimaraens 2018
£115 per 6 bottles in bond
£120 per 12 halves in bond
£120 per 3 magnums in bond
The second label for Fonseca, a blend from Quinta do Panascal in the Távora Valley and Fonseca’s estates in the Pinhão Valley.
Drink 2030-2050
The 2018 Guimaraens Vintage Port, the first release since 2015, has a rich and opulent bouquet with black cherries, stewed figs and dates. It has a little more warmth than the Quinta da Roeda 2018 tasted alongside, certainly one of the more decadent aromatics. The palate is sweet and fleshy on the entry with black fruit, tar, desiccated orange peel, Xmas cake and juniper berries. I admire the harmony of this Vintage Port. The firm structure only becomes apparent towards the finish. Wonderful length on the aftertaste, the mouth stained with Port for 60 seconds after. Excellent.
95pts Neal Martin, Vinous
Blackish crimson. High toned and alluring on the nose. Quite a bit of structure and something suggestive of fireworks. This is the business for a vintage port! The sort of wine that would probably have qualified as a full-blooded Fonseca vintage port a few decades ago. Peppery and fiery and yet the tannins are subsumed under the fruit. We’re having steak tonight and I am tempted to drink this with it.
17.5pts Jancis Robinson
Croft Quinta da Roeda 2018
£85 per 6 bottles in bond
£90 per 12 halves in bond
From Croft’s flagship estate on the north bank of the Douro just upstream from the village of Pinhão
Drink 2025-2035
Ripe and expressive, this delicious single-quinta Porto also has fine concentration and some pop on the finish. Indeed, as this sits and airs out, it proves it has a real backbone. Two days later, it was pretty tight. This is more about fruit than structure, though, and this sexy, nuanced and succulent Port is going to be hard to resist as it ages. Likely to be accessible on the younger side, it should still hold very well. I need to see a bit more to be fully convinced, but right now this seems like the steal and sleeper of the Fladgate Partnership trio this issue (the Fonseca and Taylor's being the others). For the moment—and young Ports do change notably as they age—this would be my favourite of the trio.
94pts The Wine Advocate
The 2018 Quinta da Roeda Vintage Port has an intense nose of black fruit mixed with raisin, fig, cloves and a touch of boot polish. This is well defined, but it requires a few years in bottle, as if I really need to say that. The palate is well balanced with quite a strict, terse opening, very spicy with black pepper, cloves (again) and bay leaf. Broody at first but opening with time to reveal a very attractive and complex, structured finish with hints of tobacco and smoke. This is a lovely nascent Quinta da Roeda but, as if it needs to be said, it will need time.
93pts Neal Martin, Vinous