1977 Taylor Vintage Port

“The 1977 Taylor's Vintage Port is initially tight and conservative on the nose: strawberry, baked cherry, tobacco and wild hedgerow notes emerging but remaining tight-lipped. This needs a good decant! The palate is endowed with depth and concentration, very well balanced with an attractive crispness. Perhaps you could argue that it is a 'linear' and more 'correct' Taylor's compared to the 1970 and lacks some charm. But there is immense complexity here so it is more a case of a Port demanding a very long maturation in bottle. (NM)” (06/2018)

“Good ruby color still. The nose is fresh, with lots of crushed berry and plum, with a hint of piecrust. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a caressing texture. This delivers loads of complex fruit and spiciness. Medium-sweet. A beauty. Will improve for decades, but why wait? (JS)” (02/2008)

“This house must certainly be the Latour of Portugal. Their ports are remarkably backward yet still impressive when young. Of all the vintage ports, those of Taylor need the longest time to mature and even when fully mature seem to have an inner strength and firmness that keep them going for decades. Their tawnys are also among the very best, though somewhat expensive. The 1977 has consistently been at the top of my list of vintage ports in this great vintage, although the Dow, Graham, and Fonseca are equally splendid. It is a mammoth, opaque, statuesque vintage port of remarkable depth and power, but is should not be touched before 2000. (RP)” (01/1989)

“The most prominently floral wine in the vertical, but that delicacy is amply backed by plush chocolate and dried fruit flavors. The finish is deceptively soft and welcoming, but still shows great backbone and the ability to go many more years. (JC)” (02/2007)

“The 1977 Taylor is quite closed down at the present time, but in contradistinction to the bottle of 1985 we had at our vertical, its quality is manifest and quite easy to read despite its hunkered down nature. The nose is a reticent blend of black cherries, plums, a touch of raisin, tobacco leaf, tar and an herbal streak through it that adds to the complexity. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and closed, with a rock solid core of fruit, excellent acids, firm tannins, and plenty of power on the long, palate staining finish. This is still a good decade away from blossoming, and I would try to give it at least the benefit of ten more years of cellaring prior to having at it in earnest. The potential here is excellent.” (01/2007)