2017

Decanting

Vintage Port forms a natural deposit in the bottle and should be decanted. Stand the bottle upright a few hours before decanting to allow the sediment to fall to the bottom of the bottle.

Storage

Continues to improve for decades after bottling. The bottle should be kept lain down in a cool place, ideally at a temperature below 16ºC.

Serving temperature

Serve at 16ºC to 18ºC. Vintage Port is best drunk one to two days after opening.

Pairing suggestions

Walnuts, blue veined and other richly flavoured cheeses are excellent accompaniments to Vintage Port; so too are dried fruits such as apricots or figs.

Select Year

2017

About the Wine

Following a wet 2016, the year started with cold and dry winter conditions, with a fifth less rainfall than the thirty-year average. Bud burst occurred relatively early, around 10th March. The dry conditions continued into Spring and the warm weather in April and May encouraged the rapid growth of the vines. The first three weeks of June were extremely hot, causing damage to the new bunches in some areas of the Douro. The early cycle continued with véraison around 18th June, one month earlier than the previous year.

Apart from some thunderstorms and rainfall early in July, conditions remained dry until the end of September although temperatures for much of the ripening season were moderate. As expected, the crop ripened very early, showing high sugar levels which led to longer fermentations and very effective colour extraction. Picking started at Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas on 1st September, the earliest in a generation. The last time picking was recorded as having started this early was in 1945 – one of the greatest of the 20th century vintages - when the first fruit was picked on 3rd September. Temperatures at harvest time were mild, with cool nights, leading to balanced fermentations and excellent extraction. The musts were dense and marked by exceptional depth of colour and impressive phenolics.

TASTING NOTES

Impenetrable ruby black core and narrow purple rim. As usual with the Vargellas Vinha Velha, the nose is beautifully balanced and complete, revealing multiple layers and dimensions of aroma as it opens up in the glass. The base is a coulis of dense, dark berries, with brambly woodland fruit, cassis and black cherry aromas. The voluptuous richness of the fruit is tempered by an attractive flinty, mineral edge and the discreet pungency of wild herbs and cedar wood.

As the wine evolves, evocative aromas emerge, such as beeswax, leather and cigar box, like the unexpected resonances of an antique instrument. The palate is supported by thick granular tannins and is packed with dense black and red berry fruit flavour that rises in a crescendo on the finish. A wine of majestic scale and proof, if any were needed, that 2017 was an exceptional year for old vines.

ACCOLADES

100

This is a magnificent, opulent wine, with rich tannins and equally rich black fruits. While it has plenty of ripeness that gives it a generous character, it never wavers in its firm strucutre. It will have an immensely long, impressive life. Drink from 2030.

Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss

18.5

A field blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca from five separate plots comprising vines 80–120 years old. Vargellas is in the remote eastern reaches of the Douro Valley. This is only the eighth vintage of this wine ever to have been declared. 5,600 bottles. Not quite as dark as the Taylor’s. A little more lifted and fragrant on the nose, more redfruited. Prettier in aroma, less wild, the alcohol less immediately obvious. On the palate, that same wonderful fruit concentration but a little more delicacy and apparent freshness in the flavours, even though the tannins are firmer and have a more sturdy grip, making the finish thick and chewy at the moment. Drink 2030-2060

www.jancisrobinson.com

18.5

From the oldest vines on the estate, five plots with some vines planted over a century ago: not quite as deep in colour as most of the wines here; still demure on the nose, underlying brambly fruit, more delicate in style; lovely sweet cassis-like fruit on the palate backed by fine grained tannins, beautifully defined, not especially big but gloriously seductive with a long dusty-gravelly tannic finish. Very fine.

richardmayson.com

96+

The 2017 Taylor’s Vargellas Vinha Velha Vintage Port represents only the eighth release. It comes from 80 to 120-year old vines located in five parcels (Polverinho, Renova do Depósito, Renova do Armazém, Gricha and Vinha Grande) that were picked from September 1. It has a ripe and sensual, playful bouquet with ripe fig and damson bursting from the glass. Fine definition here, real depth and complexity as it reveals subtle melted tar and bayleaf aromas with continued aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins. This feels lush and rounded with black pepper, clove and tobacco notes infusing the black fruit, long and sensual towards the finish. Perhaps I have a slight preference for the regular Taylor’s, but this is going to be fascinating to monitor during its evolution in bottle.

Neal Martin, vinous.com

The six-year gap between the 2011 and the 2017 is the longest in VVV’s history. Strong dark-red color, with medium-violet reflections. Tobacco, cassis, and black cherry in the deep and complex bouquet. The palate continues this enormous intensity without losing balance: white pepper, tobacco, dark cherry, and cassis; perfectly structured acidity and ripe tannins. Long and multilayered aftertaste. A little more than 5,000 bottles produced.

06-10-2023
Axel Probst, The World of Fine Wine