Taylor’s, Fonseca Guimaraens and Croft Quinta da Roeda
Includes 75cl bottles, halves and mixed cases
In the unprecedented circumstances of last year, the Fladgate Partnership (owners of flagship Port houses Croft, Fonseca and Taylor’s) took the decision to declare three wines, on St. George’s Day as usual, but not to release them for sale until later. The wines were bottled in 2020 and presented to the UK trade earlier this month.
The 2018 wines come after a rare run of fine vintages but, like Quinta do Noval and Symington Family Estates last year, Fladgate felt the quality of these wines should be recognised.
This means a mixed declaration of Croft single Quinta da Roeda, Fonseca Guimaraens, which blends the best fruit from several properties, and Taylor’s Vintage Port (the third classic vintage release in a row).
Order before midnight on Thursday 4th March
The wines will be delivered in autumn 2021, you can then opt either to store it with us or pay Duty & VAT and take delivery.
Exceptional wines for exceptional times
As we mentioned in our 2018 vintage offer last year, 2018 will forever be remembered by Port producers for its small and in some cases exceptional crop, producing limited quantities of superb wines. Conditions in the upper Douro were excellent, favouring Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas which, with Quinta de Terra Feita, make up the backbone of the blend. The other two wines come from vineyards around Pinhão: Croft’s magnificent, largely south-facing Quinta da Roeda and the pick of the crop from Fonseca’s Quintas. Group winemaker David Guimaraens commented on the extreme drought which impacted on the 2018 vintage, the cool start to the growing season followed by extreme heat in the height of summer, producing smaller volumes of wine which seem to combine the structure and concentration of 2017 with the purity and freshness of 2016.
Vintage Port is one of the great wines of the world, safe to cellar for many years (though these days accessible in its younger years too), and great value when viewed alongside other classics like Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Whether you have reason to mark vintage 2018 or not, we thoroughly recommend the relatively modest investment these wines require for potentially a lifetime of future enjoyment.
Joanna Locke MW
Buyer for Portugal
Order by midnight on Thursday 4th March
Orders will then be entered into an allocation system and confirmations of successful orders will be sent out by Thursday 11th March at the latest. The wines will be delivered in autumn 2021.
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