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Taylor, Taylor Fladgate 2016

Tasting Notes

OMG. This is really the most amazing young Taylor's I have ever tasted. Full-bodied and lightly sweet with super power and intensity. So racy and focused. Yet this has such muscle and intensity. Needs at least eight years to show you everything it has to offer. Drink in 2025.

100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2018

Bright fresh the nose has a fragrant mix the palate starts with leafy black fruits and gum cistus slightly herbal. Rich and ripe in the middle there is depth of flavour ripe damsons and black cherries layers of fruit complexity the tannins close knit firm. The back palate is lighter racy with fresh fruit, sinewy the flavours are long lingering persistent. 2038-67

95
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, May 2018

Deep in colour but perfumed in aromatics, this shows layers of violets and bramble before more traditional sweet cassis and figs come through. The palate is creamy and rich, with a sweet viscosity driving the black-fruited core. There is an abundance of structure too - the refined tannins envelope the fruit and leave a chalky, chewy texture that should offer long-term ageing potential. Though there is a lot of structure, this remains elegant and polished, with a ripe, smooth, enduring finish of baked vanilla and fig.

96+
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, May 2018

Dark crimson but without the blueish purple of the Grahams. Tight, refined nose – rather claret-like. Not as obviously sweet as some. Restrained aromatically: backward with sharp, linear blackcurrant and violet notes. This tastes like a somewhat shouty, scratchy baby at the moment – which is no criticism of a wine designed to age as long as a vintage port. But then there are masses of sweet fruit with liquorice surrounded in a scratchy skein of tannins and acidity.
Drink 2043-2070

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2018

An exuberantly floral wine with plum and liquorice in abundance, this is a tender and succulent Taylors with a surprisingly pliant and silky palate. A few shades darker than the 2011, but more welcoming and uplifting, too, this is a thrilling wine with clean finish and masses of unbridled energy.

18.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, May 2018

A blend from two of Taylor’s most famous estates: Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior and Quinta de Terra Feita in the Pinhão Valley. Dense and heady on the nose with an attractive green, leafy edge; sweet and plump initially with lovely bright damson fruit, nicely defined but not as big as some of the wines in this line up, Fonseca includes. Firm, tight knit tannins on the finish which shows lovely purity of fruit. Still a bit sullen on re-tasting, needs time to pull together. 6,500 cases. 17.5+/20.

17.5+
Richard Mayson, richardmayson.com, May 2018
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.