450 years of Taylor's Ports

I went to a tasting of some very old Taylor's Port this Monday. This was all to launch the 1863 Taylor's Single Harvest Port. The tasting started off with a short flight of indicated age tawnies - their 20 year old, 30 year old and >40 years old tawnies, which although normally appearing quite brown and tea coloured, looks distinctively pink hued against the older ports.

Apart from the 1863, whose launch was the object of the exercise, there was also the half century 1964 Single Harvest Port. The firm was anxious to emphasize that although they have a good store of these single harvest wood ports, they are only going to release wines at the half century stage. When I mentioned the name of Krohns, I found out that this port house, which sells quite a few colheitas, has now become part of the Taylor's group. There was another port which was there to complement the 1863, the Scion which actually came from the year 1855. This will certainly be the subject of another blog. When the ages of the ports are added up, one gets the venerable sum of 450 years!!