Region: Portugal / Douro Valley Porto

Single-quinta, or single-vineyard, vintage Porto is produced only in exceptional years in which a general vintage is not declared. Quinta de Vargellas, celebrated as one of the top 100 vineyards in the world, has been part of the Taylor Fladgate estate for more than a century. It has the highest percentage of old vines of any quinta in the Douro, with 60% over 75 years old. All grapes undergo the traditional foot treading method, ensuring their fullest expression. Fermentation is halted by the addition of grape spirits before all the residual sugar has been fermented, creating a sweet, fortified wine. Following two years in wood, the wines are bottled unfiltered and will continue maturing for decades.

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• vineyard details +
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    Quinta de Vargellas

    Quinta de Vargellas is the backbone of Taylor, Fladgate's declared vintage Portos, lending them consistency and defining their style. In the best undeclared years, Quinta de Vargellas stands on its own as a single-quinta vintage Porto. Vargellas was originally, in the early 1800s, three separate properties: The upper portion, Quinta do Vale; the middle portion, Quinta de Vargellas-do-Meio; and the lower portion, known by the several names of Quinta de Vargellas-de-Baixo, Quinta de Galega and Quinta do Brito. Documents substantiate that an 1808 vintage wine, possibly among those that surfaced in London in the 1820s, mentioned above, was produced from Quinta de Vargellas-do-Meio. Sometime between 1850 and 1890, the vineyards were consolidated into a single property. In 1893, on the heels of the arrival of the phylloxera epidemic, Taylor Fladgate purchased Vargellas in a state of near ruin; its yield in that year was barely 5% of current production. Today it is an A-rated vineyard, with 103 acres of vines planted on its steep, northeast-facing terraced slopes descending precipitously to the banks of the Douro.

• about the grape +
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    Tinta Amarela

    Tinta Amarela makes wines with intensely perfumed aromas of blackberry and tea, bold structure, deep color and excellent depth.

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    Tinta Barroca

    Used to make Port wines, this high yielding grape has very high sugar content, which makes wines with pronounced floral character, good structure and firm, ripe tannins.

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    Tinta Cão

    This grape has blackberry, game and meaty aromas, and contributes longevity and exceptional elegance to the blend of Port wines.

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    Tinta Roriz

    Tinta Roriz produces deep-colored grapes of moderate acidity which make bold wines with firm tannins, excellent complexity and distinctive resin-like fragrance.

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    Touriga Franca

    This grape has high tannins and is very aromatic; it lends structure and balance to Port wines. It shows intense fresh red fruit, earth and flower aromas, and is very fruity on the palate.

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    Touriga Nacional

    Touriga Nacional produces wine with finesse, body and warmth that is dark, concentrated, massively tannic and aromatic. It ages to show the complex aromas typically found in mature vintage port.