The Wide World of Port with Taylor Fladgate
The Oakville Chapter began 2022 with a unique afternoon port tasting event with Taylor Fladgate. The presentation led by Sommelier and Taylor Fladgate Ambassador Lindsay Groves was a real eye-opener about the vast world of port. The Chapter membership was exposed to much more than the typical tawny port as we also tasted samples of white port and ruby port. Along the way we learned about the history of port, how it’s made and how to serve it. We also paired it with cheese to make the point that it’s not just a dessert wine.
The first port tried was the Chip Dry white port. Several white grape varieties are blended to create the desired taste and texture. One might almost mistake it for a whisky with its pale colour and viscous mouthfeel. It was a great aperitif to kick things off.
The Taylor Fladgate First Estate Reserve Porto was fairly young at 4 years of aging, our first ruby-coloured port. Very fruity and quite fresh; Lindsay suggested to serve this with red meat.
Next came the “LBV” or Late Bottled Vintage. Traditional port is first aged in the vat for 22 months and then bottled and further aged. LBVs are aged in the vat for years and thus no bottle aging is required. A couple more years of aging in the vat led to more complexity.
Finally we ended with the traditional tawny ports, both 10-year and 20-year old. The extended aging in wood barrels brought out the tawny purple-black colour and gained nutty flavours and sweetness.
Despite Taylor Fladgate being one of the original port houses, founded in 1692, it is far from stodgy and much innovation continues. The port house has committed to a sustainability initiative to combat climate change and created jobs by opening the World of Wine tourist attraction in Porto in 2020.
Special thanks to Cath Sparling, Teresa MacDonald and Pamela Anderson Khan for organizing this event.
Taylor Fladgate Ports:
· Taylor Fladgate Chip Dry Port (white Port)
· Taylor Fladgate First Estate Reserve Port
· Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port
· Taylor Fladgate 10-Year-Old Tawny Port
· Taylor Fladgate 20-Year-Old Tawny Port
Served with Cheese from Farmhouse Artisan Cheese:
· 5 Year Old Quebec Cheddar
· Stilton Blue Cheese
· Crostinis
