Taylor’s Port Winery Guide

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Last updated: April 18, 2024

Winery Overview

Taylor’s, a distinguished independent family-owned winery, is located in Port Country. It controls the prestigious Fladgate Partnership, which includes renowned Port Wine Houses such as Fonseca, Croft, and Delaforce. With a rich history spanning over four centuries, Taylor’s stands as one of the oldest Port houses and the sole Port house among the original British firms to maintain independence throughout its existence. Since its foundation, the Yeatman and Fladgate families have owned and managed Taylor’s, with their partnership dating back to the 1830s. Even today, the descendants of these families, namely Alistair Robertson and Huyshe Bower, continue to oversee Taylor’s operations. Representing the current generation, Alistair’s daughter, Natasha, and her husband, Adrian Bridge, serve as Taylor’s Managing Director.

Taylor’s origins trace back to Job Bearsley, an Englishman who traded salt cod (bacalhau) in northern Portugal during the 1670s. The earliest records of Bearsley’s association with the port shipping industry and his partnership with the firm later became Taylor’s date back to 1692. In 1727, Bearsley’s son, Peter, became the first British trader to venture upstream into the rugged, mountainous region in search of the finest wines. Later, in 1744, his brother Bartholomew became the first Englishman to purchase an estate in the Douro, known as Lugar das Lages, where Taylor’s has been producing wine every year since, except for a brief period when it served as a field hospital for Wellington’s troops.

Joseph Taylor joined the firm in 1816 as a partner, and by 1826, the company was operating under his name. In 1836, John Fladgate, a London wine merchant, became a partner, and two years later, he formed a new partnership with Morgan Yeatman. Finally, in 1844, the firm officially established itself as Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, the name it proudly carries today.

Throughout its illustrious history, Taylor’s has been a trailblazer in Port wine. In the 1920s, Dick Yeatman introduced the first varietal plantings at Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior. Another significant contribution came in 1934 when Dick Yeatman created the world’s first Dry White Port wine, Taylor’s Chip Dry, as a refreshing aperitif for vineyard workers after a long day’s work. Taylor’s is also the first to commercialize a Single Quinta (Estate) Vintage with their 1958 Quinta de Vargellas. Additionally, they pioneered the commercial market for Aged Tawny ports, being among the first to offer 10 and 20-year-old varieties. Finally, responding to consumer demands in the late 1960s, Alistair Robertson introduced Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) in 1970, providing a ready-to-drink Vintage-style port that didn’t require decanting.

Despite facing challenges such as a declining population in the Douro region, Taylor’s has been at the forefront of innovation. In the early 1990s, they began developing mechanical methods to replicate the benefits of traditional foot treading in the lagar for wines of all levels. This led to an extensive Research & Development program at Quinta de Vargellas in 1995, where a team of winemakers, technicians, and engineers utilized piston technology in specially designed temperature-controlled vats by closely mimicking the proportions and processes of foot treading.