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Wines #5C – Portugal

I wish to apologise for missing the deadline for the last newsletter but better late than never
here is the third and final article on Portuguese wines. There are so many Ports that this
article, as with 5B, will be about more of them.

I will start this time with one of the industry giants, Taylor, Fladgate, & Yeatman, better
known simply as Taylor-Fladgate. Founded in 1692 they also own Fonseca, Fonseca-
Guimaraens, Krohn and Croft. Taylor Fladgate's vintage ports are some of the most sought-
after and expensive ports in the world but as they invented the style of late-bottled vintage
port we will begin there.

4XX Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) 1981
sounds good to me. A Fine Tawny and a
curiously named Chip Dry complete our
trio of Taylor Fladgate Ports.

Sandeman is another of the industry
biggies. It was founded over 200 years
ago in 1790. Their distinctive logo features
a caped man named Don dressed in a
Portuguese student's cape and a wide
Spanish hat. Besides Port, Sandeman
also produces Sherry, Brandy and
Madeira. It is one of the few, if not the
only, Port house to have made a ceramic
miniature. I am not showing you that today
as, as far as I am aware, it has only been
sold filled with Sherry. Sandeman is now
owned by Sogrape who also own
Ferreira Port.

On the left we have an older cork cap
Imperial Tawny in great condition for
it’s age. Another two Ruby Ports follow
with the Don logo very prominent on
the second label.

I have to admit to never having heard
of Ramos Pinto before I found these
photos. Their web site does not say
that they are one of the smaller Port
Houses but a sentence on their web
site caught my eye and all but
confirms it: “In the case of LBV and
Vintage, the grapes are trodden in the

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