There are decisions which can change a company’s history. This year we celebrate just such a turning point. It was exactly 125 years ago that Taylor’s purchased its most famous vineyard, the legendary Quinta de Vargellas. This is the story of Vargellas and its remarkable wines.

EASTERN PROMISE

The Douro Valley and its vineyards, hidden behind the towering peaks of the Marão, can still feel remote. In the 1700s it was another world. The journey from the coast into the valley along rough mountain tracks was long and arduous. The River Douro, with its treacherous rapids, was challenging even for the flat bottomed rabelos, or wine boats, and their intrepid crews. And there was another problem. Vessels could travel upstream no further than the infamous Valeira gorge which was blocked by giant outcrops of rock. Beyond it to the east lay a wild hinterland, its steep and arid landscape bare of vines. No-one would have believed that this remote area would one day produce some of the finest Ports of all.

In 1791, after eleven years of work, the rocks were finally cleared. At last, boats could travel through the gorge - battling against its turbulent currents – into the Douro’s eastern reaches.

On these distant hillsides, work soon began to establish some of the Douro’s most impressive vineyard estates. And one of the finest of all was Quinta de Vargellas. The late 18th century was a time of prosperity and no expense was spared. Hundreds of walled terraces were built by hand, stone by stone, forming a vast amphitheatre of vineyard rising above the river.

It was not long before the property realised its promise. By the 1820s, Vargellas had become known as the source of the finest Ports, impressing even the most demanding customers. In 1923, a London wine merchant wrote of Vargellas: ‘The quality of the wine has been greatly talked about. One of our customers, a very difficult but knowledgeable one, with a good nose, took a pipe to sample it and then came back and bought the remaining’.

ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

The reputation of Vargellas continued to grow. And then disaster struck. In around 1868 the American vine louse, Phylloxera, arrived in the Douro Valley. By the 1890’s the production of Vargellas had fallen to around four pipes, a fraction of its former yield.

Taylor’s then made one of its boldest and most far-sighted moves. Although the estate lay in ruins, the company knew that the reputation of Vargellas was second to none. With effort and investment, it could rise again as one of the Douro’s finest estates. In 1893, Taylor’s purchased the main part of the property, adding another parcel in 1896. The task of reconstruction then began.

TAYLOR MADE

Led by Frank ‘Smiler’ Yeatman, the company set about restoring Vargellas to its former glory. The old stone terraces were rebuilt by hand. Over 60,000 new vines were planted. In the 1920s production had risen to 100 pipes. By the 1950s, it had reached 200.

Since then, successive generations have developed Vargellas into one of the finest of all vineyards. Wine & Spirits Magazine has ranked it among the 25 greatest wine estates of the world.

Although located in the hottest area of the Douro, its north facing aspect tempers the full force of the sun, ensuring a long and gradual ripening of the crop. Every grape grown at Vargellas is foot trodden in the traditional way, still the best method of extracting the finest and most subtle aromas. Each September, the same skilled pickers return to Vargellas where they live for the duration of the harvest. Many arrive by train, alighting at the property’s own railway station.

Vargellas produces the most distinctive Ports, with their scented nose and fine, complex fruit. They are essential components of Taylor’s Vintage Ports, blended with the best wines of the company’s other estates. However, the property’s personality is most clearly expressed in the Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Ports, made only from the estate’s own grapes.

The earliest Vargellas Vintage made under Taylor’s ownership was the 1905. But the first to be widely available was the 1958, made exactly 60 years ago. Since then, 27 Vargellas Vintage Ports have been released, totalling nearly 170,000 dozen bottles.

Since 1995, the estate has also produced one of the rarest Vintage Ports, the legendary Vargellas Vinha Velha, made from the estate’s oldest vines, including those planted by Frank Yeatman a century ago.

HEAVEN’S SCENT

Supple and approachable, Vargellas Vintage Ports can be enjoyed when young for their fine fruit character and hallmark scent of violets.

A superb example is the Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 2004, a perfect young Vintage Port for drinking now. It is delicious accompanied by a ripe blue cheese or a plate of dark chocolate truffles, or enjoyed on its own with dried fruit or walnuts.

Like all Vintage Ports, it should be decanted and is best enjoyed on the day that the bottle is uncorked, although it will remain in good condition for a day or two.

If you prefer to lay it down in your cellar, it will of course age beautifully. But why wait? Vintage Port is meant to be drunk. And corkscrews are meant to be used.