Taylor’s Single Harvest 1896

The character of this rare wine has been shaped by time.

Taylor's has valuable reserves of very old Port wine, stored in casks in its historic cellars in Porto. This includes some unique jewelry, each representing a small volume of wine. On rare occasions, at the family's discretion, such wines were released in Limited Editions. It is now the turn of this priceless wine, in its 125th year of aging in artisanal oak barrels, to be made available with strict attribution to selected customers around the world. Produced in the magnificent harvest of 1896, one of the best of the 19th century, it was born at the beginning of an era of renewal in the vineyards of the Douro valley, after the terrible scourge of Phylloxera.

The release of a wine as old, valuable and unique as this only happens a few times in a generation. It is by nature a historic event in its own right and restricted to a very small circle of collectors and connoisseurs of rare wines.

As often happens in years when the best Port is produced, the 1896 harvest was preceded by a hot ripening season in the Douro Valley. Temperatures across Europe in August were among the hottest ever recorded before or since, with the heat wave causing deaths as far north as Königsberg, Prussia. There were also heat waves of historic intensity in the eastern United States and Australia. As a result of the hot summer conditions, the harvest in the Douro Valley began much earlier than usual, at the beginning of September. Contemporary accounts describe the harvest as being in excellent condition and report that the wines continued to gain depth and intensity over the months.

Harvest: 1896

Generous Type: Port Wine

Type of Port: Colheita Tawny Port

Producer: Taylor's

Country of Origin: Portugal

Region: Douro

Capacity: 75cl

Serve at: 10-14ºC