Taylor’s three famous properties – Vargellas, Terra Feita and Junco – occupy distinct geographic locations. Each contributes its own unique character and dimension to the subtle harmony of the blend. Select ‘Vineyards’ at the foot of this page to learn more.

Commenting on the decision to declare the 2011 vintage, Taylor’s Managing Director, Adrian Bridge, remarked, ‘2011 has produced textbook Vintage Ports, classics in every sense. The Taylor’s 2011 is a perfect example of the house style, elegant and refined but also with the characteristic inner strength and stamina which define Taylor’s Vintage Ports.’

Quinta de Vargellas

The wines of Quinta de Vargellas traditionally form the ‘backbone’ of the Taylor Vintage Port blend and the 2011 is no exception. This famous estate, located in the remote eastern reaches of the Douro Valley, is recognised as one of the world’s finest vineyards. By the 1820’s the estate had already earned a reputation in the London wine trade as a source of the finest ports. In common with most of the Douro Valley estates, the vineyards of Vargellas were almost completely destroyed by phylloxera in the 1870’s. By the time that the property was purchased by Taylor’s in 1893, it produced only about four pipes of port and had to be completely rebuilt by the firm in the years that followed. Vargellas is known for its elegant, scented wines, with their fine focused fruit and well integrated sinewy tannins. It is also renowned as the source of one of the rarest and most collectible vintage ports of all, Vargellas Vinha Velha, made in very small quantities from the produce of the oldest vines on the estate. Click here to learn more about Vargellas Vinha Velha 2011.

Quinta de Terra Feita

Also a traditional component of Taylor classic Vintage Ports, the wines of Quinta de Terra Feita are full bodied, powerful and full of rich berry fruit flavour. They provide depth and volume to the blend. Situated on the warm lower slopes of the Pinhão Valley, Terra Feita is surrounded by hills which capture heat and provide shelter from the wind. Terra Feita is one of the oldest port estates and had already been identified as a source of the finest ports in the 1757 classification of Douro vineyards. The property has supplied Taylor’s with outstanding wines since the beginning of the last century. Acquired by Taylor’s 39 years ago, Terra Feita has been the site of pioneering work in batch planting and vineyard landscaping. It has one of the largest traditional wine making capacities of any estate in the Douro and is equipped with eleven granite lagares (treading tanks).

Quinta do Junco

Quinta do Junco is another famous old Pinhão Valley estate which by 1761 had achieved ‘feitoria’ status, then the highest classification for a port vineyard. It was added to the Taylor stable in 1998 and contributes to the Taylor Vintage Port blend in a small but increasingly important way. Its wines are massive in scale, lending an additional layer of density and structure to the blend. Occupying a steep but open south facing hillside to the west of the Pinhão river, the vineyards of Quinta do Junco are well exposed to both sun and wind, benefiting from long hours of sunlight but avoiding the intense heat of less well aerated locations. A large area of the property was replanted by Taylor’s in vertical rows, a system which has benefits for both wine quality and the environment. However the estate also includes 15 hectares of very old vines planted on traditional walled terraces. The estate is almost certainly named after the rushes, or ‘juncos’, that grow near the water courses that traverse the property.