Victory Served: Taylor’s Port Raises a Glass to VE Day

The year 1945 was the ‘Victory Vintage’. Searing midsummer heat in the north of Portugal produced rich, powerful, concentrated wines and the year was declared as a vintage by nearly all the Port houses. Combined with VE Day in May and VJ Day in August, it gave Port wine shippers something to celebrate. Taylor’s 1945 is one of the great wines of the 20th century; one of only a handful of vintage Ports that has repeatedly received full marks from me in comparative tastings. Happily the wine is still drinking well 80 years later and is likely to last well past its centenary. Such is the extraordinary resilience of a well-made, top-quality Port. It is hard to find a bottle of 1945 vintage Port these days as most have now been uncorked, consumed and are now a fantastic memory. So, in order to mark the eight decades that have elapsed since VE Day, Taylor’s has released Victory Port, an 80-year-old tawny.

To create this extraordinary commemorative blend, Taylor’s has drawn on its extensive reserves of cask-aged Ports held in its historic Port lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, on the opposite side of the river from the city that gave its name to Port, Porto. Adrian Bridge, Managing Director of Taylor’s, emphasises that “we are sitting on about 40 million litres of stock in total and that we lose the equivalent of about 1,000 bottles a day in evaporation” – the so-called ‘angels’ share’. It is the years of calm ageing and steady evaporation from cask that make this Victory Port so unique (there are just 1,945 bottles in total). It is important to emphasise that this is a finely tuned blend with wines older and younger than the 80 years on the label, coming together to produce something truly greater than the sum of its parts.

As Adrian Bridge explains: “The blend has been put together with some much older components – the oldest coming from the end of the 19th century – and some younger than 80 years old.” Very old tawnies can be unctuously sweet and often have high acidity, which has a shortening effect on the palate, unbalancing the wine. “By selecting wines around 50 years old, that have lower acidity and are drier, we have been able to create a Port that is 80 years old on average with layers of complexity and length of flavour,” says Bridge. Taylor’s Victory has the distinction of being the first wine to be released under the Port and Douro Wine Institute’s 80-year-old category which follows on from the 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50-year-old categories of tawny Port already authorised by the Institute.

The release of Taylor’s Victory Port coincides with the granting of a Royal Warrant of Appointment by His Majesty King Charles III (learn what makes a Royal Warrant Holder via our article here.) Taylor’s was established as a shipper in 1692 when William and Mary were on the throne and has supplied many royal houses in its 333 years of history. Over that period (a third of a millennium) it has the distinction of being the only British Port shipper to have been handed down through the generations without ever having been sold, bought or taken over. Like many Port shippers, Taylor’s began as a general trading firm and the enigmatic 4XX symbol that is still used on the company’s wine labels originated as a wool mark.

Joseph Taylor entered the firm in 1816 and was joined in the partnership a few years later by John Fladgate and Morgan Yeatman, whose surnames still make up the company moniker, Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman. Adrian Bridge, who holds the new Royal Warrant personally, became Managing Director of Taylor’s in 2000 on the retirement of his father-in-law Alistair Robertson, a descendent of Morgan Yeatman. Taylor’s held a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Adrian Bridge expressed his pride in the new Royal Warrant. “This is a truly significant moment in Taylor’s long and distinguished history. It is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our team, whose unwavering pursuit of excellence has made this honour possible”.

The King is well-known for his deep interest in the environment and sustainability. This is an area where Taylor’s, as chief sponsor of the Porto Protocol, is world-leading in the wine sector. The protocol is a global movement that provides a platform for sharing solutions to climate issues in all aspects of the wine trade. It now spreads to 20 countries with about 500 wineries and stakeholders in wine including logistics and cork suppliers. As Bridge goes on to explain: “The protocol covers about 75,000 hectares of vineyards across the world and one of the interesting and very pioneering things we’re doing at the moment is something called the Living Vineyards Project. This is taking some of these solutions and rather than looking at these issues singularly (for example, water or pesticides on their own), we are actually taking a very holistic approach in 40 different vineyards in 14 countries."

At the same time as releasing the Victory Port, Taylor’s  is launching a single harvest/colheita Port from 1975. This  was another ‘hot summer’ in the north of Portugal, both literally and metaphorically, as it coincided with the period  of revolution in the country known as the Verão Quente. Having aged rather more peacefully in cask over the ensuing half-century, this suave, elegant wine is a sure and certain way to celebrate a 50th birthday in 2025.

Port is often thought of as a winter drink for northern climes but it can be enjoyed equally  in summer, as it is by the Port shippers themselves in the heat of the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. White Port and tonic:  The so-called ‘Portonic’ is a thirst-quenching mixer made  with a generous measure of dry white Port topped up with tonic water and ice, then served with  a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. Try making it with Taylor’s Chip Dry White Port and serve  as an aperitif. Aged tawny Port: A glass of smooth, aged tawny is positively refreshing when served cool from the fridge in summer, reminding me of long summer afternoons sitting overlooking the River Douro, glass in hand. Be sure not to over-chill the wine as this will mask its delicacy. This is best served ‘cellar-cool’ (10 to 12°C). Taylor’s 20-year-old tawny would be a good choice for this.

Richard Mayson's Tasting Notes

Port is often thought of as a  winter drink for northern climes but it can be enjoyed equally  in summer, as it is by the Port shippers themselves in the  heat of the Douro Valley in northern Portugal.

White Port and tonic: The so-called ‘Portonic’ is a thirst-quenching mixer made with a generous measure of dry white Port topped up with tonic water and ice, then served with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. Try making it with Taylor’s Chip Dry White Port and serve as an aperitif.

Aged tawny Port: A glass of smooth, aged tawny is positively refreshing when served cool from the fridge in summer, reminding me of long summer afternoons sitting overlooking the River Douro, glass in hand. Be sure not to over-chill the wine as this will mask its delicacy. This is best served ‘cellar-cool’ (10 to 12°C). Taylor’s 20-year-old tawny would be a good choice for this.

Tasting Taylor's Victory Port, 80-Year-Old Tawny

Glorious mahogany colour with  a glint of red, grading to amber tawny on the rim; beautifully lifted on the nose, rich raisin and sultana fruit with a waft of roasted coffee bean and allspice complexity; similarly opulent and mellifluous initially on the palate with seamless transition from quince and dried fig intensity to spicy complexity combined with a touch of savoury-creamy Brazil nut mid-palate. Long and suave with notable grace and freshness evident on the finish (remarkable for this elevated average age), perfectly poised overall and utterly magnificent.

This article was featured in the spring 2025 edition of Royalty in Britain, learn more about this royal release via this article and read the full story of VE day as told by royal historian, Coryne Hall, via this link.