Golden Age 50 Year Very Old Tawny Port OWC - Taylor's

Taylor's Port

Port wine since 1692

Taylor's Port is one of the most famous port wine brands. It originally came from the city of Porto (also known as "Oporto"), in Portugal. In 1692, British citizen Job Bearsley came to Porto to sell red wine. His son, Peter Bearsley, followed him soon after and settled in the Portuguese town. Peter quickly understood that the soil found in the Douro Valley, deep within the country, would allow him to produce a wine that's stronger than the sweet wines sold near the coast. Thus, he hopped on his trusty mule and left for the valley, climbing the huge mountain separating the two locations: the Serra do Marão. In doing so, Peter became the first Englishman to reach Douro. He decided to stay there and planted his new vineyard. Charles, Francis and Bartholomew, his three children, joined him a few years later.

In 1744, Bartholomew Bearsley bought a wine estate in the valley. Thanks to this decision, he was able to establish good relationships with the local farmers. His brother Francis was the last member of the family to run the business, before he died in 1805. Afterwards, three of his sons-in-law tried to rise up to the challenge but they all failed. In 1808, fortunately, one of the employees became the new manager, a young American man by the name of Joseph Camo. Thanks to his entrepreneurial spirit, the wine estate was saved from the clutches of the invading French army.

Six years later, in 1814, the firm's London office gave Joseph Taylor a partnership. He became the new head of the business, when Camo left. In 1826, Francis Bearsley's last son-in-law offered all his shares to Joseph Taylor, making him the sole owner. Taylor founded a new firm back in England, called "Joseph Taylor Port & Brandy Merchants", specializing in port wine. In 1835, he chose Morgan Yeatman and John Fladgate to succeed him. The firm changed its name as a result, to become "Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman". John was in charge of the vineyard and Morgan took care of finances.

Business was booming at the time. Unfortunately, two plagues hit Taylor's: the oidium crisis of 1851 and the phylloxera crisis of 1872. The vineyard didn't make it and the brand's revenues suffered. In 1889, Fladgate retired and left the company in the capable hands of Frank and Harry Yeatman, Morgan's sons. The two brothers were now in charge of resurrecting the vineyard. Harry stayed in the London office, supervising sales, and Frank took roots in the Douro Valley. Together, they developed the family business, acquiring new grapevines such as the ones from the Quinta de Vargellas. Harry Yeatman died in 1919 and, in 1923, the company was under new management as cousins Dick and Stanley Yeatman were brought in.

In 1949, Frank Yeatman retired as well. Thankfully, te two cousins were capable enough to make their forefathers proud, climbing to the top of the port wine business. They released the very first white porto in 1934, made with white wine: the "Chip Dry". When Dick Yeatman passed away in 1966, his wife's nephew Alistair Robertson was chosen as the new head. His business acumen was a boon for Taylor's. Alistair managed to sail through the Second World War unscathed and set his sights on the United-Kingdom and the United-States. The 1970's were more complicated for the firm, because of the revolution in Portugal but the following years turned out to be much kinder. In 2000, Alistair's son-in-law Adrian Bridge was given control of the company. Nowadays, Taylor's is still a family brand and keeps aiming for the stars. Nothing less.

Discover the port wine made by Taylor's Port.