Taylor Fladgate Port House

The story of Taylor Fladgate begins in 1692 with the arrival in Portugal of Job Bearsley, an English merchant who owned The Ram Inn in London's Smithfield. Bearsley's son Peter was among the first Englishmen to venture into the Upper Douro to purchase wines in the early 1700s, and in 1744 his grandson Bartholomew made history by becoming the first British wine merchant to purchase a property in the Douro Valley. The firm gained its modern name in 1838 when Joseph Taylor brought in John Fladgate, a London wine merchant, and Morgan Yeatman, a wine merchant from Dorchester, as partners. The Yeatman family came to lead the company through the 20th century. After the last Yeatman partner, Dick, died, the firm passed to his widow's relative Alistair Robertson, who was born in Oporto in 1937 and took over in the mid-1960s. Robertson modernized production, invented LBV Port, and built the house's global reputation. Today the company is led by Robertson's son-in-law Adrian Bridge, CEO of The Fladgate Partnership, with David Guimaraens serving as head winemaker.

• Founded 1692 by Job Bearsley; the iconic '4XX' brand mark is thought to derive from a woolmark used to brand bales of wool in the family's prior trade
• In 1744, under Bartholomew Bearsley, the firm became the first British Port shipper to purchase a vineyard in the Douro Valley
• The name Taylor, Fladgate and Yeatman was formally established in 1838 via partnership deed between Joseph Taylor, John Fladgate, and Morgan Yeatman
• Alistair Robertson took over in the mid-1960s, launched LBV Port in 1970, and transformed Taylor's into a globally recognized benchmark producer

The foundation of Taylor Fladgate's house style rests on three estate vineyards, all rated Class A, the highest grade in the official Douro classification. Quinta de Vargellas, acquired in 1893 (with the full consolidation of all three sub-properties completed by 1896), is located in the remote eastern reaches of the Douro Superior, barely 25 miles from the Spanish border. Its north-facing amphitheater of terraced vineyards produces wines of elegance, finesse, and distinctive floral aromatics, and the estate has its own dedicated railway station. The wines of Vargellas traditionally form the backbone of the Taylor Vintage Port blend. Quinta de Terra Feita, situated on the warm lower slopes of the Pinhao Valley in the Cima Corgo, produces full-bodied, powerful wines rich in berry fruit that provide depth and volume to the blend; it was already identified as a source of the finest Ports in the 1757 Douro classification. Quinta do Junco, also in the Pinhao Valley, rounds out the blend with wines of characteristic ripeness. Together these three estates give Taylor Vintage Ports their multilayered complexity and distinctive long-lived style.

• All three quintas (Vargellas, Terra Feita, Junco) hold the top Class A rating in the Douro vineyard classification system
• Quinta de Vargellas in the Douro Superior is the crown jewel; its Vinha Velha (Old Vineyard) section contains vines ranging from approximately 80 to 120 years old
• Quinta de Terra Feita in the Cima Corgo was already classified as a top-quality source in the 1757 Douro survey, predating modern classifications
• The contrasting personalities of Vargellas (elegance, floral perfume) and Terra Feita (power, rich fruit) are central to the complexity of the classic Taylor Vintage blend

Taylor Fladgate is unique among major Port houses in its complete dedication to Port wine alone, producing no dry table wines. Its portfolio spans the full spectrum of Port styles, and the house is particularly celebrated for three categories it helped define. Vintage Port is the flagship: Taylor declares only in the finest years, and its Vintage Ports are widely regarded as the benchmark for the category, noted for elegance, restrained power, and exceptional longevity. In years when a full declaration is not made, the single-quinta Quinta de Vargellas Vintage Port is released. Taylor Fladgate is also the inventor of Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port, first launched in 1970 by Alistair Robertson with the 1965 vintage; LBV is aged four to six years in wood before bottling, making it approachable and ready to drink upon release. The house also introduced the world's first dry white aperitif Port, Chip Dry, in 1934, made predominantly from Malvasia Fina grapes grown in the Douro Superior and aged four to five years in oak vats. The Tawny range spans 10, 20, 30, and 40 Year Old expressions, plus rare 50 Year Single Harvest and ultra-aged historical limited releases.

• Vintage Port declared only in exceptional years; The Fladgate Partnership traditionally announces declarations on April 23rd, St. George's Day
• LBV first launched in 1970 with the 1965 vintage; aged four to six years in wood, ready to drink when bottled, no decanting required
• Chip Dry White Port (1934) was the world's first dry white aperitif Port, made predominantly from Malvasia Fina grapes from the Douro Superior, aged four to five years in oak
• Tawny range spans 10, 20, 30, and 40 Year Old expressions, plus rare 50 Year Old Single Harvest Ports and ultra-aged historical releases

All Taylor Fladgate Ports are produced from grapes grown on schist soils in the Douro Valley, the world's first officially demarcated wine region (1756). The house relies on five primary red grape varieties for its Vintage and red Ports: Touriga Nacional, prized for deep color, concentration, and floral aromatics; Touriga Franca (also called Touriga Francesa), widely planted and valued for structure and perfume; Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), which contributes bright acidity and red fruit character; Tinta Barroca, which provides supple texture; and Tinto Cao, a low-yielding variety valued for complexity. Traditional foot treading in granite lagares is practiced at Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita for the finest Vintage Ports. Taylor Fladgate is also one of only a handful of Port producers to have pioneered piston fermenter techniques, known as Port Toes, which extract greater flavor and aroma than conventional pump-over methods. Dick Yeatman established the first single-variety research plots at Vargellas as early as 1927, giving the house decades of varietal knowledge that underpins its winemaking to this day.

• Five primary red grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca, and Tinto Cao, all grown on schist soils in the Douro Valley
• Dick Yeatman established single-variety research plots at Quinta de Vargellas in 1927, pioneering varietal understanding in the Douro decades before it became standard practice
• Traditional foot treading in granite lagares preserved for top Vintage Ports at Vargellas and Terra Feita, alongside modern piston fermenters (Port Toes) for efficient extraction
• The Douro Valley was officially demarcated in 1756, making it the world's first delimited wine region

Taylor Fladgate is the flagship brand of The Fladgate Partnership, the family-owned holding group controlled by descendants of the Yeatman and Robertson families and led by CEO Adrian Bridge. The Partnership was built through a series of acquisitions that made it one of the most important groups in the Port trade. Taylor's acquired Fonseca in 1948, and in 2001 purchased Croft (founded 1588, one of the oldest Port houses in existence) and Delaforce from Diageo. Wiese and Krohn, a specialist in colheita Ports founded in 1865 by two Norwegian entrepreneurs, was added to the group in 2013. In August 2023, The Fladgate Partnership acquired the assets and estates of the Portuguese wine company Ideal Drinks, creating Fladgate Still and Sparkling Wines. Across its brands, the Partnership owns over 600 hectares of prime Douro vineyard. Each house retains its own vineyards, lodges, and winemaking identity. David Guimaraens, whose family connections to Fonseca trace back generations, serves as Technical Director and head winemaker across the group. The group also operates in hospitality, owning The Yeatman, a luxury wine hotel in Vila Nova de Gaia that opened in August 2010 and holds two Michelin stars.

• The Fladgate Partnership owns Taylor's (1692), Fonseca (acquired 1948), Croft (acquired 2001), and Wiese and Krohn (acquired 2013)
• Each house maintains independent vineyards, lodges, and distinct house styles; David Guimaraens is Technical Director and head winemaker across the group
• The Yeatman Hotel in Vila Nova de Gaia, opened August 2010, is a Relais and Chateaux luxury wine hotel with two Michelin stars awarded to its gastronomic restaurant
• In August 2023, acquisition of Ideal Drinks created Fladgate Still and Sparkling Wines, the group's first extension into Portuguese table wines

Taylor Fladgate has committed to extensive environmental stewardship across its vineyard and production operations. The firm has invested in converting traditional bulldozed terraces (patamares) at its quintas to vertical row planting systems, which offer significant environmental advantages and improved canopy management. These new planting techniques were developed in collaboration with head of viticulture Antonio Magalhaes and David Guimaraens, and The Fladgate Partnership was awarded the BES Biodiversity Award in 2009 in recognition of these efforts. Methods have also been developed for the more efficient management of the historic dry stone-walled terraces at Quinta de Vargellas's Vinha Velha, preserving them for future generations. The house maintains one of the most extensive reserves of very old cask-aged Port of any producer, including Single Harvest Ports stretching back many decades. The Scion release, a pre-phylloxera cask-aged Port discovered and bottled in 2010, stands as one of the oldest Tawny-style Ports ever commercially released, underscoring the depth of Taylor Fladgate's aging cellars and historical continuity.

• The Fladgate Partnership received the BES Biodiversity Award in 2009 for its sustainable viticulture and terrace-preservation work at its Douro quintas
• Pioneered sustainable vertical row planting to replace bulldozed patamares at both Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita
• The Scion release, bottled in 2010, is a pre-phylloxera cask-aged Port and one of the oldest Tawny-style Ports ever commercially released
• Taylor's holds one of the largest reserves of very old cask-aged Port of any producer, including Single Harvest expressions and rare historical limited editions