The VVOP - Very Very Old Port is the latest in a series of limited editions of exceptional and very rare Port Wines drawn from Taylor's old hull-aged wine reserves. This excellent wine is one of the oldest lots released to date. It is drawn from a selection of rare, wood-aged wines in Taylor's cellars, some of which have since before World War II, which have reached a concentration that makes them a magical quintessence.

The complex and sublime character of Taylor's VVOP was born out of the magical interaction with oak hooves, in which the wine has aged over many decades in the house's cellars. A masterpiece of hoof aging, the VVOP confirms Taylor's place as a leader in producing the best very old wood-aged Port wines.

Deep brown in the center gradually fading to amber, it exhibits a narrow pale straw rim. The age of this exceptional Port wine is immediately evident. It represents the height of what long aging in wood can achieve, especially when the skillful craftsmanship of the batch imparts definition, proportion and harmony. The wine has the precision and complexity of a watch movement, all its complex elements working together in harmony. The nose is intense but finely constituted and the aromas remarkably delicate and ethereal due to its great age.

Notes of caramel, dried figs and freshly ground coffee mingle with marzipan and sultanas to give the wine an opulent plum pudding character, yet this lingers unobtrusively in the background and is enhanced by fresh notes of orange peel and apricot. . Accents of vanilla, cedar wood and cinnamon provide a subtle spicy fragrance. In the mouth, the wine has a light touch, displaying a fresh acidity and a perfect balance, but it maintains great reserves of aromas that emerge in the long finish in a smooth, seemingly endless wave. Very few Port wines retain this balance and finesse after so many years aging in cask.