Taylor

Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman

The name of the House during centuries (Source: Taylor’s archives):

Among the first of the early traders of Port was Job Bearsley, who by l692 was a Port shipper and partner in the firm which we know today as Taylor's. Already in the 1670’ies, born in Yorkshire, he was worked in the north of Portugal. He shipped, corn, fruit and wine (from Monaco) to England and wool and dried cod from England back to Portugal. According to archives, Taylor’s 4XX is a typical brand in wool industry.

In 1727 Job Bearsley's son Peter became the first British trader to venture into the wild, mountainous country upriver to Regua in search of the best wine and in 1744 the Bearsleys became the first British shippers to buy a property in the Douro valley. Taylor's still owns the Casa dos Alambiques at Lugar das Lages. It has made wine from that day to this - apart from a short break as a field hospital for the Duke of Wellington's troops in the Peninsular Wars. Taylor's were one of the earliest shippers to acquire vineyards to produce the wine themselves, rather than merely buying from wine-makers and then maturing it.

Peter Bearsley was blessed with 3 sons, Charles, Francis and William who each had 6 children, 11 girls and 7 boys. It was through Francis two girls, Margaret (married Sandford) and Elizabeth (married Grey) the wine export continued. Upon Peter Bearsly’s death the Bearsley name disappeared. In 1808 the American born Joe Camo was taken in as a partner as Webb, Campbell and Grey had to flee due to the ‘Penninsular War’ when French troops conquered Porto. When the French General Soult took command over North Portugal in 1809 even Joe Camo had to fly but retuned 3 months later. He had succeeded to hide the company’s best port onboard a ship in the harbour. When Grey died 1815 and Joe Camo a year later took over, the first Taylor became partner in the company. Joseph Taylor took John Fladgate as a partner in 1836. He died a year later and John Fladgate went for a new partner whom he found 2 years later in Morgan Yeatman from Dorchester and now the company got its final name. John Fladgate consecrated his life to Port and also the life of his children. His son Francis Pedro Gauntlett became partner in 1867; his four daughters were all married into Port business. Marian married Albert Morgan (Morgan Bros), Janet married Charles Wright (Croft & Co), Florence married Pedro Golcalves Guimarens (forefather to Bruce, Gordon and David) and Catherine married J.J. Forrester, later the famous Baron Forrester. Yeatman died in 1849 and was succeeded of his son Morgan Jr. who died in1889 and succeeded of Harry Oswald and Frank Pym Stanley Yeatman. These men bought Quinta de Vargellas. Frank ‘Smiler’ Yeatman being a legendary person. He was the first Port producer to produce 50 vintages. Frank ‘Smiler’ Yeatman died in 1950 and his son Richard ‘Dick’ Stanley Yeatman became the strong man at Taylor. He died in 1966 and his widow gave her shares to her nephew Alistair Robertson and told him to make Taylor’s successful or sell the shares. Bruce Guimarens and Huyshe Bower had joint as partners in 1961, Bruce came from Fladgate and Huyshe from Yeatman branch of the family and Alistair Robertson joined also from Yeatman, so now the last Taylor was gone for ever. Alistair is now retired since the year 2000 and is replaced by his son-in-law Adrian Bridge.

During the 19^th century many vintage from Taylor was single quinta from Quinta da Roeda which was bought in 1844 by John taylor but the quinta was lost due to his duaghter’s marriage and went to Croft, but in 2001 that house was acquired by descendants of two old Port wine families, the Yeatman’s and the Fladgate’s.

The Fladgate Partnership company always declare their Vintage Ports on St George’s day (23 April).

Quinta de Vargellas
Situated high in the mountain reaches of the Upper Douro; Quinta de Vargellas is the jewel in Taylor’s crown. Acquired in 1893, at the time when phylloxera was most destructive in the area the harvest at the Quinta was a beggarly six pipes. By the time the famous years of 1908 and 1912 had arrived, Vargellas was producing 100 of the 300 or so pipes Taylor’s declared as a Vintage. Quinta de Vargellas is also bottled as a Single Quinta Vintage Port or Special Quinta Vintage Port in years when an overall Taylor’s Vintage is not declared made from grapes grown entirely on the quinta. The reputation of these wines has acquired a stature greater than that of many shippers declared vintages.

Quinta de Terra Feita
Taylor’s famous old estate of Terra Feita forms a spectacular amphitheatre of terraced vineyard planted on the western slopes of the Pinhão River valley. Its vines have been supplying Taylor’s with superb grapes for nearly a hundred years and were bought in 1974. Together with those of Quinta de Vargellas, the wines of Terra Feita form the backbone of the legendary Taylor’s declared vintage ports. Since the beginning of the century, small amounts of Terra Feita wine have also been bottled as Single Quinta Vintage Port.

Quinta do Junco
was purchased by Taylor’s in 1998 from Borges & Irmao, and is situated near to Quinta de Terra Feita in the Pinhão River valley.

Quinta do Sao Xisto
was purchased by Taylor’s in 1999, and is situated alongside Vargellas.

Casa dos Alambiques
Acquired by the family in 1744

Vintage Port tasting notes:

Old Colheita/Tawny tasting notes:

Last tasted:

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