When Velvet Lightning Strikes: Taylor Fladgate 2016 - The Sleeping Titan Bacchus Is Stockpiling
A 100‑point Port trading at weekday‑Bordeaux prices; here’s why I’m filling my cellar before the herd wakes up.
I, Bacchus - twice‑born lord of the vine - keep unruly hours on Olympus. At one reckless symposium I matched every god toast for toast until thunder split the heavens like a shattered amphora. Lightning hurled me toward the ragged banks of the Styx, heart clanging louder than Ares’ bronze. There, with Charon tapping his oar for fare, I fished a lone miniature of Taylor Fladgate 2016 from the reeds. One sip - midnight cherries fused with molten granite - etched two immortal laws upon my spirit: the Fates grant only one reprieve, and a blue‑chip Port offered at mortal prices is a pact no Bacchant should refuse.
Today that bottle is the Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port 2016. James Suckling flung a perfect 100‑point thunderbolt at it, calling it “the most amazing young Taylor’s I have ever tasted.” (theliquorbarn.com) The wider critic chorus settles at 96–98, and the wine’s iron‑spined tannin promises safe passage well past 2070.
Where the Numbers Whisper Opportunity
Released in 2018 at roughly £430 per 12‑bottle case, the wine sprinted to £560 by March 2022, only to slide with the broader fine‑wine correction. Live offers on Liv‑ex this month circle £420–£430, effectively rewinding four years of inflation. (liv-ex.com) Global retail meanwhile averages about $103 a bottle - enough to sneak into an ordinary grocery cart while no one’s looking. (wine-searcher.com)
Why the lull? In 2023 the Liv‑ex 100 posted a 14 % drop, its worst reset since 2008, as collectors de‑levered and chased tech stocks. (liv-ex.com) Port was collateral damage, but unlike middling Bordeaux, Taylor’s carries zero question marks around provenance or brand equity. Think of it as a AAA bond temporarily priced like high‑yield.
Add the historical kicker: 2016 and 2017 were the first back‑to‑back Port declarations since 1872–73. (liv-ex.com) Such symmetry stokes long‑cycle demand from vertical collectors, and the 2016 leads the duo on both score and structure.
Three Catalysts I’m Betting My Cellar On
1. Shrinking float. Twenty‑year‑old Ports start disappearing into decanters just as their secondary‑market mystique peaks. That timer hits 2036, twelve harvests from now.
2. Inflation hedge with training wheels. At sub‑£500 a case, the 2016 sits beneath institutional radar, perfect for retail investors who’d like an asset that appreciates in pounds yet drinks in ounces.
3. Yield curve of pleasure. Pop one today and you’ll get black‑forest gateau, iodine, and a slap of granite; wait ten and it’s Christmas pudding in cedar smoke. Pleasure compounds like interest.
The Bacchic Play
I’m locking in two original‑wood cases: one for the heirs, one for the hedonism. If you lack space, at least grab a six‑pack - future‑you will toast the audacity.
Remember: Titans don’t sleep forever. They just wait for thunder to roll again.
