1985 Graham's Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

Decanted at 10:30 am 4/30/2010 for a tasting at 6:30 pm to welcome Dom C. and friend to Seattle. The bottle had a very slightly pushed cork and was showing signs of past seepage, so I was a little worried about it and had a backup ready in case this one seemed damaged. It was much ado about nothing.

1985 Graham Vintage Port
first notes from the dregs with no decant time

Color: Medium garnet with some bricking. Fades through pink at the rim.
Nose: Light Christmas spices, ripe strawberry, plum. Some unidentifiable bramble berry. Some alcohol, but it is behind the fruits. Some very faint meatiness and minerals. Overall impression is of a rich sweetness. I could be fooled into believing that this was a Taylor, but it is sweeter and richer than that.
Palate: Yum. Rich, sweet, red berries lead the way with just a hint of heat. Medium full body and medium sweet to sweet. Not cloying, but very rich. Tannins are present but not obtrusive. Acidity is very good making it seem very juicy. Very slightly acrid note late in the palate... probably just needs another 5-10 years of age to finish mellowing (or 4-6 hours of decant time... this is pop-n-pour).
Finish: Starts out with some moderate tannins and a little heat, then some mellow red fruits. Mid way through there's some grape skin which slowly melts away leaving just a pleasant heat. 45 seconds in there's some very faint apple.

A classic '85 Graham. Drinking beautifully now but with easily another 10-15 years of aging left before it hits its peak. I agree with Roy's most recent note estimating that its peak will be between 2020 and 2030. One of my favorite Vintage Ports.

95 points, and I predict it will score better with more aging.

[Glenn E.]

This ended up tied for 3rd on the night for me (with the 1975 Kopke Colheita).

I think it wins the award for the biggest loser, as no one rated it first but I believe that everyone had it ranked either 2nd or 3rd. I didn't take an official tally, but I believe that it probably ended up 3rd behind the 1970 Taylor and 1975 Kopke Colheita.

[Glenn E.]

I'm finishing off the bottle right now, and while it has pretty clearly been open too long (we're at D+5.33 days) it is still surprisingly tasty. The alcohol is a little sharper, the fruits are a little fainter, but overall it is still very nice. Even after 5 days it's probably in the 89-90 range.

Good stuff!

[Markus D.]

I'll nominate it for biggest loser of the night as well It was in my top 3.

I'm impressed its still holding up after this long!