Bottle and label variation

[Glenn E.]

We see threads about bottles or labels that don't look quite right fairly regularly, so I thought I would post this from a recent case of 1970 Graham that I just received. There are 4 distinctly different bottles/labels in the box, all of which I have seen before (on other Ports if not on G70).

I'll post close-ups of the labels and capsules in the responses.

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[Glenn E.]

This is a somewhat uncommon label for a 1970s-era Graham VP, but it's not rare. The smooth capsule leads me to believe that this may have been recorked somewhere along the line, though that's far from certain. The bottle itself is a 2-piece bottle with very smooth seams that you might not notice unless you were looking for them. The raised embossing reads "Graham's 1970" in the circle, and that style of embossing is a good indicator that it was bottled in Oporto (which is confirmed by the label).

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[Glenn E.]

In my experience, this is the most common label that you'll see for this era. The script signature/company name and larger fonts for "Grahams" and the vintage are highlights. The glass is the same as bottle #1 - it's a 2-piece design with very subtle seams and embossing above the label that reads "Graham's 1970" in the circle. Note the stamped capsule as opposed to the smooth capsule on bottle #1. The first case of G70 that I ordered a while ago were all this style of bottle and label.

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[Glenn E.]

This is also a pretty common label, probably the 2nd most common in my experience. Note that it doesn't say where it was bottled, though the glass itself leads me to believe that it was bottled in Oporto. Also, the "registered trade mark" printed above the red crown seal is different than either bottle #1 or #4, neither of which have it. Over-waxing of the capsule is something that would normally make me think English bottling, but the English generally say something on the label so I'm sticking with Oporto bottled in this case.

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[Glenn E.]

This is the kind of bottle that will often end up posted here asking if it's fake, but it absolutely isn't. The lack of a Selo is relatively common in English bottles, as is the hideous rubber capsule. Be very careful when removing those things, as it's easy to either stab your own hand or crack the bottle if you aren't careful. The glass is the same as all of the others - a 2-piece design, though in this case there's no embossing above the label which again makes me think it's an English bottling.

The label is very similar to bottle #1 except that it says "finest reserve" in red instead of "vintage porto". The very bottom of the label is our confirmation - this is an English bottling by Grant's of St. James's. Grant's is one of the most reliable English bottlers, so despite the rubber capsules I'm happy that 7/12 in this case are of this style.

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[Glenn E.]

Several people here are well-versed in bottle variety, so hopefully they'll respond with additional information!

As I said at the start, I believe these are all perfectly legit bottles. I posted the pictures to show the rather wide variation that you might see in bottles of this age.

[Edward J]

I believe I received three different types of bottles including a rubber capsule edition. I did note two capsules did not look like the others and appeared not original. Upon examination I noted a mention of "from the Symington Cellars" or something to that effect. I figured they would be best for longer term than the other three so they are far away right now. Perhaps you had a bottle mentioning this on it somewhere? A quick search came up with this and I believe I received two of those bottles...sweet.

In 1970 the Symington Family acquired the firm of W & J Graham, including the wine stocks and the properties in both the Douro and Vila Nova de Gaia. James Symington was at Quinta dos Malvedos for their first harvest that autumn and together with his cousins was responsible for the winemaking. In his harvest report, James wrote:
It is likely that the 1970 wines will prove to be quite outstandingly good. The colour (of the must) is exceptional and very purple and they seem to have plenty of body… Everybody seems delighted with the 1970s and it would surprise nobody if the year produced a Vintage.
Because of both the historical significance of this being their first harvest for Graham’s, and the sheer quality of the wine, the Symington Family decided to hold back a private reserve of several hundred bottles of Graham’s 1970 Vintage Port. Those bottles have never been moved from the cellar at our Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.Until now.
The 1970 Graham’s has been praised by critics over the entire course of its life, from Michael Broadbent’s top score of 5 Stars in 1972 on release, to Clive Coates calling it “the complete wine” and rating it 20 out of 20 points in 1991, to Richard Mayson observing earlier this year that it was “Still deep for its age… Drink with pleasure for the next thirty years or more!”

http://blog.grahams-port.com/2011/12/05 ... hams-1970/

[John M.]

I've had two styles...Two with the nice smooth top (Your #1) I surmised was an ex-cellars bottle based a discussion here and my observation that the label looked brand new. The 3rd bottle was like #2.

I've opened one of each---both were awesome.

[Glenn E.]

Something else I forgot to mention - bottles 1-3 were all that opaque black glass, while bottle 4 is a more normal dark green. That's yet another distinction that I often see between Oporto bottled (opaque black) and English bottled (dark green).

[Andy Velebil]

The red wax top is an original Oporto bottled and released one. They used that wavy wax on it that year. The other two were late released based on the Selo's. The last being bottled by someone else. Being in the same case bought from the same store means someone culled together a non-original case for you.

[Glenn E.]

Being in the same case bought from the same store means someone culled together a non-original case for you.

Oh, I knew that. These came from K&L and weren't even a full case as listed - they had to collect bottles from more than one of their stores to put it together for me.

Interesting tidbit about the wavy red wax capsule being the original release! So bottle #2 is also a late release, you think? I'd always thought that was the "normal" bottle because it's the one I've seen most often.

Also thanks for the clue about the Selos... this is the first time I've never noticed the difference! (Either that or I've never actually seen an old Selo before.) Might have never seen that if you hadn't pointed it out. When did the Selo design change?

[Edward J]

So I had to go check the 5 bottles of 1970 I got from K&L. They did just cobble together the orders and gave us a real mix. Out of the 5, 1 was red wax, 1 was rubber capped, 1 in regular capsule, and 2 Cellar releases. I was unable without removing the capsule to tell if these had been re-corked, anyone know?

[Andy Velebil]

So I had to go check the 5 bottles of 1970 I got from K&L. They did just cobble together the orders and gave us a real mix. Out of the 5, 1 was red wax, 1 was rubber capped, 1 in regular capsule, and 2 Cellar releases. I was unable without removing the capsule to tell if these had been re-corked, anyone know?

Probably not, but they typically don't store them with the actual release capsule. They are cleaned, new label and capsule applied then shipped out.

[John M.]

So I had to go check the 5 bottles of 1970 I got from K&L. They did just cobble together the orders and gave us a real mix. Out of the 5, 1 was red wax, 1 was rubber capped, 1 in regular capsule, and 2 Cellar releases. I was unable without removing the capsule to tell if these had been re-corked, anyone know?

Probably not, but they typically don't store them with the actual release capsule. They are cleaned, new label and capsule applied then shipped out.

I just opened one--the corked looked new. Almost no saturation. Looked recorked to my untrained eye.

[Andy Velebil]

So I had to go check the 5 bottles of 1970 I got from K&L. They did just cobble together the orders and gave us a real mix. Out of the 5, 1 was red wax, 1 was rubber capped, 1 in regular capsule, and 2 Cellar releases. I was unable without removing the capsule to tell if these had been re-corked, anyone know?

Probably not, but they typically don't store them with the actual release capsule. They are cleaned, new label and capsule applied then shipped out.

I just opened one--the corked looked new. Almost no saturation. Looked recorked to my untrained eye.

Sorry I should have clarified. If it was an older late release then it would not have been recorked. The Sym's have sorta recently started recorking their older Ports. So it is possible it is a new cork. Regardless, they typically will put a new label and capsule on it before releasing it.