2011 Graham's LBV Port

[Lindsay E.]

This is a nice aromatic blend of Blackberry, blueberry compote and Black Raspberry and a pleasing smell of wet paint followed by a faint aroma of walnuts and chocolate. The fruit notes are supercharged on the palate with a slightly sweet, milky mouthfeel. Medium plus acid and medium tannins hit on the finish. I realize that this is a filtered LBV (no mention of "Unfiltered" on the front/back label and the back label mentions "no decanting required" ) but it seems to have a fair amount of structure present for a filtered LBV. I'm not saying these will continue to improve with cellar time, but they also seem to be holding up very well to their current age. And what this wine lacks in age-ability, it makes up for with instantaneous pleasure on opening. The 2011 Fonseca LBV that I opened along with this Graham's had more intense structure (acid & tannins) and a more dense, tight core of fruit, but it was less enjoyable now compared to the Graham's. I am feeling a little bit of jealousy towards establishments that got to glass pour this and crack a new bottle every two weeks as this is a fantastic "drink-me-now" Port. I realize that I am probably scoring this Graham's LBV too high due to my current mood and this wine being in the perfect wheel-house for what I'm wanting to drink right now. I am going with a score of:

91 Points

[Glenn E.]

I don't think that's too generous at all - 2011 LBVs in general are pretty fantastic, and I do enjoy the Graham.

[Lindsay E.]

Good point, Glenn. I sort of wished Graham's would make an "Unfiltered" LBV in the good years in addition to making the filtered LBV. It would be nice to compare the two. On night 3, my Fonseca "unfiltered" LBV is finally starting to open up and I think I'm going to end up giving it a higher score than the Graham's. But, there is something to be said for the fact that you can crack that Graham's 2011 LBV open on a moment's notice and jump right into drinking something really good. I guess someone could debate whether this would be worth buying over some third tier producer's Vintage Port with some age or a top tier producer's single quinta VP from a mediocre vintage or something else that I forgot to mention. I popped open a Souza '95 just now to evaluate this question somewhat. The Sousa VP has more elegance in that is lighter bodied and dances across the tongue while the Fonseca LBV is more rich, thick and heavy. The Fonseca LBV is totally smooth and harmonious with few rough edges, while the Sousa VP is a bit hot on the back of the palate and a bit choppy on the finish.

[Andy Velebil]

Have you tried one of the Graham's River Quinta series yet? Not exactly cheap for a special "Six Grapes" series, but they drink more like a very top end unfiltered LBV or even a good SQVP.

[Glenn E.]

Honestly, I think even filtered LBVs get better with a little decant time. Sure, the intent is to be able to pop-n-pour, but to me virtually any non-oxidized red wine will benefit from a little air time before you drink it. Even a Ruby Reserve gets a little better after 30-60 minutes. And the longer they've been in bottle the more true that is... though you do reach a point where the improvement collides with the collapse when the bottle is past its prime.

I second Andy's recommendation of the Graham's River Quintas Ruby Reserves. They do sit in a bit of a weird spot, being technically ruby reserves yet essentially priced as LBVs, but they're interesting expressions of their estates at a less expensive level than would be an SQVP.

[Lindsay E.]

It just so happens that I have one bottle of Graham's Six Grapes River Quinta in my cellar. I guess I had better crack that one open now so I can compare while the 2011 LBV is still fresh in my mind.

So having popped and poured the Graham's River Quintas, this Port seems like it has more in common with the Fonseca 2011 LBV on night 1 in that it is kind of tight, and very concentrated with black fruits. One area where it is more like the Graham's 2011 LBV is that the finish on this River Quintas is a bit more smooth and polished.

Can either of you gents advise me on how I should best evaluate this River Quintas? Is It filtered or unfiltered? Should I decant? If so, what would be the appropriate amount of time in the decanter for this one to blossom?

[Andy Velebil]

It’s lightly filtered but more in the unfiltered LBV sense. I’d enjoy it over 2-3 days to see how it evolves.