Some fun Graham's info that I received

[Roy Hersh]

In a question for the Graham's winemaker, Henry Shotton, I asked and he answered about the 1997 Graham's:

Graham’s 1997 Vintage was made from Quinta dos Malvedos (Owned by Graham’s since 1890), Quinta da Vila Velha (Privately owned by a member of the Symington family) and Quinta dos Lages a property that has been an essential and integral part of Graham’s Vintage since the early part of the 20th Century. This special relationship with Lages was further cemented when Graham’s took out a long lease on the property, thus giving it complete control of the vineyards.
With the passing of time wines from other outstanding properties have also progressively been incorporated into Graham’s Vintage Ports. These estates are either privately owned by members of the Symington family or where acquired by Graham’s. The profile of the wines they produce ‘fitting’ in perfectly with the rich Graham’s style.
• Quinta do Vale de Malhadas - ajoining Quinta do Vesuvio in the Douro Superior. This estate is privately owned by three of the Symington partners and was acquired in 1999. The wines from Vale Malhadas are powerful and firm, with ripe jammy black fruit and excellent tannic structure.
• Quinta do Tua – In 2006 this great vineyard was acquired by the Symington family for Graham’s. Quinta do Tua adjoins Malvedos and is situated on the east bank of the Tua River where this tributary joins the Douro river. Given the extremely old vines on the property and correspondingly low yields the Ports produced have a fine degree of aromatic concentration and tannic structure, ideal for producing classic Graham’s Vintage Ports.
In recent years there have also been significant investments in wine making technology which led to the in house design and development of the ground breaking mechanical treaders that have been in use since the 2000 Vintage.