For The Love Of Port

Having thirteen bottles is probably the feeblest excuse for opening one.

However, that happens to be the case. In addition to an owc I also acquired an odd bottle as part of a job lot.

That bottle had been stored somewhere seriously damp, as most of the label is rotted to extinction.

Decanted 3pm - rather light ruby colour and very little sediment.

First sip.

Very little bottle stink, modest bouquet. On the palate the classic hallmarks of Graham. But it lacks the depth and richness I would expect..

Let's see how it evolves..

More anon...

Tom

+4 hours, a small glass

It may be an illusion, but this is not the first time I have noticed an apparent increase in the viscosity of a wine after it has been left in the decanter for a few hours.

Light - no more. This wine is now showing middle distance body and composure, if a little tart.

But also gone are those classic Graham hallmarks - the Xmas pud nose and that distinctive tendency for the flavour to blossom toward the back of the mouth (for me, anyway!).

But not at all bad, if a little youthful. With luck this will improve further over the next few hours.

Tom

This was my first case purchase circa 1989. I think it was showing better 10 years ago. It was heralded as a great vintage. There was some later negative PR that the 85's as a group started off great and then had problems.

I am down to 3 bottles of the Graham's and the last few bottles were similar to the experience you are describing. To me it has been disappointing.

It would be great to think it could come together and be like the great 1963 of which I have several remaining bottles and never disappoints.

After ten hours I indulged a swift nightcap - bit raw, I thought.

- 23 hours on.

A little more Graham-like now, but I can't concur with Broadbent's glowing accolade. Good, yes, but still immature - and spoiled by some rough edges. For a VP it is slightly underweight, and rather dry for Graham.

Time for a score.

For immediate gratification, it is better than the median - but not by a mile. I therefore give it a 6.

Where's it going? I will differ from our Texan friend, in that I believe this wine will improve significantly over the next decade or so - it's rough notes should smooth out, and there's a good chance of some fine drinking before this one heads south.

But will it make the top drawers? - I don't think it has the weight for that, so my overall score is:

6-8

Tom

Really useful, thanks.

I've been lookings at the 85 TNs on the site. There seems, generally, a real mix of opnions on this vintage from great (MB) to washed up. (Look at MB's scores, and post-war he only rates 66 and 94 better than 85, with 55 and 97 about equal in quality. According to his scores, all other vintages are worse!).

I'm going to use the stoppering-of-a-half-bottle technique to have myself a mini-vertical of 85s when a case recently I bought eventually turns up. I'll do Taylor, Dow and Graham. I've had lots of Taylor 85 and found it very good but variable. The best bottles almost up to 77 standard and the worst only passable. I've had very little of the G & D, so should be interesting.

I'll report back (if I ever come round from drinking 3 half bottles in one night!)

I bought a case of this wine upon release and have been slowly drinking it, probably having drunk my fourth bottle two months ago at MoCOOL. I've had a much more positive experience with this wine than many. I wonder if bottle variation might partly account for the difference, as I've found it to be severe in other Grahams vintages.

I'm a little slow working my way through this one, but worthy of note is the fact that after a couple of days in decanter, this wine lost most of it's rough edges, and presented a much more civilised drinking experiance.

I could give it an extra point for immediate gratification, - but for the fact that it was rather less than immediate...!

I am firmly convinced that this wine has yet to present it's best.

Note to me: re-visit in 2010

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the note. I am still holding onto my bottles, having tried a couple over the least 3 years. Still very youthful...