December 2016 - Any Grahams Port

[John M.]

As suggested by Thomas V.......any Grahams Port. This should be a wide enough category that all can participate---and it would be fantastic if we had a large group.

[Thomas V]

So there has not be a virtual tasting inhere since June 2016 and since we are entering December, perhaps the month in a calender year where most port is consumed in the world I thought it time to kick back some life inhere.

I have gone ahead an copied Bradley Bogdans introduction to the concept. I hope you do not mind.

For folks that are new to the site or aren't familiar with the concept, we'll be choosing a theme each month. They'll generally be ones that can be found by folks in most places and are affordable for folks of any experience level and income. I'll kick off each month with a short blurb on what the theme is, what people can expect from it, and some suggestions on brands/bottlings that should be fairly easy to find and representative. I encourage everyone to try one or more Ports in the theme and leave their thoughts here, even if they don't want to leave a full note for the database. There's no wrong impressions, so don't be nervous.

So onto this month's theme: Any style of Graham's Port!

Here are some thoughts on the house of Graham's and I hope others will chime in with stories and titbits to make this even more interesting.

The house of Graham's was established in 1820 in Porto by the 2 Scottish brothers William and John Graham who were in the textile trade business. A buyer of some of their goods was short on cash and offered to pay them what he owed with 27 pipes of port as payment. The brothers accepted and there on after the 2 brothers decided to pursue their time into making the best port wines from the Douro valley. The house of W & J Graham's was born.

Graham's successes in the port wine making business led the company to be one of the first to invest in their own vineyards in the Douro valley. In 1890 W & J Graham's bought the famous Quinta dos Malvedo. The Quinta which is located in the Cima Corgo is south facing and is a corner stone in supplying the grapes for Graham's Vintage ports. 1890 was a busy year for the company as they also build the Graham's lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia which is still to this day used for storing the Graham's port while it being in a vat, pipa or bottles. Today it is also one of the most state of the art visitor centres in Gaia and bolsters guided tours, a private tasting room and a superb restaurant in Vinum.

Andrew James Symington had a small stint working for the company for a couple of years from 1882 until he went his own ways. However the relation between the Symington family and Graham's was remade when Graham's after having financially problems was bought by the grandchildren of AJS in 1970. Since then Graham's has been a part of the Symington Family Estates conglomerate and has continued to produce great port both in the ruby and tawny categories. In 4 years Graham's will celebrate their 200th birthday.

Graham's produces a wide variety of ports while perhaps they are mostly known for the vintage ports. They have a full line up of white, ruby, tawny, lbv, colheitas, crusted, single quinta and vintage ports. Special ports worth mentioning are Six Grapes, Natura Reserve, Stone terraces and Ne Oublie,

So kicking it back to what this virtual tasting is all about; namely tasting one or more of Graham's ports and reporting back inhere with your thoughts and impressions within the month of December. There is no lack of options based on Graham's extensive portfolio. Perhaps someone will review their recently released 2011 LBV or crack open a vintage or someone with a sweet tooth will fall in to temptation and open up a 1972 single harvest? Time shall tell. Just remember that anyone can participate whether you just bought your first Graham's or you found a bottle you placed in your cellar 40 years ago. Also as Bradley pointed out there are bonus points for also adding a full note in the FTLOP taste note database as well as adding pictures inhere.

Cheers.

A couple of pictures from my visit at Graham's this fall.

[Thomas V]

Hah John you beat me to it.

Could an admin merge the 2 threads?

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... =9&t=39977

[Glenn E.]

Hah John you beat me to it.

Could an admin merge the 2 threads?

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... =9&t=39977

Done!

[John M.]

Hah John you beat me to it.

Could an admin merge the 2 threads?

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... =9&t=39977

Just wanted to get is going ASAP......Nice intro.

[Frederick Blais]

I'll get something! thanks for reviving this zone!

[Thomas V]

I'll get something! thanks for reviving this zone!

Look forward to finding out what you are going to open. I'm guessing ruby style...

[Frederick Blais]

I did open a 1997 Vintage. Drank it on 2 days. Still has a deep ruby color with the edge starting to fade to garnet. I did taste straight after decanting, it was not easy, it really took about 3 hours before the balance, freshness and complexity showed the best. Lots of fruits and flowers flavours showing on the nose, on the palate, it is not overly sweet as Graham's normally shows, great balance and purity, still finely grained tannins which tells me my next bottle should be opened in 10 years minimum. It did not change much over 2 days which at this stage of life is a great quality. A solid 94 pts for those who wants to see this :)

[Thomas V]

I did open a 1997 Vintage. Drank it on 2 days. Still has a deep ruby color with the edge starting to fade to garnet. I did taste straight after decanting, it was not easy, it really took about 3 hours before the balance, freshness and complexity showed the best. Lots of fruits and flowers flavours showing on the nose, on the palate, it is not overly sweet as Graham's normally shows, great balance and purity, still finely grained tannins which tells me my next bottle should be opened in 10 years minimum. It did not change much over 2 days which at this stage of life is a great quality. A solid 94 pts for those who wants to see this :)

Was at a Graham's vertical in the spring this year which included 2011, 2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1983, 1977, 1975 and 1970.

My favourite of the night was without a doubt the 2003 but surprisingly for me the 1997 came in as my second favourite. It was really tasty and different in a good way. I am glad you had a good showing and liked it.

Here was my note from that night for the 1997.

Dark red with brown rim. A funky scent of bubblegum and watermelon. Very intricate, light and delicate. This was the best smelling port of the night and it wasn't even close for me. This port was a huge surprise as I had thought it would be in the bottom 3 as it was a bit of a funny vintage year as to what I have read. It was very tasty, young and bubbly and with completely different profile that then ones from the 00's. 91+

I will be celebrating my fathers retirement on Saturday and he and I will share a good vintage port together. He is new to port and I wanted to let him experience a mature port. So I have decided to open a 1983 Graham's and see where it is at. Should be good.

[Glenn E.]

We just had a 4-bottle vertical of Graham at the FTLOP Holiday Party... I have a busy couple of days ahead of me, but I'll try to get notes posted for them.

1955, 1963, 1966 (corked), and 1970. I got a whole glass of the '66 because no one else would drink it.

[Thomas V]

We just had a 4-bottle vertical of Graham at the FTLOP Holiday Party... I have a busy couple of days ahead of me, but I'll try to get notes posted for them.

1955, 1963, 1966 (corked), and 1970. I got a whole glass of the '66 because no one else would drink it.

Sounds excellent. Look forward to it Glenn.

I do hope one of you attendees would do a little piece on how the night went, what you tasted and overall impressions?

[John M.]

We just had a 4-bottle vertical of Graham at the FTLOP Holiday Party... I have a busy couple of days ahead of me, but I'll try to get notes posted for them.

1955, 1963, 1966 (corked), and 1970. I got a whole glass of the '66 because no one else would drink it.

Sounds excellent. Look forward to it Glenn.

I do hope one of you attendees would do a little piece on how the night went, what you tasted and overall impressions?

Newsletter Article??

[Eric Menchen]

I tasted those four that Glenn had, and then we had the 1970 again a few days later.
1955 Graham's VP
1963 Grahams' VP
1966 Graham's VP
1970 Graham's VP, 3 Dec
1970 Graham's VP, 6 Dec
The 1955 was the winner, but the 1970s came close.

[Thomas V]

Graham's 1983 Vintage Port

Bought 1 year ago from Peter Skov and has a label with the Danish importer name included in the print.

Opened and decanted at 06 AM and drunk from 14 - 21 PM. The cork came out in 2 pieces and wine had to go through a tea filter.

For the whole drinking period this Graham's smelt of aronia berries and acetone, which was not very pleasing to my linking nor my fathers. It never did throw the smell of acetone completely.

Visually this port looks about right for its age. Redish brown hue with an orange rim. It is fully transparent at this point.

On the palate there is initially some predominant heat in form of alcohol which is accompanied by notes of plum chutney, preserved rhubarb and marmalade. There is still a bit of residual red fruit for me and the tannins are still quite palpable. A full body port at this stage with some clove and candied peel that adds to a medium long and nicely spiced after taste. I enjoyed drinking this port with my father (His first mature vintage port) though for my linking it think this could use 8-10 more years to mellow out further for my liking. It did drink best for me around the 12-13 hour mark. Initial I gave it 92 points but after the additional time I bumped it up 1 point

93 points.

[Moses Botbol]

Had a 1980 Grahams yesterday. Was most likely the best port out of the bunch that included '77 Fonseca, '77 Warre's, '77 Dow, and '80 Dow.

[Andy Velebil]

I had a 1970 Graham's VP at the gathering in Long Beach, California last week. Was wonderful. I didn't take super detailed notes...

A lovely soft bodied texture with dried strawberries and that typical Graham's balanced sweetness. Still showing some youth and unresloved tannins on the palate and long finish. A superb showing of this VP and has a long life ahead of it. 95+ Points.

[Alex R]

Grahams 40 year Tawny Port (bottled 2012)

Sight: Rich tawny-copper color with slight bricking on the edges

Smell: Cigar box, Caramel, Figs and Raisins

Taste: Fruitcake and Butterscotch

Overall: Balanced with just enough Acidity to keep from being cloyingly sweet with a medium to long finish. (93-94pts)

[John M.]

I have been repeatedly foiled in tasting a Graham's this month--or anything for that matter. Picked up the nastiest cold and it is going on two weeks. Still cannot smell or taste. I did open a 2009 Grahams LBV with the extended family Christmas Eve Eve (We do a big family dinner that night to avoid conflicts)----is was nice, juicy and lush, but I could not taste it properly. A head cold is the wrong type of cellar defender....

Hope all my Port friends had a joyous holiday! Looking forward to New Year's!

[Edward J]

1985 Grahams that was wonderful. The bottle held together quite well after the first day, perhaps even improving a bit as some of the more volatile elements smoothed out. I was thinking early on day 1 perhaps I should start drinking the remaining bottles, but days 2 and 3 convinced me otherwise. These can go another decade or so. On day three there were a few ounces left and I settled down with a H. Upmann Mag 45. This was a wonderful match as the smoky coating in your mouth combined with the port, just special. I know people say that cigars can ruin tasting the nuances in Port and they could be right. Still there was a certain synergy that elevated both making the overall experience one of joy.

[Alex R]

1985 Grahams that was wonderful. The bottle held together quite well after the first day, perhaps even improving a bit as some of the more volatile elements smoothed out. I was thinking early on day 1 perhaps I should start drinking the remaining bottles, but days 2 and 3 convinced me otherwise. These can go another decade or so. On day three there were a few ounces left and I settled down with a H. Upmann Mag 45. This was a wonderful match as the smoky coating in your mouth combined with the port, just special. I know people say that cigars can ruin tasting the nuances in Port and they could be right. Still there was a certain synergy that elevated both making the overall experience one of joy.

Hi Edward,
Are you sure that your H.Upmann cigar wasn't a Mag 46? Or the new Mag 54?