1983 Grahams Vintage Port
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:27 am
Opened for the June 2009 Virtual Tasting
This was a 1/2 bottle, showing signs of seepage with a fill about 3/8" above the neck. The cork, however, was in pretty good shape with just a few fragments falling off into the bottles where the corkscrew came through (D'oh!).
D: Really jammy with currant aroma, then sweet berry. There is just a hint of mustiness. Me likey.
D+2.5 hours: The color is a deep ruby with only the slightest hint of bricking on the rim. There is some VA in the nose, with a cherry Sucrets aroma. I preferred the aroma when I first decanted, and wonder now if I should have taken a sip then. In the mouth, there is even more cherry Sucrets. The first sip was too hot, but the second and subsequent ones were better. There is some dried leaf flavor as well. It seems somewhere in between eucalyptus and bay leaf, and while I recognize the aroma of these, I haven't tasted them, so I can't figure out which it is more like. (Note to self: Suck on some leaves some time.) The body is medium, and sticky sweet. Finish is also medium. There is not much tannin here, but decent acid.
If I were to hazard a guess for a score, I'd say 88 points. I liked this better than the first 1985 Graham's I tasted, but not as much as the second 1985. So for a 1983, I guess that's pretty good.
D+12: Aroma has mellowed and is more pleasant. However, one whiff showed a hint that this wine might not last too long, so I'm pouring it back into the rinsed bottle and putting on the vacu-vin. I'll taste again this evening.
This was a 1/2 bottle, showing signs of seepage with a fill about 3/8" above the neck. The cork, however, was in pretty good shape with just a few fragments falling off into the bottles where the corkscrew came through (D'oh!).
D: Really jammy with currant aroma, then sweet berry. There is just a hint of mustiness. Me likey.
D+2.5 hours: The color is a deep ruby with only the slightest hint of bricking on the rim. There is some VA in the nose, with a cherry Sucrets aroma. I preferred the aroma when I first decanted, and wonder now if I should have taken a sip then. In the mouth, there is even more cherry Sucrets. The first sip was too hot, but the second and subsequent ones were better. There is some dried leaf flavor as well. It seems somewhere in between eucalyptus and bay leaf, and while I recognize the aroma of these, I haven't tasted them, so I can't figure out which it is more like. (Note to self: Suck on some leaves some time.) The body is medium, and sticky sweet. Finish is also medium. There is not much tannin here, but decent acid.
If I were to hazard a guess for a score, I'd say 88 points. I liked this better than the first 1985 Graham's I tasted, but not as much as the second 1985. So for a 1983, I guess that's pretty good.
D+12: Aroma has mellowed and is more pleasant. However, one whiff showed a hint that this wine might not last too long, so I'm pouring it back into the rinsed bottle and putting on the vacu-vin. I'll taste again this evening.