A while back I bought a number of Ports from the '70's and '80s from England. Unfortunately since then, Finnish customs officials have started confiscating purchases bought from abroad via the mail despite this practice being contrary to EU laws. Therefore this bottle of Graham's is probably the last bottle with a bit of age on it that I will in the near future be able to consume. So it was a sad occasion in a sense because now I have no more port in my cellar; yet it was also great to be able to share it with one of my oldest and closest friends who was briefly visiting Finland who - though not geeky about it - loves Port very, very much.
Graham's Vintage Port 1970 c.90€ no abv on label
I decanted it in the early afternoon. The bottle cork was in good condition but almost totally soaked through - it came out in one piece. There was quite an astonishing amount of sediment as can be seen here:
The impression I got was that this bottle was quite a bit more mature than what others have reported on. The colour was already turning a bit pink and wasn't very deep (though my camera seems to make it seem a bit darker than it was in reality):
Immediately upon opening, the nose was surprisingly un-alcoholic. It showed a typical Grahamsian profile of very sweet and red toned fruit, but it also had lovely savoury nuances of cedar and spice. The palate at this stage was a bit spiky and angular, but not as alcoholic as I expected.
Forward two hours when I take another sniff: the nose has become aromatically less open and the alcohol shows through more than upon opening.
Forward four hours: Once again the aromatics are full on as the fruit has re-emerged and are typically Grahamsian, just like in the beginning. Considering what I have read, I was a little bit surprised to see this fully integrated with only four hour's decanting. I couldn't resist taking a sip: fully integrated alcohol, not spiky at all, but showing a rather mature profile with resolved but still well supporting structure. The aftertaste becomes as spicy as the smell and lasts forever. There comes a very delectable appley taste during the aftertaste. What a lovely port.
After seven hours it was time for dessert but the port hadn't really changed at all since the four hour mark. We had a great deal of fun sharing this bottle and we both loved it.
-Otto-
