Event: Comparing 1987 Graham LBV vs. 1987 Graham Malvedos Vintage

[Rune EG]

Got this old LBV from a Portuguese friend abt 5 yrs ago, and thought it would be interesting to taste it together with the Malvedos vintage of same year. Although it is not clearly said on the reverse label, I got the impression that the LBV is also from Malvedos.

Evaluated the two bottles immediately after opening, and gave the LBV 87 pts and Malvedos vintage 89 pts. Then they were both decanted for abt 6 hours. The LBV had then fallen to 85 pts, while the Malvedos had improved to 91 pts. Very interesting exercise.

1987 Graham LBV (0.75 l)
Bottled 1993. As much sediments as the vintage of same year. Bottle was unfortunately somewhat oxidized, but not so much that it prevented me from judging the port. Metal capsule and the cork had no signs of leakage. Medium dark red colour. Aroma of old cellar, burnt sugar and something candied. Medium body, balanced, a lot of tannins, not showing much spirit, long finish. After the decanting the tannins were less dominant. 85 pts.

1987 Graham Malvedos Vintage (0.375 l)
Bottled 1989. Dark purple colour. Aroma dominated by wood and spirit (much less spirit after decanting) with fruit less noteable. Medium body, elegant, nice tannins (less than the LBV). Short to medium finish. Quite a nice vintage, confirming that 1987 is a very good “off-year”. 91 pts

[Andy Velebil]

A 1987 Graham's LBV, now that is something you don't see everyday anymore. An interesting comparision between the two bottles that's for sure. Did the LBV bottle state on the label "Traditional" or "Bottle matured"? Just curious if it was unfiltered or not? And if you still have the bottle can you take a pic of the front and back label and post them? It would be cool to see the old labels.

[Rune EG]

Hi Andy!
The label is stating bottled 1993 (six years in cask).

It is also saying "...and does not require decanting", which is not the case now as there were as much sediments as there were in the 1987 Malvedos vntage.

LBV 1987 front.jpg (32.59 KiB) Viewed 614 times

LBV 1987 back.jpg (28.5 KiB) Viewed 614 times

[Michael Hann]

That is very interesting. It says you don't need to decant because they figure the LBV will be consumed maybe within a couple years of the bottling, so maybe between 1993 and 1996 -- which was 14 years ago! It is nice to know that a presumably filtered LBV can hold together and still provide significant pleasure after so many years in bottle.

[Roy Hersh]

Rune,

Could I please urge you to post these photos on PORTraits on the homepage where they will be able to be seen by many people and become a permanent record and searchable for the future.

Thank you kindly, in advance!

[Rune EG]

Hi Roy!

They are now uploaded!

[Roy Hersh]

Very much appreciated Rune. I know it takes a few minutes, but with nearly 95,000 views PORTraits is becoming a very popular area for people to check for Port photos and especially bottles/label shots! I was recently asked about it by a London based newspaper and it may be featured there soon. We'll see.