NV Graham's Six Grapes Port -- bottled in 1998

[Andy Velebil]

Bottled in 1998 and recently acquired at auction purely in the name of science. In a green glass bottle with a Crest on the shoulder. The color hasn't changed much from a current bottling of this, still dark purple. For 13 years old the nose is very primary still with lots of dense blackberries and no hint of secondary characteristics. The palate was a little leaner at first but after a couple hours it put on a good amount of body weight with lots of chocolate being the dominate flavor. Tannic with very sharp acidity and with a little more heat than is normal on current bottles. With the exception of the heat, if I had this blind I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between this older bottle and a current one. I was very pleased with how well this has held up over 13 years, but considering this hasn't changed much from a current bottling I see no reason to hold these in the cellar.
88 points