1963 Graham's Vintage Port

[Richard Henderson]

Decanted four hours. Beautiful ruby color. Not cloudy at all. Tremendous bouquet of straw berry jam cinnamon. Smooth entry, not hot. coated the palate wonderfully while releasing more of the fruit.Lingering finish. This is a Berry Bros bottling which Roy and I have discussed before. 96 points

[Roy Hersh]

Wow, that sounds like a fabulous bottle. I love the Graham's 1963 and best bottles show exactly as you have described Richard.

Please, consider adding a score to your tasting note. It really does make the TNDB so much more enjoyable and it would be most appreciated. I hope you have saved a sip or two to see how it holds up for a day or so.

[Richard Henderson]

There is a nice sip left in our wedding Gallia crystal ship's decanter . I plan to try it tonight or tomorrow night. I give 96 points and I am not sure why I deduct any but maybe the 100 pointers have just a hint more concentration but it is one of my all time favorites.

[Roy Hersh]

Thanks Richard. I took the liberty of inserting your score in your original post so that the two can show up together as a TN in the database. I appreciate your score and think it certainly is in the appropriate range. I've never thought of the Graham's as a 100 point Port either, to be honest.

Glad you saved a sip. Will look forward to your impression of the balance.

[Richard Henderson]

48 hours later , the ruby color is now that of dried strawberries/cognac. I can smell the brandy more. It must be from the fine brandy used in the blending. There is a hint of pleasant bitters on that part of the taste buds and palate, much like candied bitter orange peel with now a dried strawberry flavor. Some pastry with cinnamon flavors. Still great on the finish. It is a different drink now but it is still so fine. I think if I told someone blind that this is VSOP, they would agree.

I just checked the FTLOP data base and I am surprised to see that this is my third bottle to post notes.

[Roy Hersh]

Welcome to my world, I am constantly surprised at wines that I have had that I did not remember having tasted. That's why I am happy that we keep the DB up to date daily.

So you are -3 bottles now, how many G63 are left in the collection?

[Richard Henderson]

CellarTracker says 7, I hope Eric is right!