Richard Mayson on Graham's The Stone Terraces

[Glenn E.]

A nice article in World of Fine Wine.

https://worldoffinewine.com/tasting-not ... ntage-port

Even after all these years, I get a jolt of excitement whenever my scores match those of a professional. I've had the opportunity to taste with Roy on many occasions, but I'm still happy that I "got it right" when our scores and notes are similar.

Richard has 2015 and 2016 reversed from my ratings, but we're otherwise in sync. I have not yet tasted the 2021 but given Roy's note in the newsletter and this review from Richard, I'm very excited to do so!

[Mike J. W.]

A nice article in World of Fine Wine.

https://worldoffinewine.com/tasting-not ... ntage-port

Even after all these years, I get a jolt of excitement whenever my scores match those of a professional. I've had the opportunity to taste with Roy on many occasions, but I'm still happy that I "got it right" when our scores and notes are similar.

Richard has 2015 and 2016 reversed from my ratings, but we're otherwise in sync. I have not yet tasted the 2021 but given Roy's note in the newsletter and this review from Richard, I'm very excited to do so!

I have the opportunity to pick up two 2015 Stone Terraces for $125 each at a liquor store in Delaware. I might have to pull the trigger on it.

[Glenn E.]

It is a superb VP. I think that I also scored it 96 during the last "vertical" that I held. It's a huge monster of a Port and it's only going to get better over the decades, but it is surprisingly approachable right now. $125 is a great price, and these will easily out-live all of us.

I've consistently felt that 2016 produced 2 Ports that are somewhat atypical for Graham's house style, so for me that ends up hurting their scores. I can completely understand why someone else might like the 2016 GST better than the 2015 GST, though, which is how Richard has ranked them. They're fun to taste side-by-side because they're quite different. The 2015 is perhaps even bluer in flavor than Graham's Ports normally are, while the 2016 is definitely redder and a touch drier. Or possibly more acidic; it's sometimes difficult to tell especially with such young VPs.

It will be interesting to see how my rankings have changed once I put together the now-required vertical again this year. I liked the 2016 better the first time we tasted it when it was still about as fresh as can be. That was true of the 2017 when we first tasted it the next year, and it took top honors while the 2016's score dropped it to the bottom of the GST list. Will the 2017 drop now that it has an additional 4 years of age and is no longer the new kid on the block?

I can't wait to find out.

[Al B.]

Glenn - Richard tasted the 2011 in 2023 when it had had the benefit of 10 years of bottle age. He rated it a perfect wine.

What’s your view? Do you agree?

[Eric Menchen]

Even after all these years, I get a jolt of excitement whenever my scores match those of a professional. I've had the opportunity to taste with Roy on many occasions, but I'm still happy that I "got it right" when our scores and notes are similar.

Beer judging has an official standard and scoring system, BJCP, or Beer Judge Certification Program. The score is a 50 point scale, 12 points for aroma, 3 for appearance, 20 for flavor ... Wine? There are no standards, and not everyone even uses the same scale. Certainly we can agree on some things that make good and bad wine, but what makes a great wine to me may be different than what you think. And personal taste certainly comes into play. I love aroma and probably give it more weight in a wine than many people. I can tolerate and appreciate some brett funk. Then there is TCA. How do you score those wines Glenn?

That said, my scores regularly come pretty close to Roy, and probably even closer to Vic. Jeb Dunnuck? I rarely score as high as he does, and I've tasted with him in person on several occasions, so we're not dealing with bottle variation.

[Glenn E.]

Glenn - Richard tasted the 2011 in 2023 when it had had the benefit of 10 years of bottle age. He rated it a perfect wine.

What’s your view? Do you agree?

I don't believe that I have ever given a Ruby Port a score of 100. I can think of 6 Tawny Ports off the top of my head, so it might be 7 or 8 in total.

I do think that the 2011 is the best GST. There is still an element of "old school" to it that the later vintages seem to lack. I find it to be a bigger, brawnier Port, but still remarkably approachable. In some ways it almost feels like a throwback or an homage to an earlier style, but with all of the improvements that have come to the trade over the last 30-40 years.

I gave it 98+ during my first (blind) vertical of GST in the spring of 2019, and 97 during my second in the spring of 2020. (I try to hold them in May so that I'm getting a consistent amount of time in bottle for the newest releases.) I'm very curious to see where it will rank this time around, though I do suspect that it will have retreated into the modern equivalent of the terrible teens by now. It doesn't seem to me that Port closes down quite as hard as it used to, but there is definitely still a phase there and at 13 years old the 2011 GST has to at least be starting into it.

The highest score that I can recall giving to any GST was 99 points for the 2016 at Quinta dos Malvedos in 2018. That was just 6 months after bottling, though, and it was getting both the "at the Quinta" and "label bias" bonus points so I'm not sure I can really count that as accurate. In the verticals I've usually ranked it near the bottom because it seems somewhat atypical (for Graham's Ports) to me. It's brighter (more acidic) and has more red fruit flavors than the others. To the point that I might not identify it as Graham's style in a larger blind lineup. It's an amazing Port... just not one that seems like an amazing Graham's Port to me.

[Glenn E.]

Then there is TCA. How do you score those wines Glenn?

Those are all good points. Ones that I recognize from judging barbecue, where we (at least theoretically) have a standard and a process by which to judge what the teams have produced for us.

I'm not a professional wine judge, though. My "standard" by which I rate Port is basically "how much do I like it?" I can sometimes tell that a Port is actually very good even though it isn't my favorite. Or vice-versa - that I really like a Port that on some objective level isn't actually that great. I'll call those out in my notes when it happens. But that means that the little thrill that I get is recognition that I like a Port, and that others who know what they're doing also think it's a good Port. I'm sure that if I liked beer at all, and ever tried to score it, that I would get the same little thrill from liking a beer that you've rated well.

I'll link back to this post from 2022 as it describes my "rating system" pretty well.

[LOUISSS J]

Then there is TCA. How do you score those wines Glenn?

Those are all good points. Ones that I recognize from judging barbecue, where we (at least theoretically) have a standard and a process by which to judge what the teams have produced for us.

I'm not a professional wine judge, though. My "standard" by which I rate Port is basically "how much do I like it?" I can sometimes tell that a Port is actually very good even though it isn't my favorite. Or vice-versa - that I really like a Port that on some objective level isn't actually that great. I'll call those out in my notes when it happens. But that means that the little thrill that I get is recognition that I like a Port, and that others who know what they're doing also think it's a good Port. I'm sure that if I liked beer at all, and ever tried to score it, that I would get the same little thrill from liking a beer that you've rated well.

I'll link back to this post from 2022 as it describes my "rating system" pretty well.

Same for me. I already gave the same rating to a $15 wine (Il Brecciarelo) which was open and very pleasant compared to another wine (Smith Haut-Lafite) for around $200 which was well made but closed and gave less pleasure. My notes go according to my pleasure that the tasting gives me. Despite everything, it is certain that the quality will increase the pleasure.

[Roy Hersh]

Alex B. wrote:

Glenn - Richard tasted the 2011 in 2023 when it had had the benefit of 10 years of bottle age. He rated it a perfect wine.

What’s your view? Do you agree?

I second Glenn's opinion on the 2011 GST. It is in a different league from all the others when doing them side-by-side. Glenn knows this already as we've discussed this in great detail, I think the last time was either 2020/2021 but definitely during Covid as he put together samples of all four vintages at that time (11, 15, 16 and 17) and delivered them to the Sammamish Port Club member's homes. (Thanks again for that Glenn!). But I completely agree with Glenn, that it just had more stuffing, that old school pre-2000 VP style, massively fruited, structured to the hilt and the best mouthfeel and opulence of any other GST, without any doubt. While I am a huge fun of Richard's articles and especially his many incredible books, we do not often agree on Madeira or Port in terms of scores and sometimes his least favorites, are some of my top wines in tastings ... and we have been at Port and Madeira tastings together since 2003, and a LOT of them over the years. Great guy and amazing writer. We just have very different characteristics that we appreciate. Yet, while I am not quite there, with a perfect score on the 2011 GST, I can certainly understand why Richard would see it that way.

The 2011 is worthy of a ridiculously high score and it will be tough to beat that GST in the future. After my recent tasting of the 2021 GST and newsletter was complete, I finally had time to look at other Port journo's evaluations of 2020 and 2021 Vintage Ports. I believe I had one of the lowest scores of anybody for both Noval and Nacional. Then again, I am not a real fan of the vintage overall. It is good but not great. Those who gave the Nacional the huge scores, I wonder if they had been blind tasting? I was scratching my head wondering if somehow I had missed something. Fortunately, I had saved my top 6 bottles and tasted again after a week and then again after two weeks, (the 2nd time was already after the newsletter had gone out)

I would have put Nacional in 6th place and was deciding if I liked the Quevedo more, for 5th place, as it was really very good and shared the same score. Overall 2021 is quite consistent. The GST was one I liked a lot. For my palate, it just didn't show the sheer overall pleasure as the 2015 or 2011, and in fact, for me ... not by a long shot. That said, for 2021 ... a vintage that was all about finesse and freshness, the GST was sweeter than anything else I tasted from the vintage, yet with great harmony and stellar acid.

Nonetheless, for sheer QPR, that Kopke S. Luiz SQVP packs a wallop in every sensorial category. Even if you are 60, I strongly suggest buying 2, one to check out now and one in 15-25 years in one's old age. It is pretty spectacular and just needs time. The other surprise beyond the very beautiful Burmester, which I am going to buy a bottle or two of ... is the Vale Meao. Oddly enough, I was not a fan of it when we had it "sighted" in a vertical, while at VM during the PHT. It was ok, too much tanky notes and obvious spirit was showing, but even just a few extra months; blind in a flight of its peers, it showed I was mistaken ... or that the bottle was not yet ready for prime time, as it had been recently bottled, which could have affected the way it showed that day in September.

[Eric Menchen]

I would have put Nacional in 6th place and was deciding if I liked the Quevedo more, for 5th place, as it was really very good and shared the same score.

Nacional vs. Quevedo ... and just think how many Quevedos you can buy for the price of one Noval Nacional.

[Roy Hersh]

True. Solely based on "QPR" there's no question that the Quevedo is the winner. I thought the Nacional was quite good. I did not like it as much as other recent releases of Nacional. But, few here are in the market for Nacional given the price point. Some of the ratings for the Nacional were shocking to me. But, these youngsters are not always easy to assess and even just two or three extra months in bottle, can present such a big difference in how they "show" at any given tasting. That is why, it is essential to taste over several days, BLIND -- if at all possible. Looking at the label while tasting a Nacional can create some scores that can seem out of control. But big names do tend to get the best ratings often times. When was the last time you saw a score closer to 90, than 100 for any Nacional ... by one of the big name critics of Port?


I am looking forward to the GST vertical in two months. That will be a ton of fun!

[Glenn E.]

I am looking forward to the GST vertical in two months. That will be a ton of fun!

There is a reason that I always hold those tastings in the Spring, and you alluded to it in your post. I have found that the youngest GST tends to score very well every time I hold one of these tastings, but then the next year it drops. I think that is because of how young and boisterous it is at that first tasting, but then at the next tasting it has had time to "settle" into its bottle. The changes over that first year or two in bottle are quite dramatic! So much so that I try to always hold these tastings at the same time after each new release so that the new bottles will have the same number of months of bottle age (post release) every time.

Can't wait to see you again and give these Ports another try!

[Thomas V]

Overall 2021 is quite consistent. The GST was one I liked a lot. For my palate, it just didn't show the sheer overall pleasure as the 2015 or 2011, and in fact, for me ... not by a long shot.

So you prefer the GST 2011 and 2015 over the 2016 and 2017?

I thought the 2021 GST price wise was getting out of hand. Would have liked to buy a case of 3 as it is my daughters birth year. But I have opted to go for a OWC6 from each of Romaneira, Kopke S. Luiz and Q. Bomfim. Might add a case of Quevedo or Vale Meao later on.

[Moses Botbol]

True. Solely based on "QPR" there's no question that the Quevedo is the winner.

Do any US online merchants sell 2011 Quevedo?

[Thomas V]

True. Solely based on "QPR" there's no question that the Quevedo is the winner.

Do any US online merchants sell 2011 Quevedo?

My Wine-Searcher Pro says only 5 merchants have the 2011 Quevedo VP and those er either German, Spanish or Portuguese. No US listings currently. I my my 2 bottles a long time ago and those were the last two bottles that Danish importer had left. A few years later I asked Oscar about the 2011 vintage and he said it was basically sold out world wide in retail. You probably have to look for it in the secondary market Moses.