1983 Grahams Vintage Port

[Eric Menchen]

Opened for the June 2009 Virtual Tasting

This was a 1/2 bottle, showing signs of seepage with a fill about 3/8" above the neck. The cork, however, was in pretty good shape with just a few fragments falling off into the bottles where the corkscrew came through (D'oh!).

D: Really jammy with currant aroma, then sweet berry. There is just a hint of mustiness. Me likey.

D+2.5 hours: The color is a deep ruby with only the slightest hint of bricking on the rim. There is some VA in the nose, with a cherry Sucrets aroma. I preferred the aroma when I first decanted, and wonder now if I should have taken a sip then. In the mouth, there is even more cherry Sucrets. The first sip was too hot, but the second and subsequent ones were better. There is some dried leaf flavor as well. It seems somewhere in between eucalyptus and bay leaf, and while I recognize the aroma of these, I haven't tasted them, so I can't figure out which it is more like. (Note to self: Suck on some leaves some time.) The body is medium, and sticky sweet. Finish is also medium. There is not much tannin here, but decent acid.

If I were to hazard a guess for a score, I'd say 88 points. I liked this better than the first 1985 Graham's I tasted, but not as much as the second 1985. So for a 1983, I guess that's pretty good.

D+12: Aroma has mellowed and is more pleasant. However, one whiff showed a hint that this wine might not last too long, so I'm pouring it back into the rinsed bottle and putting on the vacu-vin. I'll taste again this evening.

[Eric Menchen]

D+26 hours: I should just not swirl this if I want to enjoy it. I took a whiff, and it was wonderful fruit again, this time more like grape jam. I swirled it around and the alcohol and cherry Sucrets came back. So I quit swirling and just enjoyed my glass. Without swirling, I might give this a 89 or 90 points. There is still a little left for one more night of tasting. We'll see if it has anything left.

[Eric Menchen]

D+2 days: Still some alcohol in the aroma. This was on its way out, but still drinkable and even enjoyable. The most interesting thing was the aromas in the empty glass--figs and cloves. I wish those could have come through while I was drinking it, but they were overwhelmed then.

[Glenn E.]

I love smelling empty glasses that have dried... there are always neat things to find there!