1980 Graham's Vintage Port -- (375) My First VP

[Steve H.]

Hello All,

As I posted elsewhere, I took Spring Break down at an Oregon Beach house. I took a Graham's 1980 in a half bottle. Prior to this I have never had a vintage port. I have had a few NV ports, with Graham's 6 grape being my favorite thus far.

Curiously, under the foil seal there was some white powder-like stuff, and some pinkish stuff at the cork. I assume some leakage as the cork was saturated its whole length. Fill level appeared normal.

I decanted the wine for 8 hours ( I was intending 7, but...) The wine was just poor. There was nothing bad about it, just nothing good. I liked 6 grapes much better. There was no complexity or flavor beyond a generic grapeyness.

So I am concluding that the wine was exposed to excessive heat and this turned it. However, with my obvious limitations vis. experience, I don't know what happens to a port when it is cooked.

Perhaps someone can tell if I am assuming correctly?

Thanks, Steve Harrison

[Frederick Blais]

Hello Steve, I hope this will not stop you from trying other Vintage Port. I have never had the Graham's 1980 before, and apart from this wine being possibly cooked or oxydised, I can tell you that I've never enjoyed 15+ years old VP from half-bottle.

Half bottle do not have the same longevity as full bottle and in my opinion should be drunk in their youth, less then ten years from the Vintage. For myself, I'm buying half bottle from new Vintage to taste them in their youth, if its good I'm buying more 750 ml bottle for the cellar.

[Steve H.]

Fred,

I am sure it won't keep me from other VP's... I have a nice horizontal going of 94 ports (15 or 16) that I am cellaring to celebrate my retirement in 15+ years, and I have a couple of other VPs just waiting for a little more bottle age. So, it won't unless the next 6 I try are as lackluster.

Very interesting about the splits. I have 3 splits in the '94 collection. Should I drink them up?

Steve

[Frederick Blais]

Maybe others have different opinions about this, but I would open them sooner than later. I've opened a Warre's 94 from half 3 years ago and it was very good.

[Roy Hersh]

Steve,

Welcome to the wild world of Vintage Port.

Your Graham's 1980 was not cooked, it was oxidized. Whether their was a break down in the seal or it was a leaker ... the powder you describe is the chemical reaction between the wine and the capsule contact. Usually when the wine then seeps back IN the bottle it brings some of that harmful stuff back into the bottle. That is why I tell people NOT to buy leakers, unless they really want to take a chance on a very good deal but must expect the worst.

Anyway, I am not of the same mind as Frederick when it comes to half bottles. I own VERY FEW, but know of folks who have had 1900 and bottles from the 1960s in half bottles that were great in the past few years. So, although they don't age as well as a full bottle or MAG ... it really boils down to provenance with temperature being the most important factor. I would highly recommend that you do not open your 1994s now unless you are curious to see how they are doing. I think this is the best reason to buy half bottles. You can then check on the progress of the vintage while allowing your 750s to remain in the cellar untouched. I had a Dow '94 375 within the past six months and can tell you that it was superb.

[Steve H.]

Thanks Roy,

I do have a .375 in addition to a full bottle of the '94 Graham's. I've been thinking it is about time to test it and see...

I am quite attracted to 1/2 bottles, just because I don't drink very much, and I don't want a bunch of waste. I usually have one or maybe two glasses in an evening, once or twice a week. I would be interested in hearing from a variety of others about their experiences regarding splits.

On a side note, Roy I took your advice and decanted the 1980 using your method with the cheesecloth. It worked well, but I learned that I need to make the cheesecloth 'bowl' a little deeper than I did, because I couldn't pour a steady stream without it breaching over the top of the cheesecloth. This resulted in drips down the side of the bottle, and a puddle on the counter! Ah, the learning curve...

Thanks for your help.

Steve

[Kurt Wieneke]

I had the 94 Cockburn's from half bottle several weeks ago and it was very good the first night. But is was absolutely superb 2 nights later. I think the 94's are very drinkable now, but at the same time they will have an uncanny ability to age. I mean, there's really no worries with aging port, whether from 375 or 750 ml - it's such a hardy beverage.

[Al B.]

Steve,

I'm a great fan of half bottles for pretty much the same reason that you describe. I will generally drink 1-2 glasses of port a night, on most nights, and a half-bottle is perfect for this and lasts 2-3 evenings. Mind you, I also find that a full bottle works well and generally goes for 4-5 evenings. Roy disapproves and points out that the wine loses too much of its character by the end of that time (he's right, but don't tell him so) but I find that I still enjoy the wine on the fifth evening and find it fascinating to see how the wine changes over that time.

My experience is that wine in half-bottles can last well and develop nicely. In the early '90s I managed to pick up a large-ish quantity of Warre '83 in halves from a wine merchant who was selling them as a distressed parcel from one of his private clients. The guy selling them needed the money fast and I picked these up for close to £2.50 a half bottle. I still have some of these halves and open one from time to time and they are consistently lovely. Since shipping, they have either been in the wine-merchants temperature controlled storage or in my temperature controlled wine cabinet so I can be sure that they have been well looked after.

Recently I also bought a batch of 1983 Dow half-bottles that suddenly appeared on the shelf of my local supermarket. These were a little more inconsistent, but the best were superb.

So, the problem you had was not with the size of bottle but - as Roy says - most likely with its storage. Do you have any other bottles that were bought from the same source at the same time? It is possible that these other bottles will have suffered from the same problems that caused the leakage or oxidation.

On a more positive note, I have had the Grahams 1980 and it is a wonderful wine (there is a tasting note on the forum which backs up Roy's tasting note on the home page). I also own a number of 1994's and recently opened my first one. It was superb and has caused lots of temptation to open another - but mine are all in full bottles and not in halves Luckily I have just bought lots of other wines and will be able to open those instead for a while :)

Alex

[Steve H.]

Alex,

No I do not have any other wines from the same source. This bottle was a bit of an experiment that way. I asked the wine bar owner if he and his supplier store their wines in a temp. controlled environment and he assured me that they did.

Well, I think I am done buying from him. I am seeing that even though I would like to buy locally, I am better off buying over the internet.

Thanks for your perspective and experience,

Steve

[Dave Johnson]

I disagree completely with the opinion that ports in 375ml should be consumed within 10 years. I bought a case of Dow 77 in 375ml on release. I open bottles of this wine regularly and I have never been disappointed. It is a very fine wine indeed
But I do agree that ports with SOS (signs of seepage) are NOT a good risk. I took a flier on a Dow 85 with SOS and it smelled like paint. Caveat Emptor.