[Consumed over the past several months, except for the 1955's which were all served at Thanksgiving. I've had the 85 and 83 several times with consistent notes.
TNs were from bottles that had been open or decanted for a few hours, but these wines all showed extremely well from the moment the cork was pulled. VA and alcohol, of course, can show a bit more right when you open the wines, but this doesn't bother me much. If you care, do make a point of decanting and waiting an hour or two before serving. Corks were the original ones and without exception were crumbling, but otherwise healthy.]
1985 Graham’s port. Saturated black/red with no sign of age. Needed some air, then fantastic. Nose of crème-de-cassis, roses, citrus. Extremely young; rich and quite sweet, very long, framboise liqueur or crème de cassis; not at all hot. 96+ with a long positive evolution ahead.
1983 Graham's port. Saturated black/red. That signature nose of creme-de-casis but with a very pronounced sugary tone. Beyond the cassis fruit I get lemon peel, almonds, hints of chocolate. Rich, long, and intensely sweet on the palate. Perhaps not quite as good as the 1985, but I love both of them. 95+ with an infinite future...
1970 Graham’s port. Ruby. A stunning port. Nose of scented geraniums and cassis, bitter orange, chocolate Extremely long and balanced with wave upon wave of rich, ripe, cassis fruit and that same hint of oranges and chocolate. Alcohol and sweetness are well integrated, for Graham’s, and in fact this port is not exceptionally sweet. 97, with a very long life ahead of it.
1966 Graham’s port. Medium ruby with hint of yellow at the edge. Rich nose of crème de cassis, caramel, dusty stone. Quite sweet, with ripe red-current fruit, long in the mouth, very pretty. Slightly hot finish, although not to the point of bothering me, and my wife likes the wine a lot. Still has a very long life ahead of it, although obviously not a baby. 93+.
1963 Graham’s port. Pale garnet with a distinctly yellow hue. High-toned note of spicy red current syrup, raspberries, vanilla, toffee. Rich, sweet attack, very long finish, red-currents and raspberries, crème caramel. Finish has a remarkable tactile quality, like satin. Elegant and balanced. Some heat. Probably reaching its plateau. 95.
1955 Graham’s port. Pale pink-tinted amber. Slightly dusty, subdued nose is dominated by a scents of hard candy and fruit-confit, oranges, bitter chocolate. Long and very sweet in the mouth with a palate-coating richness and a slightly bitter finish. Past its peak but still a pretty wine. 93.
1955 Taylor’s port. Pale ruby with tawny rim. Restrained nose of tangerines, toasted almonds, bitter chocolate. Warm and rich with considerable sweet fruit still evident, a very layered and long finish, extremely balanced. A very enjoyable mature port but needs to be drunk. 94.
1955 Barbietto Velha Madiera Bual 1955 (bottled by Rare Wine Company 2002). Pale burnt-orange with a pale yellow rim. Nose shows high levels of VA, almost vinegary. Faint aromas of grilled nuts, toffee, but fairly inexpressive. Empty glass has a striking nose of shellac, but I don't really get that when there is much wine in the glass... go figure... In the mouth, rich and still somewhat sweet, with coffee and nutty flavors and a long seamless finish. 92.
Multi: Graham's Vintage Port vertical + 1955 Taylor & Barbieto
Moderators: Glenn E., Andy Velebil
Thanks Ken and welcome aboard here. I really enjoyed reading your TNs and not only the fine lineup of Graham's but your mini horizontal of '55s. I hope you will continue to join us here!
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
Great notes - and I'm very close in agreement in your scores too - your experiences seem to match the best bottles I've come across in all but the '66, which for me has bettered the '55 (loosing that Grahams sweetness and glycerol mouthfeel I love), and the '63 also (I'm more bothered by VA than many). But they can all be great ports when they show their best.