2003 Graham's LBV Port

[Espen S.]

First TN here.. please be gentle.

Tasted 2010/3/12

Ok, I needed a cheap drink, and bought a half bottle of this. Never had it before, didn't know much about it at all, really. Pop' n pour just to try, like I always do with a new wine.. this needed some air, so I left it for a few hours.
Very caramel-like on the nose, with some cherry, and other fruity aromas my unexperienced nose can't identify. Nice and sweet, a little dryness on the end.. still tasting that little caramel or candy-like flavour. I'm missing some complexity, it's a bit one-dimensional, and the finish is short, but I enjoyed this wine. For the price of that half bottle, this was a success for me. I wonder how it is the next day. Have to try a bigger bottle.

Do I have to give points? I've never rated wines..

Edit: Ok, here goes: 88/100

[Roy Hersh]

Espen,


This was an excellent first effort! I think that if you spend time reading TNs here or on our TNDB, you will start to get a feel for the relationship between the content of the note describing the Port and the correlating score. Actually, your note was very descriptive which is far more important than the score.

However, I do encourage people to score their wines, as subjective as that exercise is. It provides a data point and way to compare and contrast a person's view of a wine. It takes a while to hone the skill to score. Some people think I am a stingy scorer and some tell me that my scores are always a point or two high. Who knows? The one thing I can say for sure, is that I am consistent. So whether you agree with me or anybody else here who scores their Ports (wines in general) it is important to know that no two palates are alike. Also, there may be a wide disparity in scores based on stylistic preferences. Some people love powerful, concentrated and tannic Ports and some prefer elegance and seamless symmetry. Neither is right or wrong but having people with scores far apart usually tend to show their preferences when looking at a good number of their reviews.

Thanks for posting on the 2003 Graham's LBV. I will say that the 2003 vintage was not only great for Vintage Port but just about all LBVs from 2003 are really very solid and from what I've had so far, considerably better than 2004 which is now in the marketplace too. The good news? You are going to see that LBVs and Graham's in particular, are almost always better the 2nd or 3rd day, after they have had a chance to oxidize slightly, kind of like "decanting" inside the empty space in the bottle ... that small amount of surface area can do quite a bit, even in a half bottle. I would be very surprised if you did not find the 2003 Graham's LBV better tomorrow. I will be interested in WHAT YOU ACTUALLY NOTICE AS THE DIFFERENCE FROM TONIGHT'S TASTING.

[Espen S.]

Thanks Roy!

I'll update this thread when I have another bottle, and leave some for the next day. A half bottle lasts one night, that's just the way it is. Most of my wine experience is with reds, and with very few exceptions, they all taste a LOT better the day after. They open up and become a totally different wine in some cases.

Anyway, it's a good wine, good enough to buy again. I'll update my post with, say.. 88? I think that's what it feels like to me, based on my experience.

[Roy Hersh]

I'll update this thread when I have another bottle, and leave some for the next day. A half bottle lasts one night, that's just the way it is.

Not only "the way it is" but ... the way it should be!