1980 Graham's Vintage Port -- (Virgin Experience)

[Mike Kerr]

Up to this point I had never had a vintage port before, just tawnies or LBV's from 1995 and 2000. I picked up this Graham's 1980 a week or two ago and decided to open it on Tuesday while I took the day off for the cable guy. I decanted the bottle into a decanter that remained open all three days and was covered overnight until I returned home from work the following day. Below are my notes from the first glass of the bottle until it was empty on day 3:

Tuesday, December 13, 2005
11:15
Opened bottle, decanted.

11:30
Opaque purple, with a rusty burgundy colour on the edges. Oaky scent, a touch of alcohol, black licorice, sweet dark berries, prunes. Sweet taste, coating, slightly viscous mouthfeel. Taste is as it smells, though less prominent are the licorice taste I was expecting. Add a touch of pear. maybe black cherry. A little hot, with a wonderfully long, spicy finish.

14:30 - (3 hrs decanted)
More of a ruby colour this time around, with red clay toward the edges. Brighter nose, strawberries and raspberries coming out amongst pears, prunes and figs. Still a mild alcohol scent, oak isn't as pronounced. Mellow. Earthier flavour, vague hints of gorgonzola. Berries jump out a little more. Prune taste has changed into a dried prune or fig, licorice still hanging on. Mouthfeel is a little more coating, almost thicker. Spicy notes are still there, perhaps a little stronger, and the finish is still long, but not quite as long. This taste was a little more rounded than the first one, which I expect will continue to develop.

16:00 - (4.5 hrs decanted)
Black cherry colour, the rusty clay is pretty much gone. Fruity, caramel nose, prunes are brighter, maybe a very small hint of citrus. Berries are in your face, cherry and raspberry more prominent. Alcohol still present, as is the oak. Juicy and yet a velvetty mouthfeel (lighter than the previous glass). Ripe berry taste with ripe prunes and figs and a sour raspberry or blackberry chaser. Finish seems longer and spicier, which I like.

17:30 - (6 hrs decanted)
Dark red, black cherry. Bright berry nose, fruity and oaky. Fruit has stepped forward a bit, mouthfeel is more juicy and less velvety. Ripe and delicious with a nice warm, long finish.

19:30 - (8 hrs decanted)
Rusty colour is gone, a deep red now. Caramel nose with a blast of berries with some oak, pear, apple mixed in. Taste is a little harsher (almost acidic), leaning towards earthy again, gorgonzola returning. Still very fruity and sweet. Mouthfeel has thickened up a bit to something velvety. Finish is long, spicy, and perhaps a little pruny.

22:30 - (11 hrs decanted)
Colour is that of cherry cola. Vibrant fruity nose, with a touch of caramel. Interesting flavour melange, nice balance of earthy berries, lighter berries and fruits, with a more present gorgonzola. Juicy, less velvetty mouthfeel, with a longer spicy finish. Brighter and yet brooding all at the same time. A lot going on here.

DAY 2 - 11:30 - (24 hrs decanted)
Darker, losing the browny cola and moving towards a dark ruby. Fruity nose, ever-present caramel, and hint of chocolate. Berry flavours, more prunes, gorgonzola has changed to something else, but still that earthy, musty cheese taste. A little more velvet on the mouthfeel, and yet still quenching. Long finish with spice, and I thought I detected some necarine there. Interesting with the chocolate scent.

18:00 - (32.5 hours decanted)
Colour is darker, more opaque, leaning to a burgundy on the edges. Caramel on the nose, with some chocolate asserting itself and hint of vegetable produce. Still earthy fruits in the forefront with persistent berries. Not as bright a nose as yesterday. Oak berries on the palate with a definite chocolate flavour on aftertaste with ripe prunes. Bright and yet not, very balanced I think. Velvetty mouthfeel, but still juicy. Wonderful array of flavours. Finish is long and not as spicy, but the chocolate lingering around is a nice surprise.

21:00 - (35.5 hrs decanted)
Colour is inky, otherwise no change. Caramel, earthy fruits, berries and chocolate nose. Brooding, earthy flavour, with dark berries, chocolate, oak, a hint of gorgonzola. The sweet playing off the bitterness of the chocolate and gorgonzola is interesting. Continuing to be juicy, but the velvetty mouthfeel has progressed some. Still very nice, but my guess is it will get softer and more earthy the longer it remains in the decanter. Finish remains long and spicy, though there is the beginnings of the metallic aftertaste of green leafy veggies.

23:00 - (37.5 hrs decanted)
No change in colour. Similar nose, though more berry, less chocolate; still earthy. Lost some complexity in the taste, sweet earthy berries, vague hint of chocolate, and small actual grape flavour. Finish a smidge shorter. Mouthfeel more coating, but not syrupy; velvet and mellow.

DAY 3 - 23:00 - (61.5 hrs decanted)
No change in colour, though perhaps a little washed out toward the edges. Hard to tell. Chocolate berry nose, almost like a Turkish Delight. Earthy, figgy, maybe some apple still lingering around. Gorgonzola is gone. Packs a bit of a bite, but that may have been the beers from an hour ago. Grapey with berries. Undertones of earthy fruits, but tastes flat. Flavours are just *there*. Medium finish, still spicy. This was the last glass and had acquired an edge that I can't say was terribly enjoyable. Finish was almost acidic and overall had lost the balance it once had.


Overall, this was an awesome experience. Who would have thought a wine could change its taste so often and with such swings over a couple of days? I think I liked it at 12 hours and I liked it at the 32 hour taste, though I probably would have liked it just as much at 24 hours. I think decanting for 12 hours for guests and finishing the leftovers the following day would rate quite highly for me.

Mike.

[Frederick Blais]

Wow! this is detailed tasting notes. Thanks for thaking the time to write it and sharing it with us!

[Al B.]

Mike,

Thanks for the notes. They made a very interesting read. Great to see how the wine changed over the time you drank it.

So welcome to the VP club - what are you going to open now for Christmas?

Alex

[Mike Kerr]

Since I'll me spending Christmas mostly alone this year, I may open up my Smith Woodhouse '83 (my first VP purchase) or the Osborne '85 I picked up recently.

Undecided as yet!

Mike.

[Kurt Wieneke]

Now that is blow-by-blow description! Sounds as though it was drinking great within the first 6 hrs, then began to tail off.

Kurt