Graham's Port and Blandy's Madeira

On Monday I attended an amazing tasting of 7 Ports and 3 Madeiras tutored by Rupert Symington, the managing director of Graham's and whose family has been involved in production of Port for fourteen generations. I learned so much about the production and politics of both Ports and Madeira and was extremely impressed by the value of the wines, especially of the vintage bottle aged ports and the fact that despite their relatively hefty price tags both of which struck me as absolutely astounding value for money. The following tasting notes are very much my own but are interspersed with information gleaned from Symington.

Fine Tawny
This was a simple (not to mention delicious) wine and the entry into the Graham's portfolio - the wine is a blend of lesser wines and spends three years in old oak which explains its slightly pink hue. It has beautiful balance between natural sweetness and fresh acidity and a delicious grapey vinosity. The grapey fruit was backed up by those traditional tawny notes of caramel, vanilla and a hint of nuttiness. While extremely enjoyable served at room temperature the wine really comes into its own when chilled down. - it becomes the perfect late summer afternoon aperitif. I was surprised to find out that the French are actually the biggest drinkers of port in the world, most of which is of this style - young tawny consumed cold. VG

10 Year Old Tawny
This was a dark, nutty caramel color which perfectly illustrated its flavor - the wine was drying but still sweet, nutty (almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts) with notes of caramel. It finished very clean and had a noticeable oxidative note, more so than any of the other wines. The ten year is a wine I am very familiar with and would have to state that I have had better bottles - my rating is based on these. VG

20 Year Old Tawny
This wine was dryer still and had a luxuriously rich viscose texture and dark golden brown hue with hints of orange. The wine was wonderfully elegant and just makes the mouth water (this is why it makes a perfect aperitif) with its racy acidity, elegance and clean finish. Symington described twenty years as the perfect age for great tawny - it is the perfect combination between the freshness and fruit sweetness of youth and the more developed flavors that come with age. E

Six Grapes
This was the first of the Ruby Ports and unlike the 10 Year Tawny was one of the best bottles I have ever tasted. It is named 'Six Grapes' after the traditional Douro demarcation of the best wines and is one of the original Graham's blends. It is very much a port for lovers of big, punchy new world reds for that is, almost, what it is. Bright young black fruit and just a hint of minty eucalyptus (I only noticed it when Symington pointed it out) that gives the wine freshness form the backbone of Six Grapes and are backed up by a soft giving tannin structure and a finish that seemed more like a red wine than a fortified. I used to think of this wine as commercial and more than a little pedestrain. I was wrong. E

2001 LBV
As we all know, LBV stands for 'late bottled vintage'. This is a special type of port that combines the best of both worlds - vintage character with the forwardness of a wood aged port. Furthermore wines from lesser years are also released as LBV and as these tend to age quicker the result is an even more forward, developed wine. Tas he 2001 spent about 4 -5 years on wood and is less intense and more elegant than the Six Grapes - it has rich grapey fruit and fresh clean acidity. To be honest, at this price point I prefer the punchyness of the Six Grapes and this was my least favorite wine of the tasting. VG

And now comes the 'serious stuff' - bottle aged vintage port. Cigar smoking, six figure salary, 'lock and load' Denny Crane kind of wines. These wines are about manly as you can possibly get - they don't need to say 'get outta my way' because trust me boy, you are already out of their way. That's if you know whats good for you. Unfortunately though they are also one of the least fashionable wines in the world. Actually that is a good thing - they may be pricey but they are still in reach of the average consumer.

These wines are bottled after about twenty months in barrel and are aged like a table wine, both by Graham's and in collectors, restaurant and retail cellars. Unlike the five previous ports they are not racked or filtered and throw a considerable sediment. In short, they are designed to age and are probably the most age worthy wines in the world (Madeira notwithstanding). If you want to buy a bottle of wine that you can share with your child on their 21st Birthday a bottle of vintage port from a declared vintage is it. Symington described 2007 as a fabulous vintage and one that will possibly (depending on how the wines do in cask) be declared. Lets just hope for little Remy's sake that it is.

As for sediment - don't be too worry. Port is relatively easy to decant, all it needs is a steady hand. Symington could not recommend it more - he states that it prolongs the life of the opened bottle significantly if you pour it back into the bottle after rinsing it. He also suggests opening and decanting a bottle of vintage port and pouring half into a clean 375ml bottle, re corking it and storing it in the fridge. That's for those of you who can't drink a whole bottle that is.

1995 Malvedos
This is a Single Quinta Vintage Port - or in layman's terms a single vineyard port which may, as in this case, be produced in a vintage that is not declared as a Graham's Vintage. While probably not the 'best' wine on show (the '03 Vintage is twice the price) it was by far my favorite. On the nose it hinted at grape and raisin fruit with a dusty aged note. At first it was a little bit spirity at first - something the other wines did not share (surprisingly as Port is a fortified wine). It had mouthfilling tannins and the same deep dark blackcurrant fruit and minty eucalyptus that was present in the Six Grapes and hinted at violet florals with notes of cigar ash, chocolate and espresso. It was beautiful. E

2003 Graham's Vintage
This wine was huge - powerful deep dark purple color and a amazing nose of fruit and florals. The wine is one of contrasts - it is giving yet fiercely tannic, hyper-masculine yet amazingly floral. It has layers and layers of flavor and is a one of the few wines I would be happy drinking over and over again for the rest of my life. Darkest blackberry and mint were ever present again but this time supplemented by licorice and the most breathtakingly beautiful violets, one of the components added by the Touriga Franca grape. P (too young)

Next came the three Madeira. I have only tasted Madeira twice before and never side by side with other Madeira. This is truly eye popping stuff. All I can say is - I am a convert. As I am such a Madeira novice I have refrained from rating the wines but I want to state for the record that I loved everyone and will be drinking and tasting as much Madeira as I can. Who would have thought, Michael Broadbent is right.

Rainwater
Rainwater Madeira is a Medium Dry style of Madeira and has a dry nutty, burnt and oxidative nose. It has a wonderfully smoky and nutty palate with searingly high acidity that makes you want to drink more and more. And eat. Oh it makes you want to eat.

Duke of Clarence
This is a 'Full Rich' Madeira with rich caramel notes and acidity that makes your tongue tingle - it was noticeably grapey with hints of salted nuts, very subtle florals and espresso.

10 Year Old Malmsey
Again, another Full Rich, it has a smoky nutty nose and a palate of bunt coffee and amazing tropical fruit. It is one of the few real desert wines - that is wines to go with desert rather than them being desert in their own right. It has the sweetness to contend with even the sweetest of deserts but enough sweetness to cut through the aforementioned sweetness. To quote the last line of my notes: SO AMAZINGLY COOL!!! Enough said.

For more information on Port and Madeira check out the wikipedia entries.