I was very grateful to be invited to an improptu meeting of the Port Forum held near my home in North Derbyshire. Everyone brought two wines and presented them blind with cryptic clues.

The first pai of wines were served blind in black glasses so as not to reveal the colour of the wine - a fascinating experiment:

Ferreira 1963 ***

Perfumed but rather confected aromas, touch of barley sugar; very sweet retaining some structure and length, has some backbone but the finish is sweet, confected and slightly hollow.  (The wine revealed itself as pale pink in colour). 15

Ferreira 1863 ****

Liquorice on the nose, quite spirity with a touch of rancio emerging from the glass; tastes very sweet, herbal, anis, mint and a touch of liquorice, not much tannin evident (is this an old white lagrima Port I asked myself), soft, sweet and very long. (The wine revealed itself as pale amber - orange in colour, as if it could have been a White Port)  A fascinating wine, very difficult to give a mark.  17 

Quinta de Vargellas 1996 ***

Deep, youthful colour; ripe but baked on the nose, a touch of marmite, reeks of a hot vintage (even though 1996 was not a hot year); rich strapping wine, lovely bright berry fruit with big gripping tannins, tastes fresher than it smells, quite plump on the finish. I guessed it as a 1995 single quinta and I was very surprised to find I was one year out!  15.5 

Graham 1963 (bottled by Grants of St James) No Stars

Very pale tawny colour; dried out on the nose, gentle, high-toned and fruitless; very dry on the palate, faded, quite ghostly, dried out, a vestige of gentle, milk-chocolate sweetness on the finish. Sad! This is either a bad bottling or the wine has been badly stored.  No mark

Martinez 1985 ***

Good, mid-deep youthful colour, pink rim; not much on the nose initially, a slight smell of cheese, camenbert but opening up to reveal blackcurrent fruit; lovely, gentle, elegant, firm with good balance, firm, tight sinewy tannins, this wine still has a core, with a gentle, dry finish. Drinking well now and with another ten or fifteen years to go.  A very good wine in the context of the oh so variable 1985 vintage. 16

Taylor 1955 (UK bottling) ****

Mid-deep garnet-pink colour, browning rim; very perfumed, floral, rose petals and violets, orange peel too; quite overt, open refined and rarefied on the palate, dry and spicy, not much fruit remaining, candied peel, delicate and still quite fresh, not nearly as powerful as I would have expected from a 1955 of this ilk but a very enjoyable wine nonetheless. Drink soon. 17  

Fonseca Guimareans 1976 ****/ *****

Very deep and still 'black' in colour; first bottle sadly corked, second bottle stupendously powerful, evocative minty aromas, eucalyptus and esteva (gum cistus), it still brings back my tasting note from Wine magazine fifteen or so years ago 'no need to fake your orgasm this Christmas'; very rich, firm, powerful bold fruit, cast-iron tannins, big and bold, bitter-sweet, dark chocolate concentration. Makes up in power for what it lacks in elegance but still an extraordinary wine. Top notch. A Vintage Port that will go on and on and on.  This wine would get five stars for its chutzpah alone!   18.5

Fonseca 1977 ****

Mid-deep in colour with a pink rim; quite dense on the nose, elegant, a touch floral with milk chocolate depth; soft, rich yet  firm and tight-knit round the core, lovely sweet berry fruit, succulent, elegant, absolutely ready now but with plenty of life left. A lovely wine but not as impressive as the 1976 Fonseca-Guimareans with which it was paired. Drink now and over the next 15 - 20 years. 17.5  

 

Location: Rowley's, Baslow, Derbyshire
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I tasted these in the order they are listed at the London International Wine Trade Fair. The conditions for tasting are far from ideal at this event so my notes are scribbled first impressions.  

Croft Quinta da Roeda 2008 **

 Mid-deep in colour; closed or perhaps rather hollow on the nose; quite light on the palate, simple, soft, sweet and early maturing. Not really a very impressive debut for 2008.  13.5   

 Fonseca Quinta do Panascal 2008 16.5 *** / ****

 Deep in colour; fragrant, floral, still open with lovely, vibrant spicy fruit on the palate and good ripe tannic grip, not a big wine but very charming, for drinking in 8-10 years.  4,000 cases made. 16.5

 Fonseca Guimaraens 2008 ****

 Deep in colour, closed, refined, lovely dense, fine grained tannins rising in the mouth, some power and concentration here, quite rich with good, solid tannic length. A keeper: drink in 15 – 20 years. 2,000 cases. 17.

 Taylor Quinta de Vargellas 2008 ***

 Quite deep in colour; rich, plumy aromas, suave and quite opulent in style (lighter than the Fonseca – Guimareans), soft, plumy and sweet mid-palate with firm tannic length. A wine for the medium-term: 10 years plus. 4,000 cases (there was no Vinha Velha declared in 2008).  15.5

 Taylor Quinta da Terra Feita 2008 ****

 Very deep in colour; dense but overt and plummy, good definition, quite rich, sweet and plump initially with ripe, firm tannins rising in the mouth and long, firm sinewy tannic length with lovely plump fruit remaining on the finish. Impressive and a good all-rounder. 17.5     

 Dow, Quinta Senhora da Ribeira 2008 *** / ****  

 Very deep in colour; still raw on the nose, marked by spirit and needing time to come together yet floral and pure; firm, linear tannins, spicy, berry fruit, still raw and disjointed but should come together well.  16.5 + ?

 Quinta do Vesúvio 2008 ****

 Another very deep coloured wine; again quite raw and spirity, needing tine to come together on the nose; sweet and fleshy in style, quite opulent, succulent fruit with smooth, broad ripe tannins mid-palate and onto the finish. Will be impressive over the medium to long term. 17

 

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I am very grateful to the Port Forum (www.theportforum.com) for laying on this, possibly the most comprehensive tasting ever to have taken place of Graham’s Malvedos from 1957 to the present day. The tasting was held at The Royal Airforce Club in London where members of the Port Forum were joined by Paul Symington, joint Managing Director of Symington family estates who bought Graham in 1970 and Quinta dos Malvedos in 1982. Graham’s Malvedos was first released as a brand in 1950, named after the quinta of the same name. Declared in good years - in-between classic vintages - the wine came from a number of properties around the Malvedos estate at Tua. It only became a single quinta wine in 1998 following extensive replanting of Quinta dos Malvedos between 1982 and 1984. The tasting was punctuated with fully fledged vintage declarations of Grahams and is presented in the order the wines were tasted.

[The last similar tasting of Graham's Malvedos took place in 1991 at the Naval and Military Club (the old 'in and out') in London and included a vertical of Graham's Vintage Port from 1927 - 1985. Where relevant I have posted my abridged tasting notes for the same wine in square brackets.]  

 

Graham 1955 *****

 Good, mid-deed colour, amber rim, wonderful nose, still remarkably fresh and rose scented, classic; very rich opulent style (3.6 baumé), milk chocolate intensity, soft, supple and sweet, seemingly drier on the finish bitter-sweet length. Very good now, this wine will go on and on. 19

[Good colour, wild berry fruit aromas, sweet cherry fruit and a lovely long fresh finish] 

 Graham’s Malvedos 1957 ** / ***

Very good colour, brick red and amber rim, slightly earthy aromas initially, smoky, quite withdrawn; bitter-sweet fruit and touch of dark chocolate concentration, still with plenty of life but skinny and one dimensional after the 1955 14.5

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1958 *** / ****

 Quite pale and pinkish in colour; still with a bloom of youth on the nose, very pretty, gentle, fragrant and floral but without much richness or intensity; more powerful on the palate, lovely full, gentle richness and still quite fresh on the finish. 16.5

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1962 ***

 Mid deep colour, browning rim; soft, creamy aromas, still alive if a bit simple, a touch of cigar box emerging; soft, sweet, supple strawberry fruit, backed lovely peppery, dry tannins and a dry finish. 16

 [Turning tawny, drying out but firm. spicy characater lingering on finish] 

Graham’s Malvedos 1964 ***

 Mid-deep youthful centre, thin brown rim; attractive roasted aromas characteristic of a hot vintage, toasted, dusty, opening up to reveal some floral scent; soft, fleshy, some dark chocolate intensity, lovely grip, leading to a bitter-sweet finish, rather short but still very much alive. 16

 [Minty fruit remaining on the nose, soft minty flavours and a touch of liquorice on the finish] 

Graham’s Malvedos 1965 ****

 Good mid-deep colour, thin brown rim; quite dense, opulent with scent emerging, suggests this wine may have more to give; rich, opulent and mouthfilling, lovely sweet, spicy fruit with good tannic grip, figs and prunes on the finish. 17

 [Pale colour, a rather casky smell, dry intially with a delicate mint and cherry-fruit finish]

Graham 1966 *****

 Very good youthful colour, still dark garnet and only just beginning to brown on the rim; dense, solid, foursquare aromas, fine, rich and scented with lots more to give; similarly dense and rich on the palate, remarkably youthful, wonderful multi-dimensional bitter chocolate fruit, solid backbone, lovely structure and ripe tannins. Goes on and on in the mouth. UK bottled. 19.5

 [Dark, black centre, closed, tight-knit on the nose, solid berry and dark chocolate flavours, very fine]

Graham’s Malvedos 1968

 Good mid-deep, youthful hue, thin brown rim; smell of brown sugar, medicinal but not especially scented or aromatic; moderately sweet and rich but quite hard by comparison with most wines so far. Stops short. From a wet vintage. The last Malvedos until 1976. 

[Turning pale tawny in colour, drying up on the nose and palate, delicate finish] 

Graham 1970 *****

 Mid-deep centre, thin browning rim; rich, dense, elegant, scented, lovely opulence with more to give; rich, sweet, gripping dark chocolate and medicinal cherry fruit, wonderful length with flesh and breadth. Tight knit and very harmonious 19

 [Dark, youthful colour, closed, touch of coffee bean on the nose, quite sweet, backed up by solid liquorice characater. Very fine.]  

Graham’s Malvedos 1976 

 Mid-deep pinkish brick red colour; musty, possibly corked, tastes musty and slightly corked though underneath is some soft, sweet fruit and good length. No mark

 [Open minty aromas and flavours, good balance and a lovely fresh finish] 

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1978 

 Good mid-deep colour, pinkish rim; sadly another musty, corky wine with firm fruit underlying. No mark

 [Still closed up, tight knit on the nose, firm minty fruit with good grip on the finish] 

Graham’s Malvedos 1979 (half-bottle) **

Mid-deep in colour, showing more maturity than the 1978; warm, ripe raisiny fruit on the nose, pruney flavours, tastes roasted with a coffee bean character and a baked finish. Still alive but stewed and hollow. 13

 [Quite lean in style, lacking fat, high toned]

 Graham’s Malvedos 1982 *** (+?)

 Very deep, dark colour, youthful pink rim; lovely, ripe scented fruit, tea leaf aromas, surprisingly fresh; rich but rather dusty on the palate and not especially fine (doesn’t live up to the expectations on the nose) but this wine still has some way to go, it’s still young and will get better. Solid finish, needing time to open up. 16

 [Rich, minty aromas, quite soft in style, dry finish, rather hollow]

Graham’s Malvedos 1984 *** / ****

 Another good, deep coloured wine, lovely aromas, tea leaf (again), very similar in style to the 1982, ripe, fresh, not quite as hefty, lovely succulent fruit with a very sweet succulent finish, still very fresh and elegant. 16.5

 

Graham 1985 ****  

 Showing a very good youthful colour, still purple on the rim; surprisingly closed on the nose, not giving much away; firm, dry tannins not as succulent a wine as I would expect from this vintage, good grip on the finish, still tight knit. A good wine from a problematic vintage 17.5

 [Dark and unyielding, very rich and winey, minty berry fruit, tight and very intense, round, rich but still green and raw]

Graham’s Malvedos 1986 ****

 Very deep, youthful colour, still black and darker than the 1985; not a great deal coming off the nose but very sweet, opulent and youthful on the palate, still a young strapping wine with good grip and peppery tannic length. 17

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1987 ****

 Another very deep, youthful looking wine with a thin purple rim; closed, dense, still with more to give; rich, opulent offset by solid tannic backbone and grip, broad, ripe tannic finish and good length. Good enough to count as a full declaration? 17.5

 [Closed, tight-kint, good grip and a firm green finish]

Graham’s Malvedos 1988 ***

Deep centre, thin purple rim with a hint of browning; rich and opulent on the nose and in the mouth, a consequence of very low yields, big solid, foursquare tannins, impressive but lacking in elegance. 16

 [Dark chocolate intensity, spicy and spirity, firm and raw, full of puppy fat]

Graham’s Malvedos 1990

 Deep colour; stewed and volatile on the nose, tastes stewed and dusty, oxidised. No mark.

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1992 **

 Mid-deep colour; off-putting hint of Bovril on the nose; hot, rich, quite fleshy initially but dry and dusty in style, may still improve with age but this has a hot, baked character that I do not particularly like. 13

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1995 (half bottle) *

 Deep centre, thin purple rim just starting to brown; rich but somewhat baked and rather soupy on the nose, lacking in definition, a touch of Bovril again on the nose and palate, meaty but rather coarse. 12

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1996 ** / ***

 Very deep in colour, thin purple rim; ripe, minty on the nose but still quite sullen, needing time to come out; quite ripe and opulent but not that sweet in style with a dusty finish. There was a huge crop this year and the wine does seem slightly stretched as a result. 14.5

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1998 ****

 This was the first single quinta Malvedos i.e. all the grapes came from the Malvedos estate: very deep, black colour, thin purple rim; dense, meaty eucalypt and esteva (gum cistus) aromas, needing time to develop; lovely, solid foursquare style, ripe fruit with bitter-sweet dark chocolate concentration reflecting the very low yields this year (0.67grams per vine). 17.5

 

Graham’s Malvedos 1999 ***

 Very deep youthful colour, crimson rim, attractive berry fruit on the nose with more still to give; rich, quite dense, seemingly quite dry in style but with fresh acidity and ripe tannic length. Not that big but well balanced. 16

 

Graham’s Malvedos 2001 ****

 Very deep black colour, thin purple rim, lovely opulent nose, surprisingly open and forward but with underling concentration; lovely opulence on the palate, very pure and well defined fruit, sweet, luscious, dense. Very good indeed, combining balance and succulence. The first Malvedos to be made in robotic lagares. 17

 

Graham 2003 *** +?

 Very deep, opaque; closed but with something rather hot and baked underlying (maybe just a phase in its evolution); rich, round and luscious on the palate, dense, ripe chewy tannins but showing the heat of the vintage, rather hot and dusty towards the finish. 16+?

 

Graham’s Malvedos 2004 *** / ****

 Very deep, opaque, thin crimson rim; vibrant aromas, still open, youthful, amazingly in its first bloom of youth; rich, full of puppy fat, ripe gravelly tannins, rich and opulent, still raw but should re-emerge as a very fine wine in ten years plus. 16.5

 

Graham’s Malvedos 2006  ****

 Another very deep, dark, opaque wine; still open, very opulent with mint and esteva (gum cistus) evident; powerful gripping wine, rich and opulent with broad, chewy tannins. Complete. Showing great promise for the future. 17.5

 

Graham’s Malvedos 2008 (cask sample – trial blend) ****? 

Again black - crimson in colour; very aromatic and floral (violets), reflecting Touriga Nacional which makes up 60% of the blend, a very happy wine; rich, balanced and beautiful, very fine with some dark chocolate depth. Early days: 17+?

 

Location: Royal Airforce Club, London
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Adrian Bridge, the Managing Director of the Fladgate Partnership which includes Taylor, Fonseca and Croft, came to the annual portfolio tasting of their distributors, Mentzendorff to present a selection of Vintage Ports. Taylor’s have always been rather circumspect about the size of their declarations but on this occasion Adrian Bridge was quite open about this and, where relevant, I have noted the quantity of wine declared by the shipper.   

The following wines are presented in the order they were tasted apart from Taylor 1985 which was included in the general portfolio tasting.

 Fonseca 1985 ****

 Very good youthful colour, still deep with a red rim; youthful on the nose too, gently perfumed floral character with the spirit just showing through; sweet, fleshy with gentle, fresh berry fruit backed by peppery tannic grip, dry finish. Drinking well now but with plenty of life left. This is probably the best wine from a very patchy vintage. A huge declaration: 20,000 cases. The only year in history to produce more wine was 1927, a remarkable vintage and a much better year overall than 1985. 17.5

 Taylor 1992 ****

 Still deep and opaque, thin ruby rim; open, ripe, opulent, floral – rose petals and those characteristic violets; rich, quite hefty, full and fleshy with ripe tannic grip, good length, with a touch of dark chocolate concentration on the finish. Ready to drink and will evolve well for another 20 years or more. Just 6,200 cases declared after a long gap between declarations. 1991 / 1992 were what is termed a split vintage i.e. some shippers declared the latter (notably Taylor and Fonseca), others the former. With the benefit of 16 years in bottle, 1992 was undoubtedly the better year. 17

 Taylor 1994 **** +?

 Deep, opaque centre, thin ruby rim; very ripe, still quite hot and jammy but rich, dense and impressive with further to evolve on the nose; similarly dense on the palate, still with characteristic flesh and broad, ripe tannins, dark chocolate concentration but still slightly raw around the edges. Needs another five years to soften. 18.5

 Taylor 1997 *** / ****

 Mid-deep colour with a broad ruby rim, by no means as deep in colour as some of the wines in this tasting; fine, open, floral character but a touch smoky with more to give on the nose; rich, sweet, quite opulent in style, firm, dry tannins, some dark chocolate leading to a foursquare finish. Needs time to round off, approach in another three years. 10,500 cases declared. 16.5

 Croft 2000 ***

 Croft belonged to Diageo in 2000 only came into the Fladgate fold in 2001 (on the day before 9/11). This wine is partly made from the residual wines from the Taylor and Fonseca blend as well as some wine from Croft’s own Quinta da Roeda: Very deep, opaque colour, thin ruby rim; open, fragrant aromas, rich and fruit driven with more to give; intense, dense, quite rich and fruit driven, big, sweet plumy style, backed by firm gripping tannins. Drink fairly early but still needs five years to show at its best. 7,000 cases declared.  16

 Fonseca 2000 *****

 Very deep, youthful crimson colour, closed; dark, dense, underlying richness, very impressive indeed; big, powerful and withdrawn, wonderful depth, multi-layered, massive superstructure. Very powerful with a long way to go. Drink from around 2020, this wine will probably last a lifetime. 19

 Croft 2003 ****

 This is the first Croft vintage to be foot trodden in lagar since 1963 and it shows: deep, opaque colour, thin crimson rim; very rich, fleshy, broad and fruit driven, plum and berry fruit, lovely suave depth and length with firm grip. Very well balanced but needs another ten years before drinking. 17

 Taylor 2003 ****

 Very deep, opaque colour, thin crimson rim; closed, some heat underlying; big, powerful with massive tannins, still somewhat disjointed and needing time to come together, powerful spicy finish with great length and persistence. Needs another 15 years in bottle. 18

Croft 2007 ***

 Deep, youthful crimson colour; still open, fragrant if raw and perhaps slightly green; soft initially, mid-weight, well balanced, firm and rather sinewy but with lovely freshness and vibrancy. 16 

 Taylor 2007 ****

Very deep, opaque; dense, giving very little away on the nose, underlying intensity evident; fine, seemingly quite light at this stage with good definition and purity of fruit, vibrant, still very young and raw but settling down well. 17

 Taylor 1985 ** 

 Quite pale in colour, brick red to pink; hollow and comparatively washed out on the nose with spirit showing through, something slightly musky underlying; fresher on the palate, firm grip though the fruit seems to be fading. Quite lean and skinny on the finish – drink up! Stands in the shadow of Fonseca 1985 (above). 14

 

Location: Somerset House, London
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Smith Woodhouse 1966  ****

I can't recall the last time I tasted this wine. In fact looking through my newly computerised wine tasting data base I cannot find any any reference to Smith Woodhouse 1966 which suggests that I have never tasted the wine before: mid-deep brick red with a tawny rim; fine, focused and perfumed with the spirit showing through but still quite fresh; quite big, spicy yet elegant, milk chocolate (rather than the classic dark chocolate) concentration, still with a firrm core, quite sweet, almost crystalised in style but just starting to dry out on the finish. Another lovely wine from a lovely vintage.  17.5

Addendum: this wine was bottled by the Wine Society at Stevenage following its move from London in 1965. It was customary to roll the pipe up and down the yard immediately before bottling to 'rouse the wine'. According to Mark Buckenham who now looks after the Society's Port purchases and used to manage the Society's bottling, this served to 'spread the lees' so that every bottle received its share for the sediment in the cask. By no means all UK bottlers did this and it would be interesting to know what effect this had on the wine (The Wine Society's bottling of Vintage Port is consistently good, often better than than Oporto bottling).  There would be two pipes of each wine and the sight of Johnny Hider and Fred Wooley rolling the casks up and down the yard in front of the Society's cellars were met with looks of astonishment from passers by on the dual carridgeway of the new industrial estate. The wine would then be bottled by hand, be hand corked and sealed by Fred Wooley who carried a paint can of wax.    

Location: The Wine Society, Stevenage, Herts.
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