Grahams 1997 Vintage Port

Description

Grahams 1997 Vintage Port 75cl.

W & J Graham’s was founded in Oporto, Portugal’s second city, in 1820 by the two brothers William and John Graham and for nearly two hundred years Grahams Ports have been made by just two families, the Grahams and the Symingtons – in 1970 the Grahams sold the company to the Symington Family (who also own Dow, Warre and Cockburn). The remain one of the most prestigious Port houses. The quality of Graham’s Port relies on the finest grapes, primarily sourced from five iconic quintas in the Douro Valley: Quinta dos Malvedos, Quinta do Tua, Quinta das Lages and two others, Quinta da Vila Velha and Quinta do Vale de Malhadas, which are privately owned by members of the Symington family.

Vintage Ports are only made on very exceptional years (usually three or four times in a decade). The principal determining factor is the weather in the vineyards which must be ideal throughout the viticultural season and subsequently during the harvest. Only a few exceptional vineyards in the Upper Douro region produce wines of sufficient body and style to make a true Vintage Port.

After the harvest, wines of Vintage potential are put into oak barrels called ‘pipes’. Some eighteen months later a careful and painstaking series of tastings is held to judge exactly which wines of different vineyards merit inclusion in the final blend. If the ideal blend is achieved, the wine is then bottled without any filtration whatsoever approximately 24 months after the original harvest.

Vintage Port must then be matured for some ten to twenty years in cool dark cellars as it gradually achieves the outstanding style of a great wine. The bottles should always be stored lying down. Vintage Ports deposit a heavy sediment or ‘crust’ in the bottle while maturing and must be decanted before serving.

Read our guide to decanting Port.