Graham's Vintage Port 2017 - 375ml

98pts Decanter

Based on Touriga Franca from south-facing slopes at Quinta dos Malvedos, with Touriga Nacional from quintas Vila Velha and Vale de Mealhadas (both predominantly north-facing), topped out with fruit from old vines at Quinta da Tua and 10% Sousão. It's a very deep blue-black colour with an expressive, super-ripe nose of plum, mint and bergamot which springs from the glass. The palate is rich, velvety and voluptuous in typical Graham’s style. The initial richness makes the tannins, which show up on the ripe, broad, mouthwatering finish. Wonderful purity and definition. A real wow of a wine! 3.9 Baumé.

97pts James Suckling

Wow! Amazing aromas of crushed blackberry and blueberry, stems and rose petal. Entrancing. Full-bodied, very tight and powerful with ultra-fine tannins. Intense richness of crushed berries, chocolate, hazelnut and coffee. Try after 2026

97pts Wine Spectator

Lush and inviting, with waves of cassis, melted red licorice, plum preserves and boysenberry reduction coursing through, carried by a velvety structure that lets this flow wonderfully. Flashes of apple wood and tar score the finish, which ends with authoritative cut. This is serious. Best from 2035 through 2055.

97pts Wine Enthusiast

The wine is packed with glorious black fruits that have immense backing tannins. It has a succulent edge of juicy acidity that sears the tannins and promises a great future. Drink from 2031.

97pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2017 Vintage Port is a blend of 35% Touriga Nacional, 47% Touriga Franca and various others, including a blend from old vines. It comes in with 113 grams of residual sugar. It was bottled about a month before this tasting, but the just-bottled sample was not really ready. This is a pre-bottling sample instead. One of the more aromatic ports here, this is laced with cistus and eucalyptus. Lush in texture and concentrated, it was actually showing well at the time of this tasting—notwithstanding some power and pop. The more it aired out, though, the more power it showed. Even so, this remains a rather refined and suave Graham's. I'd call it subtly sexy. It does put on weight with some aeration, though, and there is that muscle underneath, so don't dive in too soon. There were 5,250 cases produced. Range:95-97

93pts Wine & Spirits

This has the plump sweetness of a Graham’s vintage, teeming with black fruit and saturated with tannins as chewy as the thick black skins of blueberries. Underneath the smoky oak tannins, there’s a gentle rose scent that hints at the wine’s development ahead. Malvedos, the vineyard central to the rich fruit style at Graham’s, benefitted from its north-facing exposition, especially in the sectors of old vines that Charles Symington features in the Stone Terraces bottling (also recommended here).