The Story
The extraordinary quality of the wines from the Malvedos vineyard is such that in Vintage declarations these wines provide the main structure of Graham’s classic Vintage Ports. In most interim years, the wines from Malvedos merit bottling as a Single Quinta Vintage Port: Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos Vintage Port.
Graham’s Malvedos Vintage Ports have won an astonishing collection of awards at the world’s major international wine competitions over recent years, with 14 Gold medalsover the last two decades, clearly outperforming all other Quinta Vintage Ports.
Like the great wines from the top estates of Bordeaux, Single Quinta Vintage Port is made from the grapes of a single harvest and from an individual estate. Single Quinta Vintage Ports are produced and bottled in the same way as Vintage Ports, but they are made in undeclared years. These wines are very similar, and very good value alternatives, to classic Vintages and express the character of the terroir from which they come.Malvedos Vintage Ports are bottled without filtration and so will continue to age like a classic Vintage Port. They are usually drunk approximately 8-10 years after harvest but will almost always continue to age well for far longer.
Graham’s Malvedos Vintage Port presents the Graham’s style admirably, with its expressive floral characteristics and opulent blackberry fruit flavours. It is usually more approachable at a younger age than classic Vintage Port, therefore providing an excellent alternative while waiting for the latter to fully mature. Quinta dos Malvedos 1988 Vintage Port was the first ever Port (and in fact, the first ever Portuguese wine) to be ranked in the prestigious Wine Spectator’s annual ‘Top 100 Wines of the World'. It also won gold medals in two consecutive years at the London International Wine Challenge.
Vintage 1977
Declared by all the major Port houses, 1977 is a classic vintage. Marked by well structured, balanced wines with strong tannins, the wines from 1977 have great elegance and staying power. The best of them have the tannin and structure to age for decades.