Graham's The Master Single Harvest Tawny 1950 – This Tawny is from a cooler vintage, with the fruit largely sourced from Graham’s legendary Quinta dos Malvedos. What a stunning Tawny this is! The age is immediately apparent in the color, burnt orange with green tinges around the edge. An ancient fortified, not dissimilar to some of the old gems from Rutherglen.
Wonderful elegance, there is a gentle sweetness here. Mocha, coffee bean, cigar box, orange peel, walnuts, fudge, chocolate, spices, and stone fruit. This is concentrated and complex and yet it dances. Incredibly intense, deliriously supple palate, extraordinary length, and it finishes with that amazing peacock’s tail with the explosion of flavors. A great fortified. 98.
”13d 12h ago
Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2016 / This has always been one of my favourite Houses. It was the first producer I visited in the Douro, back in the days when the van Zellers still ruled. Older examples of their VPs (though curiously, not always older examples of their Nacional) have always look good to me, and the legendary 1931 more than lived up to its fame, a few years ago, and remains the greatest port I've seen (110/100?). My ‘research’ leading up to tasting all these 16s suggested that I could expect the Noval to sit with the very best. I never doubted it would be anything other. I had seen one review which was positive but hardly a rave, though it was certainly nothing to set off the alarm bells.
That is why this came as a bit of a surprise. My ultimate score was 95, which by any standards is more than decent, but given its reputation and the vintage, I expected better. No question, very good, but it did not have the excitement level that transcends the very best of the vintage. The colour appeared slightly redder than most of the opaque samples I saw. There were lovely fragrances of florals and red fruits, leather and spices. It was certainly more elegant than many, and nothing wrong with that, and it will surely age well for a long time. It just did not flick the switch in the way others did. All that said, it was still a really good young VP. 95.
Sadly, the Noval people chose not to show their Nacional 2016, but when there are a total of just 170 cases for the entire world, that is understandable.
”4y 8m ago
1961 Chateau Margaux: 100 points / Amazing color. Maturing but youthful for its age. Extremely rich color. Nose: Excellent. Classic. Very perfect condition. Developed very well. Beautiful nose. Like old leather armchairs. Amazing finesse. Palate: Spectacular. Beautiful sweetness. Perfection for age. Three hours later: Evolved into a magnificent barnyardy nose, like old horse stables with strong odors of leather harnesses and slightly horsey straw. With a sweet, incredible finish. My father, Michael Broadbent, had once written of this wine after tasting it in 1970 “1961: I tasted first in 1964 and predicted 20 years of development. In fact, a further 20 years later, at a cellar lunch at the chateau, I noted it’s ‘hallmark’, an exquisite bouquet; on the palate, sweet, brambly, with a sort of a singed fragrance. Last tasted in 1970; hopeless really to describe its unique enchantment. Maturing of course, but if well-cellared, perfection. At least five stars.” In fact, he names it among the Top 10 Bordeaux wines. Today, the provenance of the bottle was one of the greatest wine cellars in the world, perfect conditions since, no doubt, en primeur sale. It was all there and more. My father only marks wines at of 5 stars, less than a half dozen might have been 6 stars, this being one of them.
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