The SOMM Journal

October/November 2014

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6 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014 RESERVE WITHOUT RESERVATIONS: Graham's Six Grapes Old Vines Special Edition first press GRAHAM'S SIX GRAPES, ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL reserve ports ever created, has rightfully been referred to as the non-vintage port for vintage port connoisseurs. There is a reason for that comparison, for unlike other port produc- ers, Graham's chooses the wines for its Six Grapes blend from those that were initially selected for their vintage ports. No wonder Six Grapes was served to first-class passengers aboard the Queen Mary during her maiden voyage in 1936. The Six Grapes logo itself dates from the early 1900s, when W & J Graham decided to use a stylized symbol of six three- grape clusters to burn—and later, stamp—onto casks that contained wines with the potential of becoming vintage ports. That distinction continues with Six Grapes today, thanks to its full, deep and almost brash fruitiness. In fact, Rupert Symington, fourth generation and joint CEO of the founding Symington Family Estates, of which Graham's is a part, refers to Six Grapes as "a massive, over-extracted fruit bomb, a ruby Port on steroids." And yet, within all this concentration, there is an even more pronounced—albeit rarer—version of Six Grapes that is now making a limited-edition appearance: Six Grapes Old Vines Special Edition. Created to pay homage to grapes harvested from the oldest vines on the Graham's quintas, the original Graham's Old Vines label from the early 1900s was imprinted with the words "Fine Old Port Matured in Wood," as the "old vines" designation wasn't yet in vogue. It was the vintage character of Six Grapes that set the stage for the current limited release of the Old Vines Special Edition, of which only 6,000 bottles were produced, priced at $42 each (compared with an SRP of $24 for the standard Six Grapes). Just 400 cases have been reserved for the United States. In addition to Graham's stellar 2011 vintage port, their 2012 harvest was spectacular. As a result, this left Graham's winemakers Charles Symington and Henry Shotton with some by Richard Carleton Hacker / photos by Alex Rubin Graham's Six Grapes Old Vines is a special edition made from older parcels of the five quintas that go into Six Grapes.

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