Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/391696
{ SOMMjournal.com } 7 small batches of superb wines—primarily from the 2011 vintage, and barely enough to fill a lagar—from their oldest vines, with many going back 40 years or more. Although yields were small, these gnarly old vines produced very tight clusters, with grapes that were extremely dense in color and flavor. This, in turn, inspired Symington and Shotton to blend these wines into an Old Vines Special Edition. The wines selected came from only five quintas: Quinta do Tua and Quinta do Vila Velha in the Cima Corgo; Quinta do Vale de Malhadas in the Douro Superior; Quinta das Lages in the Rio Torto Valley; and Graham's original Quinta dos Malvedos, which is opposite Tua in the heart of the Douro Valley, and where some of the vines are over 50 years old and date from a time when they grew as bushes, rather than on trellises. As expected, the deep inky color of the Old Vines Special Edition is but a prelude to its ultra-concentrated flavors of black plum, licorice and succulent tannins. It is interesting to note that Peter Scott, President of Premium Port Wines (U.S. importer for Symington Family Estates), along with Rupert and Charles Symington, did a side-by-side tasting of Graham's Six Grapes, Graham's Old Vines Special Edition and Graham's 2011 vintage. "I think it was a very compelling tasting," Scott said, "showing the thread between these three wines." Like Six Grapes, the Old Vines Special Edition spends about two-and-a-half to three years in cask, to keep it fresh and vigorous. Jennifer Gomez, Wine Director for Traci Des Jardins's highly- acclaimed Jardinière restaurant in San Francisco, is an avowed fan of Graham's ports and currently stocks Graham's 2000 Vintage, Graham's 40 Year Old Tawny, Warre's Warrior, Dow's 1985 Vintage and, of course, Graham's Six Grapes. Consequently, she is planning on stocking Graham's Old Vines Special Edition when it becomes available this month. "I find it fascinating that the older parcels of the five quintas that go into the Six Grapes are now vinified separately," she says. "The Old Vines Special Edition is more concentrated and silkier, but it still shows all that lively acidity and freshness that is Six Grapes." In that respect, like Six Grapes itself, Graham's Old Vines Special Edition is ready to be poured upon purchase, and once opened, it will keep for weeks. Nor does it need to be decanted. And with its stoppered cork, presentation is effortless. All of which were attributes no doubt enjoyed by waiters aboard the Queen Mary, and which continue today, but with the added depth of Graham's Old Vines Special Edition. "The Old Vines Special Edition is concentrated and silky, and it still shows all that lively acidity and freshness that is Six Grapes" —Jennifer Gomez, Wine Director for San Francisco's Jardinière restaurant