1983 Graham

[Chris Doty]

Impressive.

This has always been my preferred effort from the somewhat awkward and generally forgettable 83 vintage (with Fonseca deserving honorable mention), and this experience only reinforces that view.

Just a wonderfully complex and balanced wine from start to finish. The nose would take me too long to describe (mint/menthol + a dash of brown sugar + a dollop of concentrated black/purple fruit + a tad of fresh pipe tobacco) and the wine only gets better from there.

The bottle was in pristine condition (though the cork was soft and generally seeped through -- a representative example from this vintage, in my limited experience). To me, this is a well-priced Graham's that can be purchased without reservation. Along with the 80 Dow and the 85 Fonseca, it is one of the 'must-have' efforts from the 'lost decade' of vintage port.

92 points.

[RAYC]

very interesting...i think i have only had once and, from the 80s Grahams, always somewhat overlooked this in favour of G80 and G85.

But it is priced keenly and i do have one single bottle that has been sitting on death row for a while...

[Chris Doty]

Yes - I should have added the 80G to my list of 'must haves' -- it is also an astonishing wine, but I find that for current drinking, it is quite hard to match the 83 graham (most of the 'very best' wines from that decade still deserve significantly more bottle age). I am still nursing what is left of the bottle, and though it has changed considerably in the glass over the last 14 hours (more black fruit, more sugar, etc), it is still a triumph, and everything I feel port lovers expect to find in great bottles.

I just bid on a few additional bottles, as I think there are only 1-2 more left in my stocks at the moment, and it is clear from this example that good bottles are not going anywhere but up for at least a decade to come.

As a side note -- it seems you've been drinking awfully well lately, Rob! I so miss that aspect of living in London -- where people seemed so much more appreciative of fine wines than they do in NYC, where the conversation (such that it happens at all) is limited to Sine Qua Non, Harlan, and the occasional Nuits domaine. sigh.

[g-man]

As a side note -- it seems you've been drinking awfully well lately, Rob! I so miss that aspect of living in London -- where people seemed so much more appreciative of fine wines than they do in NYC, where the conversation (such that it happens at all) is limited to Sine Qua Non, Harlan, and the occasional Nuits domaine. sigh.

between you planning for yer wedding, and me handling the new born,

when do we find time to drink well in NYC

[Glenn E.]

Yes - I should have added the 80G to my list of 'must haves' -- it is also an astonishing wine, but I find that for current drinking, it is quite hard to match the 83 graham (most of the 'very best' wines from that decade still deserve significantly more bottle age).

That's one of the reasons that I like the G85 so much - it's drinking superbly right now, but has the structure to last for decades. To me, the G80 just doesn't compare. The G80 is a superb wine in its own right, but needs more time and (at least to me) may never reach the current height of the G85.

I don't recall ever having had the G83. I'll have to pick some up and give it a try!

[griff]

I have a soft spot for this port as it was my first