1983 Graham

[Alex Bridgeman]

Served blind. Deep red, almost opaque centre and with bricking on the rim. A sharp nose dominated by lemon juice, snuff and fresh cut grass. Initially a dry entry, very acidic. Very thick texture. Huge peppery streak in the mid palate with lots of dried cranberries. Mid palate very impressive with lots of layers of flavour and texture coming through. Still tannic despite the colour giving away its age. Vibrant aftertaste, dominated by those cranberries but with depth and richness that lasts a long, long time. Marked down because of the lemony / acidic tones that dominated. 4/5. I guessed this was Fonseca 1980; CG guessed Warre '83.

This was the port that changed most in the glass over the course of the evening, improving all the time. Drunk 10 April 2008 after 5 hours of decanting.