2017 Graham's, The Stone Terraces, Port, Portugal

2017 Graham's, The Stone Terraces, Port, Portugal

Product: 20178112143
Prices start from £795.00 per case Buying options
2017 Graham's, The Stone Terraces, Port, Portugal

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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3 x 75cl bottle
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Description

A mere 600 cases were produced of this wine, making it one difficult bottle to get hold of. Well worth the effort, this wine is incredible. Exclusively from the Port Arthur and Cardenhos sections of Quinta dos Malvedos, vines have been grown here since the early 1900s. Only the fourth bottling of this wine, The Stone Terraces is a wine with both opulence, acidity and structure. Predominately Touriga Nacional, with Alicante Bouschet and Sousao, it is multi-layered and intense, with blackberry, raspberry, cinnamon and spice. A wine for the long haul.
Mike Jordan, Private Account Manager Drink 2035-2070.

wine at a glance

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Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous97/100
The 2017 Graham’s The Stone Terraces Vintage Port is certainly a step up from the regular Graham’s. The Stone Terraces takes its name from the terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos where it was picked from August 28 until September 15. This is more complex on the nose with compelling aromas of damson, bilberry, hints of lavender, orange blossom and camphor. The delineation is wonderful. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannin, brilliantly-judged acidity that counterbalances the intense black cherry, boysenberry and blueberry fruit. There is superb grip here and conveys a sense of symmetry that leaves you yearning for the next sip. This is the more erudite sibling of the regular Graham’s that will deserve a decade in the cellar. Total production is 6,360 wax-sealed bottles, 180 magnum and 120 Tappit Hens.

Drink 2030 - 2080

Neal Martin, vinous.com (May 2019) Read more
Jancis Robinson MW19.5/20
Black core with tiny narrow rim. Fragrant with lifted, floral black fruit. Wonderful complexity on the palate: those fresh dark fruits, some smoky earl grey tea leaf, and all that floral intensity even though there's masses of dark fruit. Tannins are incredibly silky, like slub silk, and add another layer of purity to a wonderfully expressive wine. Perfect harmony.

Drink 2030 - 2070

Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com (Mar 2014) Read more
James Suckling100/100
The aromas here are amazing: crushed blueberries and raspberries with wet earth and dried flower. Orange blossom. Tar and stone. Full body, very sweet but the powerful and fine-grained tannins balance the wine out. Tannins and fruit envelop your mouth with each sip. Great potential. Single vineyard port. 600 cases. Try after 2030.

Drink 2030+

James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (Mar 2020) Read more
Decanter99/100
The fourth release of this wine from these east and north-east facing traditional stone terraces at Quinta dos Malvedos. It has magnificent colour and an extraordinary nose, lifted and powerfully ripe with glorious overlying floral aromas. It has succulent berry fruit and massive concentration in the mouth - magnificent, the quintessence of the finest Douro fruit. Powerful, muscular tannins stack up to a broad and ripe finish, leaving a mouthwatering, almost Burgundian, freshness that seems to be one of the hallmarks of the best wines in this vintage. Outstanding. Just 6,360 bottles produced.

Drink 2035 - 2060

Richard Mayson, Decanter.com (June 2019) Read more

About this WINE

Graham

Graham

W & J Graham was originally a Glasgow-based textiles firm, founded by two brothers William and John Graham, which became port shippers in the early 1800s. The family already had extensive business interests in Scotland and India but they decided to channel their considerable resources and energy towards the pursuit of the Port industry.

Later that century, a young Scot called Andrew James Symington emigrated to work for Graham's, but, losing interest in textiles, he became a successful port shipper and his descendants today now own Graham's, which is the jewel in the crown of the Symington Group.

The Symington family’s ancestry in the Port trade spans a period of over 350 years, through 13 generations with 5 members of the family currently actively involved in Graham’s day to day management.

Throughout the 19th century Grahams rapidly grew and went from strength to strength and in 1980 they became one of the first Port companies to invest in Upper Douro vineyards with the acquisition of Quinta dos Malvedos. Since then Quinta dos Malvedos has been recognized as one of the Douro Valleys finest ‘river quintas’.

The Port wines from Quinta dos Malvedos form the backbone of Graham’s renowned Vintage Port in declared years. The vineyard produces Ports with floral characteristics, opulent blackberry fruit aromas backed by well balanced tannins.

Graham's Vintage Ports are the epitome of richness and concentration, and this is reflected right through their range of wines from ruby to vintage classics. They are Port wines with innate quality and potential for long-term ageing.

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Vintage Port

Vintage Port

Vintage Port accounts for only a small percentage of the total Port production - which includes Tawny, Ruby, Late Bottled Vintage, Single Quinta Vintage styles, among others - but is the finest, longest-lived and most expensive style that is produced. The best are as good as any wine in existence.

With the exception of legendary vineyards like Quinta do Noval Nacional and Quinta do Vesuvio, Vintage Port is made from a blend of wines from a producer's finest plots. It is aged for around 18 months in wooden casks before bottling; from then on the watch-word is patience. At least 15 years ageing – and for the top wines it will be significantly longer – is required before the tannins, spirit and fruit are fully integrated. Indeed, the finest examples can last well over 50 years. 

Vintage Port is only made in exceptional years (normally around three times per decade) with considerable stylistic variation between different years and shippers. However, they all share a sweet, warming, spicy richness, power and complexity. In other good but not great vintages, many shippers produce a  Single Quinta Vintage Port from their finest vineyard. These are made in the same way and have the same style as Vintage Port but tend to mature faster and are less profound. All Vintage Port throws a sediment as it matures, and thus requires decanting.

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Port Blend

Port Blend

There are around 40 different grape varieties permitted in the production of Port - however the vast majority of Ports are produced from a blend of 5 grapes - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão.

Touriga Nacional produces small, dark-skinned grapes that produce opaque black wines of great extract and high tannins - it gives grip, body, and structure to the blend.

Touriga Franca has a thinner skin and consequently produces wines lighter in colour and tannins than Touriga Nacional. It contributes fruit, aroma, suppleness and roundness.

Tinta Roriz is the Portuguese name for Tempranillo and its high sugar content and low acidity contribute colour and fruit.

Tinta Barroca which is normally grown at highish altitudes and on north-facing slopes, is prized for producing wines of delicacy, finesse and with smooth, velvety fruit. It brings elegance and sweet, ripe fruit to the final blend.

Finally Tinto Cão produces fine and complex wines, though it is probably the least important of the 5 grapes as its painfully small yields have reduced plantings to almost insignificant levels.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.