1977 Port

A real insider’s wine, 1977 Gould Campbell has long been considered one of the finest Ports made in that great vintage. Always a dense, concentrated Port, in the last few years it has begun to blossom, and is at its peak now. With notes of fruit cake and kirsch on the nose, then toffee apple and allspice on the palate, this is complex, rich and warming. A small house, perhaps, but a great wine.

Graham is renowned for producing one of the most dense and sweet styles of vintage port. Richness and sumptuous character are the hallmarks of Graham. 1977 offers an impressive bouquet of fragrances reminiscent of liquorice, plums, dried fig, followed on the palate by spice and mocha chocolate notes underlying the powerful, concentrated fruit cake flavours.

When last tasted in November 2010, the Fonseca impressed with both its charm, about which we knew, but also its structural power, about which we may have been less sure. The 1977s Port wines were much lauded on release, but one or two questions were asked as to whether they would indeed, as expected, last the course in the manner of the greatest vintages. Tasting, inter alia, the Fonseca, was therefore reassuring: the black fruits, cassis and morello, are still evidenced, the spirit has integrated nicely and there is gentle spice on the finish. Fonseca's famous elegance pervades, effortless and evanescent.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)