4 | Wine | Douro, 91 to 95

"Cooked raspberry, with hints of lemon peel and leaf. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with a beautiful density and a sweet fruity and tannic aftertaste. Balanced yet muscular." 92-95 pts.

"Graham's 1991 Vintage Port gets my nod as the port of the vintage. While keeping in mind that Graham's aims for a sweeter-styled port, there is no doubting the opaque purple/black color, or the explosive nose of black fruits, licorice, spring flowers, and tar. Thick and full-bodied, with a satiny texture and a blockbuster, alcoholic finish, this is a top-notch vintage port."

"Violets, roses, spices, and candied dark fruits. ...emanate from the glass of the murky black/purple colored 2003 Graham Vintage Port. After four days of air, this wine’s aromatics sweetened further, displaying jammy blackberry and blueberry scents. Bold, full-bodied, and expansive, the Graham benefited the most from extensive contact with air of all the 2003s tasted for this report. This opulently jammy wine assaults the palate with powerful yet soft layers of oily, candied red fruits as well as notes of tar and hints of mocha. A highly concentrated effort, it is creamy textured, suave, and reveals an admirably long finish filled with additional layers of dark fruits intermingled with spices."

"I love the nose on this, with blackberry, black licorice, and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, medium sweet and very, very dense. What seductive mouthfeel, with polished, round tannins that caress the palate." 95-98 pts.

"The 1983, like most vintage ports, seems more forward than normal but has a great depth of very ripe, viscous, unctuous, plummy, tarry fruit and significant tannin in its long finish."

"Enjoyable ripe fruit and earthy components. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with lovely ripe tannins. Finish goes on and on."

"My favorite of the three tawnys reviewed in this segment is the 20 Year Old Tawny. It offers an amber color, a spicy, tobacco, cedary, smoky, complex nose, dense, rich flavors that belie the color's aged, feeble look, and an expansive personality. It is a classic example of how delicious and complex a 20 year old tawny port can be." Reviewed by Robert Parker.

"Pure and brambly showing fresh, up-front aromas of raspberry and plum, with flavors to match. There's a well-defined minerally essence to this, followed by a long finish of vanilla and cream, with hints of French roast."

"Impressive aromas of crushed blackberry, mineral and dried flowers. Intense and deep. Full-bodied, very sweet and dense on the palate, with big, round tannins and a long finish." 94-97 pts.

"This is another superlative performance by this wine. It is very pointed and focused, complex and ageworthy."