My eldest son recently turned 31 years of age, so at his birthday celebration dinner I thought it would be fitting to cap off the evening with a bottle of Graham’s 1985 Vintage Port. Would the wine be in better shape than my boy? The 1985 Graham’s was supposed to be the best of the 1985 Vintage Ports, and we were about to find out.
Expecting the wine would have substantial sediment, I poured the open bottle into my trusty decanter and caught my first glimpse of the wine’s colour and texture. Blood red, thick and viscous as it swirled and coated the inside of my decanter, not a lot of sediment either, very clean. Not a lot of fragrance on the nose from the decanter. On pouring the wine into the glass, there was no evidence of any browning in colour around the edges, and the tremendous viscosity of the wine was evident from the long legs dripping down the inside of the glass. Once in the glass the nose was more aromatic than it was in the decanter, but it was still quite subdued. There were floral aromas there, but more subtle than one might expect from a reputed blockbuster port.
On the palate the wine continued to be very soft and delicate, displaying very smooth smoke and dark red fruit, plums, figs, dates. The wine was “hot but not”, meaning that it had that typical port like full bodied robust rush to it that we all love, but there was no longer any bite or kick to it that we normally associate with a less than fully mature port, instead it came across as a soft, warm caress. Definitely a fully mature port, in fact some might observe that the wine was losing its fruit, because you could clearly taste the brandy backbone in this wine. But this was not a bad thing, the overall effect imparted a light but smooth, elegant finish both on the palate and the nose upon exhaling. On further tasting you began to get aromas of lush sweetness and nuts, licorice and prunes all tightly knitted together into one smooth harmonious blend.
The port was very successful on this evening. Even though fully mature, this wine remains in full harmony, well structured, with just enough fruit to dazzle your taste buds with different fruit and nut combinations. Those flavors are very subtle and very entertaining, as your palate searches for and finds more complex aromas with each new taste. One could happily sit alone by a warm fire tasting this port on a cold winter’s night and get pleasantly lost or distracted in the tasting experience.
No kick, no bite, nothing out of place, it is all there, soft, delicate and very sophisticated. I would not rate this port at 100 points, but certainly a solid 92. In terms of evolution, at 31 this port is fully mature and may even be a little past its prime, but having said that this port will probably still be drinking very nicely 10 years from now. If you currently own the 1985 Graham’s, you should be drinking it now, or any time over the next 5 years. This wine will keep longer than 5 years, but I would advise keeping track of how well the fruit holds into the future by tasting it every couple of years if you have more than one bottle left in your cellar.
When I went to research this wine and its rating history on the internet I found quite a few disconnects that consumers will find contradictory. Robert Parker rated this wine at 96 points when he tasted it in 1989, saying it would peak and be fully mature in 1993, and continue to drink well for 20 years until 2013. WineSearcher.com gave the wine a score of only 84 points, based on the average of three scores, being 98 points from Decanter, 93 points from CellarTracker, and only 17.5 points (on 20) from Jancis Robinson. Well I am no mathematician, but I cannot figure out how three scores of 98, 93, and 17.5/20 (or 87.5) average out at 84. By my math, that averages out to 93, which is consistent with what we tasted on this night, and certainly not 84 points.
WineSearcher.com also advises to drink up, the wine according to them being good until 2016 only. Conversely, on the Fortheloveofport.com website Roy Hersh wrote an article covering a vertical tasting of Graham’s Vintage Ports in August 2011 where he described the 1985 Graham’s as “A port for the ages. I look forward to seeing how well this will drink in 25 more years.” That means Roy expects this wine to still be going strong in the year 2036, 20 years from now.
So when you navigate your way through all the conflicting information available on line, here are my conclusions. First, someone needs to send WineSearcher.com a calculator, or they need to hire someone who knows how to use one. Second, Robert Parker was right, the wine did mature early, but it will continue to drink very nicely well past his projection of 2013. Third, Roy Hersh should not wait until 2036 to try this wine again. In fact if Roy were to try the wine today he might be surprised at how much this wine has softened since his tasting in 2011. All this to say open a bottle and drink it now, this wine is at or slightly past its prime and will begin its decline sooner than you might think, but my guess is that it will hold in its current state another 5 years.
So who is aging better, my son or the 1985 Graham’s Vintage Port? Well the good news is that I expect my son will live much longer than the port will, he should be around at least another 50 years plus. The port on the other hand will be lucky to survive another 25 years. However, right now the port is better behaved and is smooth and reliable. To my son’s credit, the port is not that good with chores around the house, car repairs, and solving computer problems. So it was a close call, but I think my son is a keeper, and the port is a drinker. No doubt I will have lots of help from my son consuming the rest of my 1985 ports.
Cheers,
Reg.
