Graham's Single Harvest Tawny 1963
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits
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Winemaker Notes
This exceptional old Tawny Port brings together the finest crafts of Graham’s long winemaking tradition. It was made in one of the most celebrated years of the 20th century for Port – 1963. In this vintage, Graham’s produced both outstanding Vintage Port (aged in bottle) and Tawny Port (aged in oak casks). This 1963 Single Harvest Old Tawny Port has been aged in seasoned oak casks (barrels) for just over half a century and epitomizes Graham’s hallmark complexity, elegance and balance. The wine was made from grapes grown at Graham’s flagship Douro Valley vineyard in northern Portugal: Quinta dos Malvedos.
Intense, deep amber colour. This exquisite multi-layered wine reveals delicate citrus aromas with hints of honeysuckle, black tea and fennel. It is smooth as silk on the palate, showing hints of almonds and walnuts, fruitcake and a soft toffee undertone with a slight minty edge. The finish is unctuous and long with a lingering, exquisite aftertaste.
Graham’s 1963 Single Harvest is a fabulous accompaniment to dark chocolate and can also be enjoyed alone, as a dessert in its
own right. It is recommended that the wine be served lightly chilled to enjoy it at its best. Once open, the wine will keep in good condition for up to a month.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine comes from a legendary year for Vintage Port, so it is fascinating to see how a wine from that year that was only bottled in 2018 has fared. The answer is amazingly. It is luscious and smooth, with fabulous old wood flavors blending with the ripe caramel and acidity. This in itself will be a wine of legend.
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James Suckling
This is glorious. Superb depth and finesse with balance and density that are so fitting for the greatness of the legendary 1963 vintage. Full-bodied, very sweet yet focused and showing just a hint of tannins. Very long and sweet on the finish. Love the complexity and subtlety of caramel, butterscotch and hints of dried fruits. Fantastic.
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Wine Spectator
Stylish, featuring white raisin, white sesame, white ginger and green tea notes leading off, followed by a flash of dried peach. Shows some Sherry aspects, with hazelnut and Brazil nut hints along the edges imparting texture, but this reverts to sweetness soon enough, letting the finish glide through.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 1963 Single Harvest Tawny Port, not yet bottled when seen and set for release in 2019, is a field blend that comes in with 127 grams of residual sugar. A very different wine stylistically than the overachieving 1994, this isn't as rich in a way, but it has a few cards up its sleeve. It adds more of that wonderful complexity that great old Tawnies acquire—molasses, dark chocolate, seared caramel. It's rather fresh for the age too. It has plenty of power and fine acidity supporting the fruit as well. This is pretty beautiful. It will last indefinitely, barring cork failure.
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Wine & Spirits
From a year made famous by the Vintage wines, this Tawny is markedly fresh and lively, delivering a generous creamy richness that melds textures and flavors into luxurious density. Notes of ripe apricot and fresh herbs last in a brisk, peppery finish. A wine to contemplate on its own, long into the night.
Other Vintages
1972-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
Tradition, experience and knowledge spanning two centuries have given Graham’s the values that are at the heart of the company’s philosophy. The Graham family motto Ne Oublie (forget not or never forget) perfectly encapsulates the company’s commitment to the Douro Region, born of a deep respect for the past.
Founded in 1820, Graham’s produced some of the greatest Ports of the 20th century, amongst which the 1927, 1935, 1945, 1970 and 2000 Vintages. In 1970 the company changed ownership from the founding family to the Symingtons, who have themselves been Port producers since 1882, however through their Anglo-Portuguese great-grandmother, they can trace their Port heritage back to 1652. Graham’s owns some of the finest vineyards in the Douro Valley, one of the oldest demarcated wine regions in the world and a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The four properties are: Quinta dos Malvedos, Quinta do Tua, Quinta da Vila Velha and Quinta do Vale de Malhadas. Combined, these four mountain estates total 201 hectares of vineyards, located in different areas of the Upper Douro and the Douro Superior, each making distinctive wines that contribute to Graham’s singular character and style.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.