Winemaker Notes
This wine reveals extraordinary aromatic scope, ranging from exotic açaí berry fruit and typical traces of mint which are very much a Malvedos hallmark. There are also suggestions of fresh pine and orange blossom, delivering a sensation of great freshness. On the palate there are layers of bright, concentrated black fruits (blackcurrant and blackberry) wrapped in a seductive robe of opulence and charm. Quite irresistible.
Blend:
40% Touriga Franca, 25% Touriga Nacional, 22% Sousão, 7% Old Mixed Vines (Field Blend), 6% Alicante Bouschet
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Lush, open and expressive, with captivating violet, boysenberry and mulberry aromas and flavors that stream forth, underscored by a mouthwatering licorice snap note. This has lots of energy in reserve, too. Best from 2038 through 2060.
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James Suckling
A plump and juicy Graham with lots of iodine, plum and sweet-berry character. Some herb and mint, too. Medium-to full-bodied, very sweet and flavorful with lots of length. Fine tannins and refined character. Fresh and delicious. 3,000 bottles. One for earlier drinking. Try after 2028.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Vintage Port is a blend of 25% Touriga Nacional, 40% Touriga Franca, 22% Sousão and various others, including a blend from old vines. It comes in with 118 grams of residual sugar after 18 months in old oak vats. This likely got a little extra incentive in terms of its declaration because of Graham's bicentenary, but it is a pretty good offering. Sweet and easy, this comes into a good place with just a couple of hours of aeration. It opens disjointed and angular, then resolves into a lovely Port with great fruit and good supporting structure. This needs some time. It should develop more and improve. When it gets to where it is going, it is going to be delicious. Let's start here, but plan on cellaring this. There were 3,000 bottles made in this bicentenary limited edition.
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. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
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.