Graham's Stone Terraces Vintage Port 2015
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James
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Decanter
A site-specific wine from three small plots of northfacing terraced vineyard on the Malvedos estate: wonderfully aromatic (high percentage of Touriga Nacional) with a classic floral character; soft, rich and opulent with broad-structured tannins building and leading to a ripe, complete finish. Tiny yields: 400 cases produced. Drinking Window 2030 - 2050
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Wine Spectator
Flattering, with a gorgeous and seductive, showy display of warm plum sauce, blueberry reduction and chocolate-covered acaí berry flavors rushing forth. Light milk chocolate and black licorice notes check in through the finish, which is juicy and open in feel. Best from 2028 through 2040.
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Wine & Spirits
The arid conditions and early-season heat of 2015 favored north-facing sites, like one of the three parcels at Malvedos that make up the Stone Terraces. The other two parcels face east and west, spared from some of the heat of May and June. The summer was less intense, but no less dry, until substantial rains fell on September 15, resuscitating the vines and allowing for more complete ripeness when harvest resumed several days later. This second release of Stone Terraces combines the energy of its powerful tannins with the voluptuous richness Malvedos can give in the best years. It has the green esteva note of great young Porto—a scent close to Thai basil—and has a purity to the structure that makes it feel grand.
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Wine Enthusiast
An elegant wine with beautifully integrated tannins, this is concentrated as well as fruity. Its structure and blackberry fruits are sweet and ripe. The perfumes of this wine leave a stylish, fragrant aftertaste. Drink from 2027.
Cellar Selection. -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 The Stone Terraces Vintage Port is a field blend, heavy on the Touriga Nacional, although not so listed, from two vineyards with stone terraces at Graham's Quinta dos Malvedos. It comes in with 106 grams per liter of residual sugar. This is gorgeous, with the potential for significant further development. Tight and focused, it is also refined, elegant and very sophisticated. It shows enough backbone to age well, although you might be able to approach this young Porto earlier than indicated. That said, it will certainly need some bottle age to gain complexity. Laced at the moment with primary fruit, raspberries mingling with plums, it is lifted, aromatic and delicious, lingering beautifully on the finish. Its purity of fruit makes it very appealing and sometimes stunning. Its finesse is exceptional, too. It could, perhaps, use a bit more concentration, but it is firing on all burners elsewhere. It is one of the 2015s that, I suspect, people will just love to drink even if it never quite improves to the point of sensational. Here's hoping it fleshes out a bit, comes together and merits an uptick in time. This has been released. There were just 4,800 bottles produced.
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James Suckling
This is a single vineyard port from the farm of Quinta do Malvedos. Smells like ink with a dark and earth aroma. Spicy. Dried flowers. Full and rich with a slightly drier edge to this. Nice finish with dusty tannins. A beauty already. 400 cases made. This really grows on you. Long finish. Drink in 2023.
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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.