Review: NV Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Porto Special River Quintas Edition
Review: NV Graham’s Six Grapes Reserve Porto Special River Quintas Edition
Port fanatics may recall that three years ago, Graham’s released a special edition of its Six Grapes flagship bottling, Six Grapes Special Old Vines Edition. Now owner Symington is out with a follow-up, Six Grapes Reserve Porto Special River Quintas Edition, which is sourced from two river estates close to the Douro: Tua and Malvedos. As the company says, “Tradition dictates that the finest properties of the Douro are those that hear the murmur of the river flowing by.”
Only 1000 cases of this release were produced. Let’s see how it stands up to the claim that it is “Vintage Port quality but ready for immediate consumption.”
Unfortunately, I found this expression to be surprisingly, slightly green on the palate, with notes of dark chocolate and prune filtered through vegetal notes of fresh rosemary and sage. The finish lands with a bit of a thud, plenty sweet but gummy around the edges, hinting at orange and grapefruit peel. It’s fair enough for a glass, but it won’t hold a candle to a solid Vintage Port.
Update 2020: I recently tasted a 2020 bottling of this (still nonvintage) expression and again I find it a touch green and — more importantly — rather light in body. The chocolate and prune notes still dominate, with a hint of citrus giving the finish a chocolate-covered orange character, plus a hint of raspberry. I like it better today than I did in 2017, but it still feels a little simplistic. B
B- / $42 / grahams-port.com
NV Graham's Six Grapes Reserve Porto Special River Quintas Edition
$42
