Graham's 1997 Apprentice

Graham's

Origin

Portugal

Type

Colheita Port

Barrel

Large Vat

Age

Vintage (1997)

Alcohol

20°

Value

100 points

About the product

The Apprentice 1997 Single Harvest Tawny Port is part of a trilogy that celebrates the art and craft of cellar masters in Portuguese wineries. In addition to this Apprentice, there is also the Artisan and the Master. This wine evokes the beginning of the cellar master's journey as a young apprentice aspiring to one day become a legendary name.

When the 1997 harvest came in, the current winemaker, Charles Symington, had himself just started as an apprentice with his father, Peter. That year was ideal and extraordinary wines emerged from it. Some of these were bottled as Vintage porto, but Peter Symington decided to keep some of the very best aside for long ageing. Twenty-five years later, Charles was able to select the remaining casks for a very limited bottling.

The Apprentice 1997 opens with aromas of marmalade with traces of vanilla, soft caramel and hints of honey and sultanas. On the palate, fresh red fruit flavours join the company, beautifully rounded by the time the wine spent in barrels. The wine remains fresh and vital with a slight acidity of citrus that gives it balance and charisma. The finish is beautifully long with walnuts, tea and tobacco as lasting memories.

We recommend serving this wine lightly chilled and, once opened, storing it for no more than eight weeks.

About the brand

Graham's Port is the absolute reference when it comes to quality port. It is a house with a long and fascinating history that has been committed to producing products of absolute top quality, in all price ranges, for more than 200 years.

The story starts in 1820, when brothers William and John Graham founded the house. Soon the Graham's name became synonymous with quality, leading to the construction of the Graham's Lodge in Gaia and the acquisition of the Quinta Dos Malvedos in 1890. That was one of the first times a porto house invested in land in the upper Douro Valley. Eight years earlier, in 1882, one Andrew James Symington had moved from Scotland to Porto to work for the Graham family. There lies the seed of the link between the two families. In 1970, Andrew's grandsons would take over the business from the Grahams and build it into what it has become today.

Graham's wines are still produced and blended using traditional methods. It is master blender Charles Symington himself who tastes all the maturing wines and decides which barrels can be bottled or blended when. There is no scientific analysis involved, it is based entirely on the combined skill and experience of the experienced winemakers in Charles Symington's team.

Graham's has several vineyards, of which Quinta Dos Malvedos is the most important and prestigious - the vines in this Quinta enjoy the best the Douro Valley has to offer: abundant sunshine and reasonable rainfall. Other Graham's vineyards include Quinta do Tua, Quinta da Vila Velha and Quinta do Vale de Malhadas.