NV Graham 30 YO Tawny

Nuts, varnish, mahogany, shoe-leather, cocoa, prune – very delicious. There's an almost gamey note in the background. Maintains enough fruit to keep the balance. (RH)

The NV 30 Years Tawny Port was bottled in 2013 with a bar-top cork and 125 grams per liter of residual sugar. This is smoother and more harmonious than the Dow this issue, a contrast in house styles. If the Dow's this issue often seemed stern, tight and brooding, this is sexy, sunny and lively, with a burst of sugar on the finish. It starts a little understated and certainly elegant, but it gathers strength and length on the finish. Supple on the first pour, it then adds a touch of brandy, a hit of sugar and a lot of dark chocolate on the finish—just to remind you that this is indeed an old, complex Tawny. The next day, it is beautiful, focused, well balanced and precise. The lifted fruit seems to last indefinitely on the palate. After a week or so, it was darker and more intense. As always, these hold indefinitely in the bottle, barring cork failures, but they are not really meant to be held.