Graham's The Stone Terraces Vintage Port 2015

På den lille 2.9 hektar store Stone Terrace vinmark ved Grahams Quinta dos Malvedos blev der i 2015 en ekstraordinær vin til. Druerne blev håndplukket d. 12 og 13 september blot få dage før Douro dalen fik et voldsomt regnskyl. Vinen er vinificeret hos Quinta dos Malvedos efter alle kunstens regler og trods den lave høst har årgangen vist sig at være blandt husets største.

W.&J. Graham & Co. siger om årgangen

The Symington family is pleased to announce a limited release of 400 cases of Vintage Port from its Stone Terraces
vineyards, which occupy just 2.9 hectares of its iconic Quinta dos Malvedos, of which the total area under vine is 90
hectares. Acquired in 1890, this property is acknowledged to be in one of the Upper Douro Valley's most favourable
sites. It has been the source of some of the greatest Vintage Ports ever made.
The Stone Terraces vineyard at Malvedos comprises three parcels in a narrow curving valley and all are immediately
adjacent; one faces north and is known as 'Cardenhos', whilst the other two, known as 'Port Arthur', face each other
across the Síbio brook; one facing due east, the other due west. None faces south. This proved to be of great benefit
during the 2015 growing and maturation cycles, the driest and hottest of the last three decades. Whilst most of the
Malvedos vineyards, with a predominantly southerly aspect, were subjected to these challenging conditions, the Stone
Terraces vineyards in their more sheltered positions were shielded from the excesses of the heat.
In most of the Stone Terraces vineyard there is just one row of vines on each terrace, and the impressive supporting dry
stone walls are between 1.6 and 3 metres high. The warm surface stones in the soil and the walls themselves play an
important role in sustaining maturation through the night, while the balance achieved by the varying aspects is key to
this rare wine. This was especially true in 2015 where the vines on the Stone Terraces reached both optimum sugar
readings and ideal phenolic ripeness with good levels of acidity.
The first ever Stone Terraces was the 2011 Vintage Port which received exceptional reviews from the international
press; 97 points Wine Spectator, 18.5/20 Jancis Robinson and was called 'a masterpiece' by leading Portuguese
commentator, Manuel Carvalho.
The Stone Terraces vineyard at Quinta dos Malvedos produced an extraordinary wine in 2015. The grapes were picked
by hand over the weekend of the 12th/13th of September, a couple of days before substantial rain fell across the Douro
Valley, and were subsequently fermented in lagares at the estate's own small winery. Yields were incredibly low at
just 0.82 kg per vine and several hours of treading over the following days delivered a magnificent wine with sublime
floral aromas of violets.
Charles Symington's comments on the 2015 Stone Terraces 2015 Vintage Port: "The combination of the schist
soils and different exposures within this small privileged vineyard allows us to produce structured wines that combine
exuberant aromatics with ripe tannins but balanced by very fine acidity. The fruit was picked at ideal maturity giving
an excellent Baumé of 13.75º. Trodden for four hours in our 'Modern Lagares' at the Malvedos winery, the wine was
then fermented at low temperatures to enhance even further the aromatics".
From Henry Shotton's (Malvedos winemaker) harvest log: Monday, September 14th: "It was a busy weekend at
Malvedos with attention focused on picking the Quinta's prized Stone Terraces vineyards and bringing the grapes into
the winery under ideal conditions. At the end of the first day's harvesting at Malvedos last Thursday, Charles and I,
together with Alexandre Mariz, our viticulturist were undecided as to whether picking of the stone terraces should start
on Friday or Saturday. The weather forecast indicated a sharp drop in temperature and likelihood of some rain over
the weekend and rather than take any chances, picking was brought forward. The roga, worked their way methodically
and swiftly through the vineyard parcels that make up the stone terraces at Malvedos: the 'Port Arthur' and the
'Cardenhos' vineyards, both hugging the steep slopes around the ridge on which the quinta house is built. The seasoned
roga, 24 strong, managed to hand pick the parcels in just over a day. We managed to pick the valuable grapes well
before the rain arrived on Tuesday. We gave the Stone Terraces lagar 'a lot of work' and the colour and aromatics are
amazing, reflecting the extraordinary potential of this wine."
Bottling:
This is a very limited bottling of only 400 cases: 4,800 bottles (75cl) and represents a mere 2% of the Quinta's
production.
Analysis:
• Alcohol by volume v/v (20º C): 20%.
• Total Acidity g/l tartaric acid: 3.9
• Baumé: 3.35
Tasting Notes (from cask samples, Symington tasting room, March 2017):
Sublime floral essence; bouquet of roses and violets – gorgeous. Discreet hint of toffee. Exudes finesse. Superb
opulence on the palate, whilst not overbearing. Reveals a palate of riches with mineral freshness and some peppery
spice. Supremely refined, elegant and balanced. Divine.