98 Points x 3! Dow’s + Graham’s Vintage Ports, 2016 & 2017

WHY BUY: A trio of jaw-droppingly stunning 98-pointers from exceptional back-to-back vintages (including the legendary 2016 vintage, which many port producers compare to the historic 1945). And the fact that you can treat yourself to one of the world’s greatest luxuries for less than $90 a bottle? Simply extraordinary. These aren't just great ports, folks: they're great wines that happen to be fortified. 

THE BOTTLINGS:  What unites these two ports is that the Symington Family owns both houses. But they’re two very different houses. Graham's brings velvety opulence from ungrafted pre-Phylloxera vines that have been producing for over a century; Dow's prides itself on an austere intensity, the result of longer-than-standard fermentation times that yield structure most port houses can't touch. Different approaches, different characteristics … but singular excellence. 

THE VINTAGES: It's rarer than rare for Dow's to declare two vintages in succession: typically,  declarations occur only three times a decade, and consecutive years only in exceptional circumstances. That tells you just how phenomenal these two years are.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:  “A real wow of a wine!” Decanter wrote, in awarding 98 points to the Graham's Vintage Port 2017. They praised its "expressive, super-ripe nose," its "rich, velvety and voluptuous" palate, and its "ripe, broad, mouthwatering finish” and its “wonderful purity and definition." James Suckling gave the Dow's Vintage Port 2017 the same 98 points: "powerful and muscular,” he wrote in admiration, "yet [it] remains agile and beautiful” and “grows on your palate.” The Dow's Vintage Port 2016 earned its 98 points from both Wine Spectator and Decanter, with the latter hailing its "rapier-like tannins,” "opulence and flesh,” and "great purity and expression.”

THE STORY: 

* Graham’s can trace its roots back to 1820, when a couple of savvy Scottish trading families perceived that the Douro Valley's terroir was tailor-made for fortified wine and purchased several plots of land that remain part of Graham's holdings to this day. Over the decades, as the port trade boomed, Graham's deftly cemented its reputation for the most sophisticated, most enduring ports money could buy, thanks in large part to its obsessive, fanatically detailed focus on quality. Not even the devastation of the phylloxera crisis, which saw many other port houses collapse, dimmed its star. Graham's tenaciously replanted and rebounded, determinedly upholding an unbroken 200-year tradition of winemaking mastery. The house's vineyards — many with ungrafted vines dating to the pre-Phylloxera era — remain, as ever, immaculately tended.

* In the annals of vintage port, few names command the kind of reverence that Dow's does. This historic house has flourished for over two centuries, because of its strict insistence upon time-tested methods and a deep and abiding respect for its followers. While many English merchants planted roots in Portugal, it was the intrepid Bruno da Silva who journeyed in the opposite direction, leaving his Portuguese homeland to make his mark in England. A partnership with another businessman, Frederick Cosens, followed eventually by a third partner, the esteemed Dow & Co. in the early 19th century, brought the company to the pinnacle of the port trade. Little has changed since. The house's vineyards are immaculately-tended plots where each vintage is crafted with extraordinary artisanship, from hand-harvested, hand-sorted grapes to the gentle, centuries-old "treading" technique employed to extract every bit of flavor and intensity from the fruit.

OUR TASTING NOTES:

* The Graham's 2017 is all intoxicating richness and velvety opulence, and little wonder: this is simply what Graham’s does. And what’s impressive, and striking (and what compels you to sip after sip) is that that extraordinary depth never, ever tips into excess 

* The Dow's 2017 shows the house's characteristic intensity: the remarkable viscosity that signals huge concentration. But there’s more than just heft. We love the aromatics of dark berries and bergamot that leap from the glass, the layers of dark fruit with bright apricot highlights on the palate, and (not least) an amazingly persistent finish that retains its fruit all the way

* The Dow's 2016 exhibits classic Dow intensity: taut, lean, and brooding. On the nose, the aromas of dark plum and Douro schist are tantalizing. The palate is even better, gorgeously toned, and with wonderful notes of lavender and violet throughout. A profound drinking experience

RECOMMENDED SERVING: You’ll want to decant these wines, ideally for an hour or more before serving. Vintage ports of this caliber benefit from breathing, allowing their complex aromatics and flavors to fully express themselves. 

WHAT TO PAIR THEM WITH: Vintage port calls for something deeply indulgent: artisanal charcuterie and ripe, full-flavored cheeses; pâtés and rillettes; or robust preparations of duck or quail. And of course: exquisitely decadent chocolate desserts. 

FUN FACT: Vintage port — port made only when a vintage proves exceptional — makes up less than two percent of all ports produced.

OUR GUARANTEE: We've secured these bottles directly from the Symington Family cellars to ensure flawless provenance. Given their rarity and their near-perfect scores, they’re certain to go fast, so act now to claim your bottles.