W. & J. Graham's Six Grapes Reserve Port N.V.

W. & J. Graham's Six Grapes Reserve Port N.V is dark red colour, with a seductive rich perfume of ripe plums and cherries. On the palate, complex, with a good structure and a long lingering finish. The Six Grapes symbol originated in the nineteenth century. Following each harvest, Graham’s winemakers would mark each barrel of port using grape symbols to rate the quality of the wine from one to six. The image of six grapes on a barrel meant the wine inside had Vintage Port potential. It indicated complexity, structure, and balance. By the early 1900’s, Graham’s started bottling wine selected from these barrels under the Six Grapes label. Over a century later, Six Grapes continues to be Graham’s signature reserve port. In terms of varietals, Six Grapes is made primarily of the four uncontested ‘stars’ of the Port region, the violety and aromatic Touriga Franca, the rich, tannic and well structured Touriga Nacional, the raspberry tinged Tinta Roriz and the sweet chocolatey Tinta Barroca. In addition there are components of Tinta Amarela, Tinta Cão, Souzão and Tinta Francisca as well as grapes from some older mixed plantings. At all four Graham’s Quintas, each varietal is picked according to its ideal ripeness, and the fermentations of each varietal and vineyard block kept separate, for blending together only much later once the wines have been properly assessed for their individual characteristics. Six Grapes typically sees a rather shorter period in wooden barrels than other Reserve Ruby Ports, with our blending team seeking to preserve its youthful, blackberry fruit character and the fresh aromas of cassis and liquorice. After being loaded out of the Malvedos winery in the Spring following the harvest, the wines travel to Graham’s cask lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia where they will typically spend between one or two years in seasoned wooden barrels or vats before being incorporated into the Six Grapes lot ready for bottling. Our blending team is careful to try to match as closely as possible the new blend to the previous one so that the consumer can be certain that their favourite bottle of Six Grapes always maintains its outstanding level of quality. Once in bottle, the wine is ready to drink and does not require further ageing. Founded in 1820 by William and John Graham in Portugal’s Douro Valley, for two centuries Graham’s has cultivated its reputation as one of the greatest names in Port. The quality of Graham’s Port relies on the finest grapes, primarily sourced from four iconic quintas in the Douro Valley