SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 8, 2014 – It has been more than a hundred years since the famous Six Grapes motif was first used on a bottle of fine Port to denominate quality levels, Six Grapes being the highest possible classification, reserved for wines that were deemed to be potential candidates for bottling as Vintage Ports. Now, Winemakers at W. & J. Graham’s, Charles Symington and Henry Shotton, have decided to commemorate this by bottling a small quantity of a special wine made exclusively from the oldest vines on Graham’s five Quintas.
Across the five Graham’s estates, vineyards of old mixed vines have been preserved. The youngest of these were planted in the early 1980s, but many also date from the early 1960s and 1970s, making them frequently more than 40 years old. These beautiful, gnarled old vines produce immensely low yields of fruit, which grow in small, tight bunches with intense concentration and complexity. On average, one old vine produces about a quarter of a pound of grapes and in some years the oldest vines produce even less than this.
Over their long life, Graham’s old vines have developed deep root systems, which reach over 20 feet into the Douro’s schist soils. As a result of the very low fruit yields, the flavors and aromas have extra profundity and concentration and the wines made from these old vines express the character of Douro’s schist soils and hot, dry summers with unique power and complexity. The whole Douro region is recognized as having some of the lowest yields of any wine region in the world and Graham’s old vines produce even less than the average. 2011 and 2012 were both outstanding harvests in the Douro, during which the oldest vineyards made particularly interesting wines. In these two years the old vines across Graham’s five estates produced an average of half a ton of grapes per acre.
The Six Grapes symbol originated in the 19th century as the code that W. & J. Graham used to identify the barrels containing the very best wines made at each harvest. The presentation of this Special Edition Six Grapes Old Vines Port pays homage to the original Six Grapes label that helped make the wine famous so many years ago. This wine will only be available in very limited quantities at fine retailers this Fall with a suggested retail price of $40.
About Symington Family Estates — The Symingtons have been Port producers for five generations since 1882 but their involvement in Port dates back fourteen generations to 1652 through their great-grandmother Beatrice Leitão de Carvalhosa Atkinson. The family company is the leading quality Port producer with brands such as Graham’s, Cockburn’s, Dow’s and Warre’s as well as being the leading vineyard owner in the Douro valley with 966 hectares (2,382 acres) of vines at 26 Quintas. Many of the region’s finest Quintas belong to the family. For more information on Symington Family Estates, visit www.symington.com and discover more on blog.grahams-port.com/ and www.facebook.com/grahams.port.wine.
