{"id":13246,"date":"2014-06-23T17:21:55","date_gmt":"2014-06-23T17:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/?p=13246"},"modified":"2014-06-27T16:21:43","modified_gmt":"2014-06-27T16:21:43","slug":"rare-old-tawny-port-grahams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/06\/rare-old-tawny-port-grahams\/","title":{"rendered":"Ne Oublie \u2013 An unforgettable tasting of this rare old tawny port from Graham\u2019s."},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Wednesday afternoon a couple of weeks ago was cheered up enormously by a flying visit from Paul Symington.\u00a0 A more charming man it is hard to imagine, but not in a laid back, calm sort of way. \u00a0Paul is very vital and engaging character who had come to introduce his family\u2019s latest release – \u2018Ne Oublie\u2019 – a very rare and very old release of a tawny port from barrels at the family\u2019s Lodge in Porto.<\/p>\n

This intro was a few days before the official release and as such we had no real idea what to expect.<\/p>\n

As Paul\u00a0talked us through the \u2018bespoke presentation box\u2019 handcrafted with the finest leathers by Smythson of Bond Street,\u00a0the individually numbered, hand-made crystal decanters – designed by Portugal\u2019s leading glass manufacturer – adorned with sterling silver bands, moulded and engraved by Scottish Silversmiths Hayward & Stott, and carrying the mark of the Edinburgh Assay Office, my heart slightly sank I must say.<\/p>\n

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The stylish Smythson box houses this impressive old port in its fabulous decanter<\/em><\/p>\n

This is going to be expensive we thought and what of the actual wine?\u00a0 Surely great port does not need all of this make-up, this fancy marketing?<\/p>\n

We then looked at the pictures and it is actually \u2013 really rather smart.\u00a0 As tasteful and smart as you would expect from this historic, old school port family.\u00a0 A very pretty decanter and a nice box \u2013 but still we thought \u2013 really?<\/p>\n

The Port itself has a fascinating story.\u00a0 The limited 656 bottles come from one of three surviving barrels dating back to 1882.\u00a0 They were bought by Andrew James Symington, the first member of the family to work in the Port Trade \u2013 and marked the year of his arrival in the Douro from Scotland.\u00a0 So, a charming story with a touching sentimental bent – and with more than 130 years in the barrel I was now excited!<\/p>\n

Paul opened up the small sample of this very limited liquid and almost instantly you could sense it.\u00a0 The nose is hugely impressive \u2013 rich and powerful.\u00a0 Almost all pervading, the whole tasting room in our cellar soon filled up with an enormously complex cloud, with notes of prunes, caramel, wood-spice, treacle and rich brooding dark fruit \u2013 you could go on sniffing this and spot new nuances all afternoon probably \u2013 impressive stuff and a real delight to drink too \u2013 in the mouth the sparks continue to fly; rich dry fruits and an amazing texture \u2013 lots of gloss and some bright acidity \u2013 but all very harmonious, melded together seamlessly over the decades.<\/p>\n

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Beautifully crafted Portuguese glass is adorned with gorgeous Scottish Silver, in the fine English case all bringing together the 3 countries that are so central to the Symington’s family history.<\/em><\/p>\n

So this is certainly not mutton dressed as lamb \u2013 this is fabulous port, really incredible stuff\u00a0\u2013 and it comes in a rather smart pack to boot. It is therefore no surprise that this comes with quite a serious price-tag.\u00a0\u00a0How do you price this sort of slice of history?\u00a0 How expensive is too expensive for an inimitable, very rare and totally\u00a0delicious bottle?\u00a0 Well the port drinkers and fine wine collectors of the world will decide \u2013 this\u00a0slice of history is all yours for \u00a34510.00 per bottle.<\/p>\n

As an exercise in shining a light on Port, Paul hopes this extravagant release will turn heads \u2013 and it certainly should, this is a fabulous, fascinating drink which illustrates brilliantly the remarkable potential and fascinating complexity achievable in this historic wine region.<\/p>\n

To order please get in touch by e-mail david@leaandsandeman.co.uk<\/a> or visit our website – GRAHAM Ne Oublie Very Old Colheita – \u00a34510<\/a>\u00a0per bottle.<\/p>\n

You can learn more about this fascinating release in this video here –
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