2017 Cotes du Coeur Catalog with tabs

Featured wineries
Graham’s Six Grapes
Reserve Port
Six grapes is one of the iconic brands of the Port trade.
One of the distinct features of Port production in Portugal is the
geographical separation of the vineyards and wineries from the
ageing cellars, so that wines have to be transported in barrel some
sixty miles downriver to the coast to begin their barrel ageing process
in the cooler climate of the Atlantic seaboard. Originally this journey
was made in heavily loaded flat-bottomed ‘barco rabelo’ boats.
In order to identify the different grades of wine leaving the Douro,
the barrels would typically be marked with coded symbols describing
the type of wine they contained. When the barrels were received in
Porto, the requisite symbol and quantity would be entered into large
ledgers known as ‘lot books’.
Graham’s adopted its own set of codes, with geometric symbols,
letters and other designs describing the style of the maturing wines
and the final blends ready for shipment to overseas customers.
But the very best wines from the very best vineyards, of a quality
that could possibly be considered as candidates for a bottling as
Graham’s Vintage Port, were designated ‘Six Grapes’, being the
highest of six possible classifications depicted by the appropriate
number of grape bunches .
Tasting Notes:
Dark red color, with a seductive rich perfume of ripe plums and
cherries. On the palate, complex, with a good structure and a long
lingering finish. Graham’s “Six Grapes” pairs wonderfully with rich,
dark chocolate desserts, as well as strong cheeses like a creamy blue.
My Tasting Notes:
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