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 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.
- Characteristics
- Producer info
