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Hi,

With an all too rare gathering of some of my closest friends this New Years Eve I've decided to open the first bottle from a case of Grahams 1977 that my Uncle bought for me when I was born.

I've read the very helpful guide here to decanting but wanted to check the optimum timings. The bottle has been upright in my cool cellar for 48 hrs and I've just removed the capsule. I'm aiming to serve after dinner on Year Years Eve. Should I decant more than 24 h ahead or will that be sufficient? Secondly, how long before drinking should I bring the decanter up from the cool cellar? At this point should I be removing the stopper from the decanter to aid breathing?

Thanks on advance of your help.

Welcome to

Others will likely also offer views. In your situation I would decant on the morning of NYE and have the decanter in the room at the start of dinner to give it a bit of time to come close to room temperature. I would take the stopper out at this point.

A couple of other things you might want to do. After you decant the port, pour a small glass and let it sit for five or ten minutes, then give it a sniff and a taste. If something seems badly wrong then it may be a bad bottle - at least you will know well in advance. Which is where my second suggestion comes into play. I would stand another bottle now as a backup. That could be a backup if the first bottle is faulty, or a backup when bottle one gets drunk inside 30 minutes and everyone is thirsty for more!

Enjoy the NYE party!

Thanks for the advice.

Seems like my first mistake may have been only recovering one bottle from my Father's cellar. All or nothing on the one bottle I have with me!

I'm going to provide a different opinion. I'd keep it closed until 4-6 hours before hand, then decant. I don't think a Graham's 77 needs 2 days, or even 12 hrs. It's not the 80 or 85, which were both inky black vintages for a lot of ports (Graham's included). 77's are lighter, and tend to have a lot to offer right up front.

Take a look at some of the Graham 77 tasting notes on this forum and you'll get a few reports from folks with numbers like +0, +4, etc. That's our notation for how many hours since decanting.

I agree with SushiNorth, about four hours should be enough for G77.

Once decanted you should keep it cool (16 to 18 degrees C would be good) but not in your cellar/wine fridge as that would slow down the development in the decanter.

Enjoy!

Hi, further agreement with the above, preferring a shorter decant than 24hr. I'd probably aim for 4-6he decant time as ideal, but don't be afraid of doing an 8-12hr decant if needed depending on your timings on the day. Per Derek's comment, best to keep the decanter at room temp in a cool room if you have one, 16-18 ideal, but at least away from heat and light and not in the fridge, before serving.

Agree, about 4-6 hours.

Thanks all for your advice!

I'm a little late in responding and basically hope that you didn't get too confused with all the advice. With luck your guests will have thoroughly enjoyed the bottle and will now all be converted to the wonders that mature vintage port has to offer.

The only thing I would add for anyone else who has a similar question is that I generally prefer to serve mature vintage port at cellar temperature (12-14C) and allow it to warm in the glass. It's quite fascinating to see how the perception of the port changes as it warms with the optimum spot being about Victorian room temperature of roughly 18-19C.

AHB wrote:I'm a little late in responding and basically hope that you didn't get too confused with all the advice. With luck your guests will have thoroughly enjoyed the bottle and will now all be converted to the wonders that mature vintage port has to offer.

The only thing I would add for anyone else who has a similar question is that I generally prefer to serve mature vintage port at cellar temperature (12-14C) and allow it to warm in the glass. It's quite fascinating to see how the perception of the port changes as it warms with the optimum spot being about Victorian room temperature of roughly 18-19C.

Alex
I read that the first time as "Victorian era room temperature" and thought, 18 Celsius would have been darn right hot back then in the winter and how the heck would they get a big castle room that warm anyways. Then I re-read it...

Though one does have to wonder what room temp was in those huge old castles in the middle of winter back then. I can't imagine it being as warm at 18 or 19 Celsius. Any ideas since we don't exactly have many this side of the pond.

I should like to add my congratulation on the foresight of your uncle and your own good luck of having such a relative. Also search his cellar for any Foseca 77 and claim it for your own. I hope you liked the port.