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Hi.

I am a port fan and have been reading The Port Forum for a while now. I have learnt so much so thanks.

I try to answer my questions by searching the forum but could not resolve this one so thought I would ask if anyone had any further info.

I recently bought an unlabelled bottle of port in an auction, assuming it to be a 1950s or 1960s vintage port. It was bottled by Hay and Son (Sheffield). When the cork came out, it actually said Grahams Old Crusted but had no bottling date. Reading the forum I can see that there were Graham’s and Malvedos bottlings during the 40s, 50s and 60s. Is there any way to tell from the limited info I have whether it is Graham’s or Malvedos and roughly what decade? I was also not really sure what Old means in this context.

Thanks Michael

Hello and welcome. You have arrived.

Old Grahams are have self-descriptions that are notoriously variable: Crusted, Vintage — meanings and synonymity both variable. And the only bottlings of Hay & Sons (of Sheffield) which I have confident knowledge are Cockburn 1908 and Graham 1920. The latter is reassuring, but doesn’t help your question.

An image search matches my vague memory that there has only been one I had come across in the recent past that was specifically 'Graham's Old Crusted' and that was bottled in 1925... check the bottle shape of yours against those images.

Perhaps one of these:

Fortnum & Mason, catalogue of 1961 1962, item 234: ‟Grahams old crusted, bottled 1951” at 25/- per bottle.

As always with old non-Vintage Ports, I'm intrigued as to what this was and how it compares to modern Ports.

I'm interest that it had "Old Crusted" branded on the cork. Do you think that means it was a blend of older wines than is currently allowed (which I think is 4 years)? Alternatively it might mean it was aged before being sold but you'd might expect that to be printed on the label rather than the cork in case someone wanted to sell it "young".

Thank you for all your replies. I have another bottle of this (in the queue for sometime in 2022) and it does not look like the 1925 bottle. It is green and I can see fairly clearly through it. My instinct is it is a 1950s/1960s bottle although more of a gut feel than anything else.

I have scrolled back through the thread called Crusted Port Database (a very interesting read) and have come to the conclusion it was probably bottled after a few years in cask and this is what old refers to. Could be wrong though. What is clear from the Crusted Port thread is that, in the absence of rules at this time, different companies simply applied their own rules. I guess the reality is that unless there is a bottling date visible on the cork of the other bottle, I will probably never know when it was bottled. I will enjoy it anyway.

Do you still have the empty bottle? If you do, could you post some pictures for us to look at? Particularly of the rim at the top of the bottle, any seams down the sides or where the should meets the cylinder of the bottle and of the punt (the base of the bottle).

If we can see these we can tell you roughly when the Port was bottled.

Alex Bridgeman wrote: ↑09:09 Wed 10 Nov 2021 Do you still have the empty bottle? If you do, could you post some pictures for us to look at? Particularly of the rim at the top of the bottle, any seams down the sides or where the should meets the cylinder of the bottle and of the punt (the base of the bottle).

... and a photo of the top of the capsule, if you still had it (or your other bottle still has one), would be appreciated.

I have had a go at taking a couple of photos. Hope these help. Not as easy as i thought it would be to take good and clear photos.