Graham’s Port reveals ‘The Master’ 1961 Single Harvest Tawny

Graham’s Port has announced a new limited edition 1961 Single Harvest Tawny as ‘The Master’ of The Cellarmaster Trilogy collection.

The 1961 Single Harvest Tawny Port completes Graham’s premium The Cellarmaster Trilogy collection, which pays homage to generations of experience and craftsmanship. Selected by Graham’s head winemaker, master blender and fourth-generation Port producer Charles Symington, each rare Port in the series has been carefully monitored over decades and bottled at its peak, showing what the house defines as ‘extraordinary’ character both on the nose and the palate. The Cellar Master’s Trilogy wines ‘encapsulate the lineage of craft’, a constant feature of Graham’s 200-year history.

Named ‘The Master’, the 1961 vintage joins the Trilogy collection’s other releases: ‘The Artisan’ 1974 Single Harvest Tawny Port and ‘The Apprentice’ 1997 Single Harvest Tawny Port. Each wine is said to reflect a different stage of the ageing journey, with The Apprentice celebrating youthfulness and balance, The Artisan reflecting the craft and attention to detail that goes into producing Graham’s wines, and The Master paying tribute to the master blenders who nurture the wines over the decades ageing in the Graham’s Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Despite 1961 being a challenging year in the Douro, Graham’s vineyards at Quinta dos Malvedos yielded high-quality fruit with ‘good colour, vibrant aromas, and wonderful concentration’, hallmarks of great ageing potential. After more than six decades of ageing at the Graham’s 1890 Lodge, the 1961 Single Harvest Tawny Port is said to have developed aromas of marzipan, honey, mint and eucalyptus. The wine is described as ‘sumptuously rich and concentrated’ on the palate, with freshness derived from the wine’s subtle acidity.

Symington commented: “These wines are the gold medal winners. It takes something incredibly special for us to decide to bottle these ports, and each wine has its own unique ageing journey. It has been an honour to have accompanied the 1961 Single Harvest Tawny Port in the latter stage of its own journey, and its phenomenal character is a testament to the master blenders who came before me, including my father, Peter.”

The 1961 Single Harvest Tawny Port will be available exclusively as part of The Cellar Master’s Trilogy Presentation collection until mid-2025.

W & J Graham’s was founded in Porto in 1820 and is celebrated for its wide range of offerings, including vintage, aged tawny, late bottled vintage, reserve, and Quinta dos Malvedos vintage Ports.

As a testament to The Symington Family Estate’s quality wines, whisky producers such as The Dalmore are known to use the estate’s ex-Port casks to mature spirits. Earlier this year, the two producers partnered to release a limited edition trio set of whiskies under Dalmore’s Cask Curation Series, retailing for £35,000.

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