Graham's Ne Oublie, a Port from 1882!

Een heel mooi verslag van Fabian Scheys

Graham's Ne Oublie, a Port from 1882!

Tasted on 4 February 2015 at The Glorious, Antwerp - Belgium

This Graham's 1882 port comes out one of four barrels purchased in the 1920's by AJ Symington, to commemorate his first steps in the port business in 1882. These barrels spent their first forty years up in the Douro valley, before being shipped to the lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia, where they have been for the past nine decades! One barrel was used for blending, must have been an incredible blend, and the remaining two barrels are now "in quarantine" for the Symington generations to come. The next batch will not be released before 2025, plenty of time to save up the small fortune needed to buy one of these magnificent masterpieces. More on this in my conclusion, now it's time to have a look at what's in the decanter.


This is probably the longest tasting note I've eo for those of you who just want the summary, here it is: Ne Oublie is absolute perfection!

First some background info:

The color is surprisingly dense, considering the age, with an orange brown core reminding me of chestnuts, and a broad yellow rim. Looking at it closely there is a green hue to be spotted in the reflection. The wine is crystal clear, evidently, the sediment has had more than enough time to settle. The legs are thick and slow, a first indication of the concentrated sweetness to be expected.

Ne Oublie is a true Pandora's box, a beautiful leather one in this case. Once opened there is no going back: even with the glass standing at arm's length, you can not ignore the sultry aroma's finding their way to your nose. And although incredibly complex, they are surprisingly easy to define. There is plummy 'Sirop de Liège' a famous Belgian jam of apples, pears and dates. Next comes the fine tobacco of a Cuban cigar, and the cedar wood box isn't very far behind. The perfume like earthy and woody aroma's can best be compared to the fragrance of Terre d'Hermes, including the zesty hints of orange peel. And you just can not have a world class port without the herbaceous, in this case almost medicinal character of esteva, indigenous to the most beautiful wine valley ... (wait for the Jeremy Clarkson pause) ... in the world! The nose is immensely rich and the evaporation of the angel's share has definitely pushed the concentration to a level where the alcohol is barely noticeable, always a plus when it comes to fortified wine. The wine just keeps pulling your nose back into the glass. For me Ne Oublie has set a new benchmark, probably THE benchmark, for aromatic complexity.

And now for the taste: as you would expect sweetness plays a major role. It is very concentrated but not in a heavy or sticky way. Personally it reminds me of the 'oily' sweetness you can find in very old PX wines from Southern Spain. And then there's the acidity; at first I described it as rather underlying, but when swirling the wine in my mouth it almost felt like the acidity was holding back. If that's the case then the future of those two remaining barrels is looking very good. I found this wine to be surprisingly fruity and fresh. I even dare to say fruitier than many younger Colheitas I've tasted. And now we're on this subject, it doesn't have that slightly volatile character that you often find in Colheitas either. Once again both alcohol and wood are so well integrated that they are barely noticeable. The aftertaste is just endless. A very subtle touch of bitterness, think dried raisins or dark chocolate, gives the whole a very distinguished, dry and clean finish, which automatically brings your focus back to the aromatic complexity. The whole is just perfectly balanced and never in my life would I have suspected this wine to be 132 years old.

Normally I conclude my tasting notes with ageing potential, food pairing, occasion etcetera but all of those are totally and utterly irrelevant when it comes to Ne Oublie. Ageing potential? Yeah right, I'll consider myself lucky if I manage to survive the final barrel (I'm 33 by the way). However, do keep in mind that it's difficult, as there are very few comparable wines, to anticipate how 'fast' the wine will evolve in the bottle. Once opened I suspect you best finish the bottle within a month, but that shouldn't be a problem whatsoever. Food pairing? PLEASE DON'T! There's very few chefs in the world that are able to create a dish that will complement this wine and everything else will definitely interfere with the balance and complexity. It doesn't need food! Occasion? Same answer here, you don't need one. Ne Oublie is the occasion!

Up until today there have only been three wines (*) that I've given 20/20. Ne Oublie is number four. But this kind of perfection comes at a price. Only 656 bottles are available, and Belgium will have to do with four, of which one has already been tasted by some lucky few, in the charming presence of Johnny Symington. Unfortunately there aren't that many wine lovers who can spend 5.500 EUR on a bottle of wine. This said I must admit that Ne Oublie probably is the "cheapest expensive wine" you can buy. Compared to other wines from the same era Ne Oublie is reasonably priced, and when you take into consideration that drinkability is guaranteed, it's definitely worth buying. So start saving for that second or third barrel. For those not so fortunate: we also tasted a superb 1960 Vintage and a 1969 Colheita (soon to be followed by 1972). There is a reason why one out three premium ports sold worldwide comes from the Symington family. They're just that good ...

PS Check out the little piece of art that is the Ne Oublie video on you tube:

Thank you Graham's!

Fabian Scheys
A fan for life