W. & J. Graham’s FIRST FLIGHT Colheita Port 2003 in Gift Box

This is W. & J. Graham's First Flight Colheita Port 2003, a single-harvest Tawny from the Douro house of Graham's, supplied in a gift box. A Colheita is a Tawny from one named year rather than a multi-year blend, dated by its harvest.

After fortification with grape spirit to arrest fermentation, the 2003 wine was aged oxidatively in seasoned oak casks for many years before bottling. That long, slow cask maturation is what carries the colour toward Tawny with an orange-brown rim and converts fresh fruit into the caramel, toffee and roasted-nut register typical of aged single-harvest tawnies, while a youthful crimson core lingers.

On the palate it is full and creamy, with caramel, coffee, fig and prune supported by vanilla, roasted hazelnut and candied orange peel through a long, sweet finish. Serve it lightly chilled as a digestif, alongside dried fruit and nuts, dark chocolate, or a strong coffee.