Churchill Graham
Churchill Graham Lda.
| Founded |
1981 |
| Owner |
Graham family |
| Vineyards |
Quinta da Gricha. Buying from Quinta da Agua Alta and Quinta do Fojo |
| Vintage Port Brands |
Churchill, Quinta da Gricha, Quinta da Agua Alta, Quinta do Fojo |
John Graham and his wife (born Churchill) started this House in 1981. He could not use his own name why the House took his wife’s maiden name. This was the birth of the first new Port House for half a century.
To start with, the production came mainly from vineyards such as Água Alta, Manuela and Fojo belonging to the late Jorge Borges de Sousa's family. Although it continues to buy wine from these properties, Churchill's decided to acquire its own top quality vineyards not only to secure its sources of supply but also to have total control over the production process. Churchill's has bought two vineyards, Quinta da Gricha and Quinta do Rio in 1999 and currently leases on a long-term basis Quinta da Perdiz. They have again sold Quinta do Rio.
Quinta da Gricha
Quinta da Gricha is situated on the south bank of the river Douro about five miles upriver from the village of Pinhão.
Quinta da Perdiz
This quinta is situated alongside Rio Torto valley.
| Churchill Graham Vintages: | 1982, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020 |
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| Quinta da Agua Alta Vintages: | 1983, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2016 |
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| Quinta do Fojo Vintages: | 1984, 1986, 1989 |
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| Quinta da Gricha Vintages: | 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
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Vintage Port tasting notes:
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 1982 |
| Colour | Still rather dark but yellow mature in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Pharmacy, old hospital and spiciness with a delicious aroma in the glass. | Score range | 15.25 - 16.25 |
| Taste | Medium body. Mature and peaking and a hint of oldness Sweet, elegant and still balanced. Easy to drink and like with a nice and quite attractive finish. Will not be better so love it and drink it. | Average score | 15.75 |
| Last tasted | 14th December 2015 | Point this date | 16.25 |
| Comment | At the Wine Society 18% tasting in Malmö.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 1985 |
| Colour | Still dark blue in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Pharmacy, old hospital and ether in the nose. | Score range | 15.00 - 15.90 |
| Taste | Medium body. Fairly sweet. Fruity flavour. Delicious. Still some tannin. Nice finish. | Average score | 15.45 |
| Last tasted | 17th September 2020 | Point this date | 15.90 |
| Comment | Tasted at the Wine Society 18% Great Tasting in Malmö.
This port is defect and the note is from 27/9, 1995
In 2020 this vintage took part in a Great Tasting in the Wine Society 18%. For points and ranking see Great Tastings. | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 1991 |
| Colour | Very dark but mature yellow rim in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Red berry, dark cherry, blue berry and mulberry in the nose. | Score range | 15.75 - 16.25 |
| Taste | Medium body. Sweet. Dark cherry and mulberry in taste. Mature but still some delicate tannin and will be better. Balanced and complex Attractive and long finish. Will be lovely to follow. | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 5th May 2014 | Point this date | 16.25 |
| Comment | At the Port Wine Club est. 1981 tasting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 1994 |
| Colour | Quite beautiful, yellow and mature in colour. | Number of tastings | 12 |
| Bouquet | Cream candy, dark chocolate, toffee, roasted coffee, butterscotch and old grocery shop in the nose. | Score range | 14.90 - 15.90 |
| Taste | Medium bodied. Mature and peaking will probably not be better. Sweet. Balanced with candy, some chocolate, roasted coffee, toffee and fudge in flavour with a quite elegant and lovely finish. Very easy to drink and like. | Average score | 15.16 |
| Last tasted | 16th May 2024 | Point this date | 15.90 |
| Comment | Tasted at the Wine Society 18% Great Tasting in Malmö.
In 2024 this vintage took part in a Great Tasting in the Wine Society 18%. For points and ranking see Great Tastings. | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 1997 |
| Colour | Ruby in colour with a yellow rim. | Number of tastings | 0 |
| Bouquet | Chocolate, cacao, dried fruit, coffee beans, nuts, herbs and ginger in the nose. | Score range | 16.00 - 16.40 |
| Taste | Medium body. Dry and more than medium acidity. Balanced and quite tasty with mint, coffee, cacao, old grocery shop and herbs in the mouth. Quite elegant and very easy to drink and enjoy with a lovely, quite attractive and rather long finish. Quite mature but will improve a bit further. | Average score | 16.24 |
| Last tasted | 23rd April 2024 | Point this date | 16.40 |
| Comment | Tasted at the Big Fortified Tasting in London, Great Britain.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2000 |
| Colour | Still rather dark but yellow mature in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Cacao, coffee, dark berry, mulberry and fruit in the nose. | Score range | 16.25 - 16.25 |
| Taste | Full-bodied. Still tannin and will be better and more developed with time but very tasty already today with cacao, dark berry and mulberry. Balance, and easy to drink and like now and with a rather complex and long finish. | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 21st January 2017 | Point this date | 16.25 |
| Comment | At the Restaurant “Sturehof” in Stockholm.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2003 |
| Colour | Garnet in colour with a yellow rim. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Dried and mature fruit and Christmas spices such as cardamom and ginger in the nose. | Score range | 15.90 - 16.00 |
| Taste | Medium body. Still a lot of tannins but mature. Surprisingly high level of tannins compared to the maturity of the wine. Dried fruit. Will improve but has already now a nice finish. | Average score | 15.97 |
| Last tasted | 24th November 2023 | Point this date | 16.00 |
| Comment | Tasted at the Portweinmesse in Leverkusen, Germany.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2007 |
| Colour | Medium dark ruby with yellow mature rim in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Still some dark berries but also toffee, fudge, crème candy, some cacao and butterscotch in the nose. | Score range | 15.90 - 15.90 |
| Taste | Medium body. Lovely round tannins and will be better. Balanced and quite complex and very elegant with quite long and exciting finish. Will be interesting to follow. A long, nice finish. Will be interesting to follow. | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 28th October 2022 | Point this date | 15.90 |
| Comment | Tasted at home with the family.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2011 |
| Colour | Still very dark but with I yellow edge in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Fruit, black berry, herbs, ginger and spiciness in the nose. | Score range | 15.50 - 15.75 |
| Taste | Medium body. Quite mature with just some very soft tannins. Will probably be better. Herbs, berries and some spiciness in taste. The finish is quite elegant. Astonishing easy to drink and enjoy already today. Will it keep long? | Average score | 15.63 |
| Last tasted | 6th January 2021 | Point this date | 15.50 |
| Comment | Tasted at home with the family.
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2014 |
| Colour | Black in colour. | Number of tastings | 1 |
| Bouquet | Dark berry, mulberry and fruit in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Hardly medium body. Quite thin indeed. Modern type. Not as all as a Churchill and not so enjoyable. Something wrong with this bottle? Berry and fruit in taste. Nice finish | | |
| Last tasted | 7th November 2016 | Rating this date | Good |
| Comment | At the Port Wine Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2016 |
| Colour | Dark ruby in colour. | Number of tastings | 2 |
| Bouquet | Lots of fruit, black berry and dark cherry but also bananas in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Medium body. Balanced and easy to drink already now but of course immature. Quite elegant with blackberry, mulberry and bananas in taste. The finish is easy to enjoy with lots of tannins. | | |
| Last tasted | 30th November 2018 | Rating this date | Impressive |
| Comment | At the Port Wine Festival in Leverkusen, Germany.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2017 |
| Colour | Dark ruby in colour. | Number of tastings | 4 |
| Bouquet | Dark cherry, mulberry and mature dark fruit in the nose. | Score range | 15.90 - 15.90 |
| Taste | Medium body. Lovely tannins and almost hard to enjoy but balanced and quite delicate. Loaded with mature fruit and mature dark berries. The finish is balanced, very elegant and very impressive. Lovely to drink! | Average score | |
| Last tasted | 7th November 2022 | Point this date | 15.90 |
| Comment | Tasted at the Port Wine Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark
| Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |
| House | Churchill | Vintage | 2020 |
| Colour | Dark ruby, almost black in colour. | Number of tastings | 3 |
| Bouquet | Fruit and dark berries, cherries, herbs, mint and some chocolate in the nose. | | |
| Taste | Medium body. Dry with quite high acidity. Taste of dark berries. Quite a lot of soft and elegant tannins. Balanced and a rather long finish. | | |
| Last tasted | 25th September 2023 | Rating this date | Impressive |
| Comment | At Churchill’s lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
Port so young we evaluate only as : Good – Very good- Impressive – Very Impressive | Tasters | SAI, JB, SS |