Tasting Notes

A narrow magenta ring around a core of inky purple black. The nose opens with a burst of dark, woodland fruit, dense and succulent, blended with fresher, more vibrant red berry aromas. A slatey minerality holds this exuberant fruitiness in check. At this stage, the nose is still reserved and discreetly aromatic, revealing leafy, balsamic scents and cedary notes of sawn wood. The first impression on the palate, as on the nose, is of tightly packed, dense dark berry fruit, which then explodes on the mid-palate and surges into the long finish. The texture is round and velvety but the taut, sinewy tannins and a strand of crisp acidity provide firmness and structure. The layered, complex fruit typical of Fonseca holds sway over this weighty, powerful wine

Aidan – "For me Fonseca always offers wonderful layers of sweet opulent fruit supported by a powerful tannic structure, this is certainly the case in 2017 as it combines the natural density of the vintage with the richness of perfectly ripe fruit. There is wonderful freshness to support the wine as it matures. Another brilliant result."

Property Information

Fonseca was founded in 1815 and is regarded as one of the most stylistically consistent of the classic Vintage Port houses. Every one of its Vintage Ports has been made by five generations of the Guimaraens family since its foundation. Fonseca produces one of the most exotic and aromatically powerful of all Vintage Ports. The heady opulence of a mature Fonseca Vintage is almost intoxicating in its power and complexity and it is this remarkable aromatic potential which ensures the longevity of the Fonseca Vintage Ports. The cornerstone of the Fonseca vintage blend is Quinta do Panascal, the firm’s famous estate located on the steep slopes of the Távora Valley. The wines of Fonseca’s two quintas in the Pinhão Valley, Cruzeiro and Santo António, are also traditional components of the blend.