2016 Fonseca Vintage Port (1.5L)

From Douro, Portugal

B-21 Top Recommendation
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After returning from Portugal's spectacular Duero River Valley, I am happy to report that 2016 is unanimously declared a vintage by the Port trade. Lunching in Oporto with Rupert Symington, who reigns over the top Port houses Dow, Warres, Graham's, Cockburn and Taylor. He related 2016 to be unique but a hypothetical combination of 2007 and 2011 but with intense floral aromatics not in recent memory.

Having tasted a number of dry reds from 2016 the unique aspects of the vintage are clear to me; aromatics, concentration, intensity – in particular old vines at higher elevations. At Fonseca, vineyard vine age exceeds 35 years. The extraction, concentration, combined with floral perfumes, finesse and a lengthy elegant finish with fine tannins define the vintage for both sweet and dry reds.

2016 Ports were just bottled in the recently, so not many reviews are out yet from the professional critics, but you should know that vintages are only declared with the wines are superb, This happens roughly three times a decade, similar to vintage Champagne. I am confident offering Fonseca, and at early-bird prices that won't be matched. This is a Port vintage that will be drinkable early on and hold for decades.

98JS

97WA

Lots of ripe fruit here with raisins and wet earth that turn to violets and hot stones. Full-bodied, tannic and powerful with fantastic grip and intensity. Grabs you. Impressive. Drink in 2025.

98 points, James Suckling (May 2018)

The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend sourced from the typical three Quintas (Panascal in the Tavora Valley and Quinta do Cruzeiro and Quinta de St Antonio in the Pinhão Valley). This was not quite bottled when first seen (set for a week later). It is now in the USA. It was aged for 20 months in wood and comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This dry and focused Fonseca was, in my initial July 2018 report, the pick of the Fladgate Group's litter in 2016. What has most changed in this issue is that Taylor's is showing a lot better while this has closed down a bit more. This is not seriously diminished, though. It is pretty brilliant. If you want that old-school power, it comes with Fonseca in this vintage. Taylor's may have the sexiest fruit of the three, but this seems to have the most muscle. It is true that the balance on the two just might be affecting that perception. Taylor's has a bit more mid-palate depth to soak up the power. Still, if Taylor's is flashier and richer in 2016, this seems even more serious. In the long lifespan of Ports, to be sure, it won't be unusual for them to keep flipping back and forth. Admittedly, this is also probably the hardest to read. Still, I couldn't help but think that this might have slightly more upside potential. Check in around 2060 or so to see if I'm right. (Send me an email if you don't think so. I want to hear from you.) On this second look, this Fonseca is still remarkably expressive, lifted and gloriously fresh, even with that slight closing. It has reasonable mid-palate concentration but even better intensity of flavor. Despite that intensity of flavor, it is not quite as sexy as it is in some years, at least not yet, as the tannins are firmly in charge. That isn't changing anytime soon. This rather stern Fonseca simply revels in its brilliant structure. This is a Port that demands cellaring if you want it to be all it can be. You and it will profit from at least 10 more years of cellaring. Doubling that will help a lot more.

97 points, Mark Squires, Wine Advocate (Issue # 240 - Dec 2018)

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$169.99

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