David Fonseca Guimaraens recently visited London to present a dual seminar that looked at both the spirit used to fortify Port and to run through a collection of some of the older Fonseca and Fonseca Guimaraens Ports. See the section on Spirit in Features for more on the first part of the morning. Here we will look at the wines served.
Fonseca started life, like so many Port shippers, as simply a merchant, buying in finished wine from a number of growers, blending, maturing and bottling. Although set up by a Portuguese family, Pedro Guimaraens was exiled in England, and since then the company has seen itself as very must one of the British shippers. The company joined Taylors in 1948 and is now, along with Taylor, Croft and Delaforce, forms part of the Fladgate Partnership.
Fonseca is used on the vintage wines from the best years only, classic Vintage Port, whereas the Fonseca Guimaraens label is used in good, but not classic years, effectively when other shippers, including the other parts of the Faldgate Partnership might release a Single Quinta vintage. David emphasised that this gives him, as a winemaker, far more flexibility in that he can blend the best wines from the company estates and end up with something more complex than many Single Quinta wines, even if less than classic years.
This tasting offered a fairly rare opportunity to taste both classic and non-classic years side by side across a range of ages and maturities.
All the Vintage wines are now exclusively made from grapes grown in the company quintas.
Colour of an aged tawny, somewhere between a typical 10 and 20 year old. Perfumed bottle-aged bouquet with some old, dusty book hints with toffee and a cumin-like spiciness behind it. Palate still full of life albeit with quite obvious spirit. Glorious old wine.
Bruce's first vintage at Fonseca. Despite the age this is still remarkably red, a pale garnet hue rather than tawny. Again, long bottle-ages bouquet with sweeter, fruitier notes, fig and prune hints. Again, a lovely palate of sweetness and strength, finishing with a long, nutty aftertaste. Some velvety tannins still there.
Vibrant garnet colour and a massive fruity nose, far les developed still than the 57. Again the fragrant, perfumed hints on the nose and a fine, elegant palate with the same velvety tannins. Relatively light bodied, and not the most powerful of wines, but very fine indeed.
1966 is, of course, a classic vintage year. This wine was slightly paler than the 65, and oddly, perhaps, more brown, but the nose is far bigger, with masses of dark fruit still, liquorice and oriental spice. Deeper, fuller and altogether bigger palate than the 65, still with a firm tannic backbone and a massive length. Still a very long life ahead of it.
Really quite aged red/garnet hue, with a very broad, browning rim. Rich and quite full nose, not as powerful as the 66. Softer, smoother palate with very little tannin remaining. Not the show-stopper that the last wine was, but a very attractive bottle all the same.
This is quite a legend in its own right, with many commentators asking why this ws not a Fonseca Vintage. The dry winter and hot summer led to drought conditions, and concentrated berries.
This shows in the wine, which now has the dried fruit characters that you often find in amarone and good zinfandel. Remarkably deep colour, still very deep ruby red with hardly any signs of age. Very rich, sweet wine with firm tannins and still very concentrated fruit. A big bruiser of a wine, power rather than elegance here.
The debate about Fonseca Guimaraens 1976 and Fonseca 77 has raged for some time, but on this showing there is not doubt that Bruce got it right. The wine looks marginally paler and more mature, but the fruit is far riper and complex with red berry fruit, liquorice and spice, and with that elegant, fragrant perfume that marks out the top wines in this flight. Big, powerful palate, still with plenty of backbone but far finer that the 1976. A truly fine wine.
After the 1976, the 78 Fonseca Guimaraens vintage has always seemed quite a light-weight, but it is still showing very well. Perhaps more akin to the 67, it is delicate, fine and at its peak now, although if you have a few bottles in the cellar there is no rush to drink them up.
The 1985 is still a baby, years away from full maturity. Very deep ruby red with the smallest of hints of garnet on the rim. Dumb nose that disguises the vast concentration of fruit, which shows itself only on the palate. The palate is full and rich, but the fruit is still fairly simple and one dimensional, with big firm tannins that will keep this wine for decades.
Fonseca Guimaraens is usually released when approaching maturity, in contrast to the Fonseca vintage. 86 is still currently available from the company, unlike the early vintages.
Paler and more garnet than the 85, with a far more complex nose than the 85, although of course less concentrated. Fruit and spice nose. Firm, bit lighter tannin and body than the full vintage, but at this stage far more complex and satisfying. A wine to buy and drink now and over the next few years while the classic vintage matures
One or two other 1991 that I have tried recently have been remarkably mature for their age. Fonseca is not as mature as them, but it does have quite a brown rim already. Like the 76 this wine comes from a hot, concentrating vintage and this shows through on the nose in the same amarone/Zinfandel character. Hard tannic structure and big, beefy style here.
Taylor and Fonseca famously declared 92 rather than 91, and this wine really shows the wisdom of that decision. Softer, fruitier and richer than the 91 on the nose, this exhibits all the finesse and elegance that the 91 lacks, with just as much backbone to it. Yet again the difference between ripe fruit and concentrated fruit. This is an under-valued wine that has decades ahead of it.
This wine will follow the usual Fonseca Guimaraens tradition and be released when approaching maturity, certainly not in the near future. Very deep ruby, massive young fruit nose, obviously this is still a very undeveloped wine, still very simple on the nose. Big, powerful wine that will be interesting to watch in the next decade or two.
As I have noted elsewhere, this as one of the top 2000s and this showing has done nothing to change my mind. Huge concentration and massive structure, with big, bold fruit, but all so beautifully balanced and marvellously ripe.