1988 Fonseca Guimaraens
Posted: 21:59 Mon 17 Dec 2007
From a half bottle. Just opened and decanted a couple of hours ago. A little dusty but nicely sweet and rich, though still a bit hot. Perhaps this will dissipate which more time in the decanter? The colour goes right to the rim, suggesting that it is not fully mature, which is borne out on the tasting.
Maybe it's the time of year, but I'm getting treacle, dark Christmas fruitcake (especially candied marschino cherries), toffee, black cherry, some smokiness, expresso, and subtle menthol on the quite long finish.
Nicely mouthcoating and medium full-bodied. This is the third 88 I've had, the other being Taylor Vargellas and Graham Malvedos (the latter I've had more than any other port I think). I didn't expect to like this port as much as I do, perhaps because I couldn't find a single TN on it, which often means that the usual critics didn't like it enough to bother. Hard to believe that neither WS nor Parker tasted this, though.
I score this a solid 91 today, and expect that I'll score it a bit more tomorrow (if there's any left! ) and/or in another 5 or more years.
Maybe it's the time of year, but I'm getting treacle, dark Christmas fruitcake (especially candied marschino cherries), toffee, black cherry, some smokiness, expresso, and subtle menthol on the quite long finish.
Nicely mouthcoating and medium full-bodied. This is the third 88 I've had, the other being Taylor Vargellas and Graham Malvedos (the latter I've had more than any other port I think). I didn't expect to like this port as much as I do, perhaps because I couldn't find a single TN on it, which often means that the usual critics didn't like it enough to bother. Hard to believe that neither WS nor Parker tasted this, though.
I score this a solid 91 today, and expect that I'll score it a bit more tomorrow (if there's any left! ) and/or in another 5 or more years.