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On Tuesday 5th May 2015, the evening before The B.F.T., in the year of Fonseca’s 200^th Bicentenary, we gathered in the Boot & Flogger and tasted some Fonsecas.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1948 Fonseca (AHB);
• 1955 Fonseca (IDJ);
• 1958 Fonseca Guimaraens = † (THRA);
• 1960 Fonseca (IDJ);
• 1963 Fonseca (TC);
• 1966 Fonseca (IDJ);
• 1970 Fonseca (RLC);
• 1975 Fonseca (TC);
• 1977 Fonseca (PW);
• 1980 Fonseca (RLC);
• 1983 Fonseca (CPR);
• 1985 Fonseca single (DRL);
• 1985 Fonseca magnum (JDAW);
• 1992 Fonseca (MPM);
• 1994 Fonseca (CPR);
• Fonseca Waterloo (MPM);
• Fonseca Bicentenary Crusted (MPM);
• Food order;
• Placemats (and parameters by which made);
• Planning and arrangements.

F77. Bright red, 40% opaque. Nose foul: bacterial. Others discussed TCA, but it wasn’t TCA, if only because it so strongly offended me.

Agreed; my bottle and it was a duffer. I found it was still drinkable, but was nothing like it should have been, with what I also thought was a bacterial edge (rather than TCA).

30% opacity, red. Meaty nose, vegetal. Smooth and syrupy, but just not quite right. Flawed in some way - agree with the bacterial suggestion above.

Deep red with some bricking but still a very firm red colour, 50% opaque. Raspberries dominate the nose, very lively, infused with a sweet and sour cranberry jelly. Smooth but slightly thin texture on entry, but very full in flavour. Masses of fruit and lively cracked white pepper gives a very spicy and lively palate. Complex layering and delicious flavours play across the palate. There is a big, forceful fruit-led aftertaste and a long, sharp redcurrant and red peppercorn finish. This is lovely port. Sadly, 30 minutes later this had fallen apart and tasted of nothing more than burnt rubber. Very odd. NR