1980 Fonseca

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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g-man
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
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1980 Fonseca

Post by g-man »

Friday, February 27, 2009 - NYC tasting.

T+0, Strong spirity nose of raisins and crushed cinnamon, as I had toothpaste in my mouth, I didn't taste.

Perfect bottle, perfect cork. Threw heavy sediment into the filter and ruined my work shirt when a chunk glupped out.

Clear reddish tinge with holds onto some purple. Some browning on the edges. This is one of the darkest F 80s I've ever seen.
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
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g-man
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
Posts: 3429
Joined: 13:50 Wed 24 Oct 2007
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Re: 1980 Fonseca

Post by g-man »

A fantastic showing of this bottle 10 hours later.

This is one of the best 80s i've ever had.

Looked redder at the restaurant.

Nose of cedar, sweet cinnamon, delicate, with a good chunk of spices. Josh's brother said cumin, but I couldn't decide between a light crushed curry or tumeric.

Palate of elegant (thanks glenn) red cherries, raspberries?, well integrated with the brown sugar spirits.

A nice 40 second finish of cinnamon and lingering brown sugar with a fruity coffee finish.

91-92.
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
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Joined: 22:27 Wed 09 Jul 2008
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Re: 1980 Fonseca

Post by Glenn E. »

1980 Fonseca VP

Nice ruby red color, somewhat affected by poor lighting and what appears to be a pink (or more correctly, dusty rose) colored tablecloth.

Dried, ground, mustard seed on the nose. With some age on it, so it isn't precisely pungent.
Possibly also tumeric or paprika. It's an earty, slightly smoky essence, but in a more raw and primal manner and not a "campfire smoke" manner.

Tannins are faint and very smooth. They're almost non-existant, but I note concern that my palate was affected by the Calvados I had at the bar. A vague milk chocolate-like texture and flavor. Also some soft, non-descript red fruits. With effort, some plums.

After time sitting in the glass, some cinnamon.

Grape stem in the finish, which is of good length but not particularly pleasant. It's not bad either... it's just not good in a noteworthy way.
Glenn Elliott
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g-man
Quinta do Vesuvio 1994
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Re: 1980 Fonseca

Post by g-man »

Glenn E. wrote:1980 Fonseca VP

Grape stem in the finish, which is of good length but not particularly pleasant. It's not bad either... it's just not good in a noteworthy way.
that's intersting, because i can totally see grape stem also from my fruity coffee finish but I rather enjoy that flavor especially after a meal of fat and starch.
Disclosure: Distributor of Quevedo wines and Quinta do Gomariz
Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
Posts: 4174
Joined: 22:27 Wed 09 Jul 2008
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: 1980 Fonseca

Post by Glenn E. »

I seem to be particularly sensitive to these sorts of flavors in the finish, as I routinely distinguish between grape stem, grape skin, coffee, espresso, coffee grounds, toffee, and other similarly dark and tart/harsh notes. I typically do not find them to be good things during a tasting (toffee excepted), but I totally agree that they can be complimentary when drinking Port with a meal, dessert, cheeses, etc.

That was one of the things that made this particular tasting enjoyable - we tasted all of the Ports, but still had sufficient quantities left to continue drinking them with dinner. I never would have guessed that I could declare the F80 the best all-around Port and the Graham's 20-yr the WOTN during the tasting portion, yet have the Cockburn's show as the best pairing Port with dinner. I really expected the F80 to pair best with the steaks, but for whatever reason it just didn't do it for me and so the Cockburn's stole the show. (The Graham's was too sweet for a dinner pairing to me.)
Glenn Elliott
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RonnieRoots
Fonseca 1980
Posts: 1981
Joined: 08:28 Thu 21 Jun 2007
Location: Middle Earth

Re: 1980 Fonseca

Post by RonnieRoots »

Glenn E. wrote:I really expected the F80 to pair best with the steaks, but for whatever reason it just didn't do it for me
VP can be a really nice combination with steak, but it usually works better with a young VP, which gives the flavours of the steak the chance to tame some of the youthful fruit and tannins of the port.
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SushiNorth
Martinez 1985
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Joined: 07:45 Mon 18 Feb 2008
Location: NJ & NY

Re: 1980 Fonseca

Post by SushiNorth »

It was a shame opening with this, as right away it was evident it would blow away all the other wines. What a terrific showing for this bottle.
A nice translucent red, the color of rubies (and not garnets like a nearby table red). The nose is full of straberries and nuttiness. In the mouth I find it super smooth, "elegant" as Glenn put it, with strawberries and leather. It has a short tail, sadly, but in the mouth was gorgeous.
JoshDrinksPort
Image Port wine should perhaps be added -- A Trollope
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