1977 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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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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1977 Fonseca

Post by jdaw1 »

Consumed by AHB and DRT at the F77 Emergency, 22 Feb 2011 in El Vinos.
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jdaw1
Cockburn 1851
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Re: 1977 Fonseca

Post by jdaw1 »

[url=http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=40759#p40759]Here[/url] AHB wrote:The wines consumed at this offline showed well - probably the best bottle I have had of F77 for a while.

WOTO (wine of the offline) was unanimously voted as:
3rd place - F77 (D+0 lunchtime tasting sample)
2nd place - F77 (first evening glass)
2st place - F77 (second and subsequent glasses)

Conclusion - good bottles need another 10-20 years. This is one heck of a port!
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 1977 Fonseca

Post by DRT »

Decanted at 13:30. A small sample was taken immediately, for which I have no note, that had a beautiful rich fruit smell, great mouth-filling structure but lots of heat.

The first full glasses were poured at 16:40. A dark, brooding red. Closed on the nose with some spicy pepper. Very thick, smooth and uncsious with black cherry, dark chocolate and cigar smoke. Lots of powdery tannins and a little heat in the mid-palate which faded into a long delicious finish. Not much later I noted that the tannins were less obvious, with more fruit coming through on the palate. It is fair to say that three hours and ten minutes is not a long enough decanting time for Fonseca 1977 at this point in its evolution.

Fabulous port.

The decanter was empty by 18:15.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 1977 Fonseca

Post by DRT »

D+4 Days from a 60ml sample.

Lots of sweet red fruit on the nose. Thick and chewy entry then lots of heat. The dry tannins quickly come to replace the heat and hide the fruit. This port still seems incredibly young for its age. The finish is long and delicious.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: 1977 Fonseca

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Purchased from behind the bar at El Vino, Fleet Street. Deep red in colour, with some brown tones; 80% opaque. Subdued on the nose, but showing a little Victoria plum and lots of black pepper. A little bit of heat on the nose, but much less than when first decanted. Very dense on the palate - big and burly with a peppery bite; multiple layers of fruit under the pepper, dark and sweet but with an amazing powdery dryness from the tannins that dominates over the sweetness of the fruit. The finish takes a long time to appear, but is full of sweet black licorice and black jelly babies. This is way too young to be drunk now - needs another 10-20 years to reach its peak. Absolutely delicious! 96/100.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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jdaw1
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Re: 1977 Fonseca

Post by jdaw1 »

Sounds terrible. I’m so pleased I missed it.

Phew dodged that bullet.
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