1985 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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flash_uk
Graham’s 1977
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1985 Fonseca

Post by flash_uk »

Decanted 1½ hours. 80% opacity, warm deep red, long gloopy legs. Nose fruity and sweet, red fruits, plum, and faint hints of menthol and hospital. In the mouth both thin initially but then chewy at the same time. mild initial heat, but then smooth, syrupy with lots of sweet red fruit. Good structure and great balance fruit and acidity, tannins there but mild. Lovely long finish. Licking my lips long after. Very nice!

Other TNs suggest this improves 12-24hrs after decant so I am going to be super restrained and see what tomorrow night brings with the rest of the bottle.
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djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by djewesbury »

I would say 24-48 hours. Super-super restrained!
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flash_uk
Graham’s 1977
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by flash_uk »

djewesbury wrote:I would say 24-48 hours. Super-super restrained!
OK. Majority will be drained at 24hrs. A glass retained for 48 hrs comparison.
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flash_uk
Graham’s 1977
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by flash_uk »

+24 hrs. Nose continues to give red fruit, but with greater menthol freshness. Soft entry on the palate then gently building a little heat through the middle onwards. Red fruit and hints of chocolate extend into a nice long finish, which has a touch more acidity to it than last night. Still retains that lip licking sweetness though! What a great port. Look forward to many more of these.
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flash_uk
Graham’s 1977
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by flash_uk »

+48 hrs. What a beauty. That acidity which had crept in at 24hrs has now integrated back in, and this is a lovely balanced, structured port, sweetness through the palate and a long lingering aftertaste, now with more bitter chocolate than red fruit. As an option to be opened and enjoyed across 3 nights this must be top of the list?
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by LGTrotter »

flash_uk wrote:As an option to be opened and enjoyed across 3 nights this must be top of the list?
I do hope so!

May I ask the provenance of this? Having bought some from Berrys I noticed with alarm that it got quite a poor write up from one of the previous port walks.
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flash_uk
Graham’s 1977
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by flash_uk »

LGTrotter wrote:I do hope so!

May I ask the provenance of this? Having bought some from Berrys I noticed with alarm that it got quite a poor write up from one of the previous port walks.
Auction at Sworders. And some labels on the OWC suggest the case had been stored by BBR for a client.
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djewesbury
Graham’s 1970
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by djewesbury »

Glad to hear it showed so well, this one goes on and on..!
Daniel J.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

LGTrotter wrote:May I ask the provenance of this? Having bought some from Berrys I noticed with alarm that it got quite a poor write up from one of the previous port walks.
That could be explained simply by the fact that Berry's decanted for only 3 hours rather than for 3 days before serving the F85 at the Port Walk.
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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djewesbury
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by djewesbury »

AHB wrote:
LGTrotter wrote:May I ask the provenance of this? Having bought some from Berrys I noticed with alarm that it got quite a poor write up from one of the previous port walks.
That could be explained simply by the fact that Berry's decanted for only 3 hours rather than for 3 days before serving the F85 at the Port Walk.
Quite so, I found it unexciting that night, but as flash has shown this is a wine that benefits hugely from lots of breathing and opening out.
Daniel J.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by DRT »

It also seems to be going through a bit of a dumb phase, much like its sibling from Taylor did for the past decade or so. The Taylor has definitely pulled its socks up recently so hopefully the F85 will return to its previous form in due course.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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flash_uk
Graham’s 1977
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by flash_uk »

I definitely get the sense the F85 has much more to come. It will be fun to see how it evolves over the next few years.
LGTrotter
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by LGTrotter »

Phew! I can stop pacing fretfully.
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djewesbury
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by djewesbury »

There's plenty else to fret about.
Daniel J.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by DRT »

DRT wrote:It also seems to be going through a bit of a dumb phase, much like its sibling from Taylor did for the past decade or so. The Taylor has definitely pulled its socks up recently so hopefully the F85 will return to its previous form in due course.
This statement led to a long debate about the merits of Taylor 1985, which has been moved to here.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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djewesbury
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by djewesbury »

I thought you would have done that in green.
Daniel J.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by DRT »

djewesbury wrote:I thought you would have done that in green.
I did.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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djewesbury
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Re: 1985 Fonseca

Post by djewesbury »

DRT wrote:
djewesbury wrote:I thought you would have done that in green.
I did.
Oh. Tapatalk. Ignore me.
Daniel J.
Husband of a relentless former Soviet Chess Master.
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