1966 Fonseca

[Alex Bridgeman]

Opened and Audouzed for 12 hours, decanted for 1 hour before a quality assurance sip taken. Warm, mature red colour, 60% opaque. A nose of slightly burnt cherries, perhaps a hint of bottle stink. Warm and spicy on the palate with a fine balance, delivering mature cherry fruit in an elegant package supported by perfect levels of acidity. A little gentle fire on the aftertaste quickly settles to a very long sour cherry finish. This is wonderful mature Port drinking at its peak.

8 hours after decanting the wine was not showing well, something of a rubber band nose, burnt matches in the fruit on the palate. Two hours later the Port had shaken off the rubber band and burnt match tones and became a glorious (if rather young) mature Vintage Port at an early point of its drinking plateau. Wonderful Port. 92/100. Drunk 03-Jun-21.

Review thread

[winesecretary]

This port surprised and humbled me. The rich colour gave us the vintage only on the fourth attempt. The rubber band quality on the nose on first pour made it hard to spot any house characteristics. But given more time and air, smoke and cherries emerged. Tremendous balance; dry for a Fonseca. And, astonishingly youthful. A genuine hundred-year wine on this showing.