1977 Fonseca

[RonnieRoots]

Tasted at the July 2 1977 horizontal.

Somewhat lighter than the Smith Woodhouse, but still one of the darker of the bunch. On the nose, some floral notes, fresh and light, with some sweet red fruit and a touch of fresh chilipepper. Medium sweet and round, with a great balance. Very delicate and elegant, with lovely dark fruit flavours (blackcurrant, brambles). The palate keeps on building in the mouth. Very complex, and the best of the evening for me. My guess. Fonseca. 96 points.

[Axel P]

Hey Ronnie,

terrific read. I feel very sorry that I have not been able to meet you at this tasting due to my stay in Ireland.

What a pitty as these tastings are very rarely on the continent.

Maybe some other time.

Axel

[Alex Bridgeman]

The star of the night. Not as dark as the Smith Woodhouse or the Gould Campbell but still with plenty of red left. Not much coming out on the nose but a fantastic elegance and balance in the mouth with just the right combination of sweetness, acidty and tannin showing through the wonderful fruit. Long and lasting aftertaste. The balance between elegance and power led me to correctly guess that this was the Fonseca. A great port - but not a 100 point port. 95/100.

[TBird]

had this on saturday night in montreal, wheh baby!

very sweet & lush with raspberry milk chocolate & dark cherries. very refined and smooth with a finish that could go on forever. my favorite port to date.

[RonnieRoots]

To make searching easier, I've copy/pasted LadyR's tasting notes of this port, as originally posted here:

Fonseca ‘77
Dark red to purple, but slightly lighter than Smith Woodhouse. Intense fresh flavours with floral tones and star anicy on top of dark fruitmix and liquorice. Slight cooked veggie smell, but not disturbing. Young and concentrated in taste; firm tannins with dark fruit and some dark coffee tones. Very powerful, yet balanced, elegant and complete. This port smacks you in the face... and will continue to develop over time.
96-97pts