1985 Fonseca

[jdaw1]

From the double-horizontal, 1983 and 1985, on Saturday 13 September 2008 at the home of jfacciol in Brooklyn.

• Planning and arrangements;
• Placemats;
• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1983 Dow;
• 1985 Dow;
• 1983 Fonseca;
• 1985 Fonseca;
• 1983 Gould Campbell;
• 1985 Gould Campbell;
• 1983 Graham’s;
• 1985 Graham’s;
• 1983 Noval Nacional;
• 1985 Noval Nacional.

[g-man]

A little fine silty sediment.

Dark purplish red that's slightly opaque.

T+0 Oh man I'm in love ...
Loads of honey, baked raspberries, blueberries, cinnamon, slight honey suckle flowers ... The bouquet lingers in the area behind your nose (nasopharynx) for a few seconds due to the spirits. It doesn't burn though, but rather caresses and stimulates the sensory organs.

Some noticeable tannins, loads of purple fruit, baked candied rhubarb, allspice and a slight lemony cardimon, a full mouth feel but gets slightly caught at the back of the throat due to hotness.

a long lingering 50 + second finish of dark chocolate and coffee with a slight warming sensation from spirits.

Sorry guys, I'm drinking this now without you

This is an amazing wine.

9-10

a rock steady 96 pts.

[EricD]

Fonseca 1985: Darker than the 83, and also more well balanced on the nose and palate. For me, everything seemed to be nearly perfectly put together - this was an archetypal vintage port with all the right components of fruit, sweetness, and rich chocolatey character, and I couldn't detect any flaws. It actually might have been a little too archetypal for me - although this was a great wine, I was more intrigued by some of the quirks of the other ports we had this evening. One of the post tannic ports we had, and I think it can go many more years before it starts to fade.

[jdaw1]

Fonseca 1985: this port was just like Fonseca 1985. And this was odd, because, you know, / They hadn't any feet. To behold, black. Nose and mouth: huge cloying sticky sweetness. Delicious delicious, but — in the largest writing on my tasting notes, “Wait!†.

[SushiNorth]

Fonseca 1985 was an intensely dark color, yet it possessed a light, mellow nose. It's flavor begins with pepper, but quickly chocolates, licorice, and caramel take over. It has plenty of fruit, and even some underlying tannins remain (though it is not dry). Long lingering flavors and excellent balance, without a single rough note, make this an exceptional wine. (96, keep)

[mosesbotbol]

This port is way too young to drink. This is a port to not even consider for another 10+ years in my opinion. Super dark with loads fruit and perfect balance. Still such a baby and could end up being the finest port of the decade. This could surpass the '85 Graham in greatness. I am happy to have split a bottle, but don't see this one on my horizion for a while.

Buy all you can as this is 95 points in my book.

[DRT]

Moses,

I agree with all of that but I think it already beats the Graham's, which I love. The reason I say that is that the Graham's is already in a good place to drink but the Fonseca isn't anywhere near being ready. It is enjoyable to drink with enough air but each time I have had it I have been left with a feeling that I have wasted something that will one day be fabulous.
Derek

[mosesbotbol]

Moses,

I agree with all of that but I think it already beats the Graham's, which I love.

The Grahams 85 is further along the Fonseca 85 for sure. Graham's decline very very slow. Just as some Fonseca seem like they couldn't improve (lacking fresh fruit or dark color) yet still just keep trucking along for decades.

Will have to revisit the Grahams 85 again. It's been at least 6 months since I have had. Maybe I am snowblind from the Graham's 85 Magnum we had a couple of years ago that is on my all favorites list?

While mentioning the that the Fonseca 85 is too young, the same can be said for Dow 85. Maybe the ultimate show down could be Dow vs. Fonseca in the future.

[DRT]

While mentioning the that the Fonseca 85 is too young, the same can be said for Dow 85. Maybe the ultimate show down could be Dow vs. Fonseca in the future.

Maybe we should plan that in the diary for 2025

[Axel P]

g-man.

What would be the ideal decanting time for the F85? I had this one this year at the Essencia do vinho, but it I suspect it would have been better with more than the 2 hours.

Axel

[DRT]

I would decant an F85 for at least 12 hours, maybe 24.

[g-man]

I dont know about 24 hours.. That requires some dedication and if it were me, it'd be half way gone by then =)

I've found that I really liked it at t+0 for what it was, a full bodied, very young port with tannins.
But if I wanted a port with even softer tannins and less burn of the spirits, I'd agree with Derek's 24 hours.

At the tasting, I've found that after 6-7 hours of decanting, the Fonseca shut down and had to be swirled and coaxed out again.