Fonseca 2009 Vintage Port

Fonseca 2009 Vintage Port

Grapes: A blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz & Tinta Barroca 

Producer Tasting Note:

Impenetrable black colour. A classic Fonseca nose dominated by an exuberant, hedonistic fruitiness, a powerful redolence of dark dense blackberry and blackcurrant which slowly releases a heady mix of spicy and herbal aromas, seductive notes of coffee and cocoa, hints of prune and wild scents of gumcistus. The thick velvety tannins give the wine a voluptuous density, integrating effortlessly with the sumptuous infusion of blackberry jam, dark chocolate and liquorice which coats the palate. The tannins are also present on the finish which brims with blackberry and blackcurrant flavour.

The Fonseca 2009 blend is based on wines from Quinta do Panascal and Quinta do Cruzeiro. There is also a small amount of wine from Quinta de Santo Antonio, the first time that the estate has contributed to a classic vintage port blend since it was converted to organic viticulture.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"A classic Fonseca, rich and powerful, with just an extra edge of weight from the vintage. It has a dry character, a tannic edge that gives great promise, but the open-hearted fruit is all there. A wonderfully intense wine for ageing."

95/100 points, Roger Voss, WINE ENTHUSIAST, January 2012

"The Fonseca 2009 has a very sweet, typically opulent bouquet of black plum, blackberry, chimney soot and a touch of pencil shavings that is very complex and alluring. The palate is full-bodied with powerful ripe blackberry, allspice, clove and balsamic notes, a roiling, powerful, assertive Fonseca with a sweet, dark chocolate-tinged finish that grips the mouth, but it needs two decades to mellow and demonstrate the finesse to balance the intensity. This is a wonderful 2009 Vintage Port, though I suspect that the 2011 will ultimately prove even better." Drink 2035-2050

94/100 points, Neal martin, WINE ADVOCATE, June 2013

Fonseca's head winemaker – David Guimaraens remarked: ' The 2009's have higher colour intensity and tannin levels than we have seen for the last two decades. They also have exceptional fruit quality as can be seen from the wonderfully opulent nose of the Fonseca'.

Blender Mario Araujo, who celebrates his 50th  year working in the Fonseca tasting room, noted ' This is one of the most impressive young vintage ports that I can remember. In many ways it reminds me of the 1970 with its firm tannins and powerful fruit'.