Fonseca 2011 Vintage Port

Fonseca 2011 Vintage Port

Producer Tasting Note:

Intense black inky core and narrow purple rim. The nose opens onto a dense brooding mass of dark blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Compact and concentrated, it also displays exceptional purity - one of the hallmarks of the 2011 vintage. The nose gradually opens to reveal an array of heady herbal scents, discreet notes of exotic wood, marzipan and plum as well as an attractive graphite minerality. Solid well integrated tannins give both volume and firmness to the palate with its reserves of dense black fruit infused with dark chocolate and liquorice. A vigourous, concentrated fruit-driven Vintage Port, showing the classic opulence of Fonseca.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Heady, opulent nose. Completely enveloping, Smells as though there is going to be the most fabulous texture. Wow! All stops pulled out for this one. It's all absolutely gorgeous intensity of sweet fruit on the front palate and then gradually the schist and structure reveal themselves. This is really wonderful stuff. So tempting to sip it decades before it is ready." Drink 2035–2080

19.5/20 points, Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com, May 2013

"The Fonseca 2011 is typically more forthcoming on the nose compared to the bashful Croft: a strident bouquet with lifted scents of freshly picked blackberries, kirsch, crushed stone and a dash of Hoi Sin and oyster sauce. It is very well-defined, very focused and direct. The palate is silky smooth with not a rough edge in sight, though not a typically voluptuous Fonseca because of the keen thread of acidity and the structure that lends this mighty Port wonderful backbone. A slight viscosity on the finish lacquers the tongue and indicates a core of sweet fruit is ticking away underneath that will surely explode several years after bottling. A tincture of salted licorice on the aftertaste is very attractive. This will turn out to become an outstanding Fonseca, the growing season taming its exuberance with spectacular results. So much potential"

(97-99)/100 points, Neal Martin, WINE ADVOCATE, June 2013