Vintage Port

Rating

96

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2000

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

1st Jan 1989

Source

Buying Guide, 2nd Edition, The Wine Advocate

This house must certainly be the Latour of Portugal. Their ports are remarkably backward yet still impressive when young. Of all the vintage ports, those of Taylor need the longest time to mature and even when fully mature seem to have an inner strength and firmness that keep them going for decades. Their tawnys are also among the very best, though somewhat expensive. The 1977 has consistently been at the top of my list of vintage ports in this great vintage, although the Dow, Graham, and Fonseca are equally splendid. It is a mammoth, opaque, statuesque vintage port of remarkable depth and power, but is should not be touched before 2000.

“A troublesome vintage for many shippers, but Fonseca 1985 never fails to impress: tight-knit, dense and minty with a core of concentration and pure berry fruit. Succulent, wonderfully fresh and vibrant at 30 years old. Peacock’s tail of a finish. A real ‘wow’ of a wine that promises to last a lifetime.” 96 pts Richard Mayson

The 1985 vintage was preceded by an exceptionally cold, wet winter, with night temperatures well below freezing in early January. Berry set was excellent and the young bunches perfectly formed. The summer was hot throughout the region, with no rainfall during July and August. Fonseca picked earlier than most other shippers and the harvest was brought in under ideal conditions before the rain which fell later in the month of September. Conditions were ideal for fermentation resulting in must of exceptional colour and weight. Bottled in 1987. Round, rich and firm. Liquorice and freshness. (17.5 points)

Score: 17 - 18

Jancis Robinson MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2015-203004 October 2012

Deep crimson. Low key but well mannered nose. Thick, dry and clarety. Rather fine and serious and contained and compact. Yes! This one should run and run - real concentration and density. Lift and excitement. (18.5 points)

Score: 18 - 19

Jancis Robinson MW, Jancisrobinson.com Maturity: 2015-203013 October 2004

Very dark and youthful ruby-purple. Very intense aromas of blackberry and black licorice. Full-bodied and lightly sweet, with chewy tannins and a rich licorice, blackberry undertone. Still tight. Drinkable now, but it needs a few more years. '77/'85/'97 blind Port retrospective. Best after 2010.

Score: 93

James Suckling, Wine Spectator Maturity: 2010+01 January 2008

Excellent medium ruby. High-pitched, still-youthful aromas and flavors of black cherry, minerals, graphite, licorice, espresso and menthol. Primary, intense and impeccably balanced, with strong but harmonious acidity giving grip to the sappy dark fruit flavors and extending the extremely long finish. Wonderfully dense and silky wine--more elegantly styled than the 1996, thanks in part to the relatively cool summer. This should almost certainly merit an even higher score in a decade or so. Amazing wine in the making, and likely to merit an even higher score 10 or 20 years from now.

-- Stephen Tanzer 96+ Stephen Tanzer Not Available Nov 2012

Straightforward yet intense, ripe black raspberry liqueur and cassis scents are followed by a medium to full-bodied, elegant, restrained, balanced port with moderately high tannin as well as outstanding purity. It is a vintage port with impeccable finesse

Score: 91 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (143), October 2002

Lovely floral aromas of berries, violets and minerals. Full-bodied, with firm tannins and a racy finish. A harmonious yet well-toned Warre. Reminds me of the 1991. Best after 2010. 9,000 cases made

Score: 91 James Suckling, Wine Spectator

The 2000 Fonseca continues to exude finesse and focus on the nose, with pure blackberry, juniper berries, licorice and a touch of sloes, perhaps as Adrian Bridge remarked, just beginning to close after ten years in bottle. The palate is underpinned by very fine tannins, a sensual, svelte texture with wonderful acidity. The harmony and symmetry is alluring, the finish precise and demonstrating the persistency to suggest a long future ahead. Drink 2020-2060.

The 2016 Warre’s Vintage Port was picked from 19 September, the harvest took 10 days longer than usual in order to gain optimal ripeness. It has a tightly-wound but compelling bouquet with intense black fruit laced with clove, nutmeg and touches of smoke. This is a Warre’s with great precision and detail. The palate is sheer class: saturated ripe tannin that belie the structure underneath. There is a symmetry about this Vintage Port and a tension that keeps you returning for more. Wow. This is one of the finest Warre’s that I have tasted at declaration. Bravo! Production is 4,250 cases. Drink 2026 - 2070.
Score: 94 Neal Martin, vinous.com, June 2018

Very complex with dried flowers and roses. Full-bodied, very layered and tightly wound. Chewy and powerful. Firm and off-dry. Needs five or six years to soften. Beauty. Try in 2024.
Score: 96 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2018