Fonseca 2009 Vintage Port

Fonseca 2009 Vintage Port. 

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'.
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.

Barrel 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.

"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