Fonseca 2007 Vintage Port
Fonseca Vintage Port 2007
Fonseca belongs in the first rank of Vintage Port houses. It is recognised for the stylistic consistency of its wines which have been made by five generations of the same family since the firm’s foundation in 1822. Fonseca Vintage Ports are noted for their expressive, luscious fruitiness, which develops great opulence and complexity with age, as well as a voluptuous roundness on the palate supported by velvety mouth-filling tannins.
Fonseca Vintage Ports are often the preferred choice of the enthusiast and connoisseur, wines born of inspired and passionate winemaking and a thorough understanding of viticulture and terroir.

Fonseca Vintage Ports are produced from grapes grown on the firm’s own estates or ‘quintas’. The most famous of these is Quinta do Panascal, a historic property long recognized as the source of some of the finest wines in the Douro Valley.
Fonseca Vintage Ports are often the preferred choice of the enthusiast and connoisseur, wines born of inspired and passionate winemaking and a thorough understanding of viticulture and terroir.

Fonseca Vintage Ports are produced from grapes grown on the firm’s own estates or ‘quintas’. The most famous of these is Quinta do Panascal, a historic property long recognized as the source of some of the finest wines in the Douro Valley.

The Panascal estate, located in the Távora River Valley, is an increasingly important component of the Fonseca Vintage Port blend. As wine maker David Guimaraens noted: “The benefits of Fonseca’s major investment in Quinta do Panascal which started three decades ago are apparent in the rich, dense and powerfully fruity wines that this property is now producing. They account for the volume and texture of the Fonseca 2007 Vintage blend.”

Fonseca

The firm’s two Pinhão Valley properties, Quinta do Cruzeiro and Quinta do Santo António, have also both contributed regularly to the Fonseca Vintage Port blend over the last hundred years, providing firmness, vigour and intensity of flavour.

More about these properties can be found by selecting ‘Vineyards’ at the foot of this page.

Commenting on the declaration of the 2007 Vintage Port, Fonseca’s Managing Director Adrian Bridge remarked: “The year brought out the best in all the traditional grape varieties and as a result the wines are beautifully balanced, with the wonderful quality of fruit that we expected to find in a Fonseca vintage port.”

As elsewhere in the Douro region, the early summer on the Fonseca estates was relatively cool, producing a slow but very even and balanced ripening of the crop. At the end of August the vines were still displaying perfectly healthy, green leaf canopies which allowed them to derive full benefit from the warm weather in early September when maximum daily temperatures remained consistently above 30°C on the Fonseca ‘quintas’ for around two weeks. Picking started at Quinta do Panascal in the Távora Valley on 24th September and on the Pinhão Valley estates the following day. An excellent natural acidity and wonderful fresh and vibrant fruit quality were apparent very early in the wines’ development.

Although deceptively expressive and approachable, the Fonseca 2007 is built to last. It is an essential element of any serious collection of 2007 Vintage Ports.

Quantity made: 9,300 cases


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TASTING NOTES
Impenetrable inky black colour with purple highlights. As would be expected of Fonseca, the nose is dominated by a massively potent and concentrated fruitiness, packed with dense blackcurrant and blackberry aromas. Notes of coffee and exotic wood and hints of wild herbs and mint. The palate is rich and luscious, with thick velvety and wonderfully well integrated tannins enveloped in succulent jammy fruit and rich dark chocolate flavours.
Accolades
Anthony Gismondi, Wine Access Magazine, November 2009
The Fonseca 2007 is four-square on the palate with round tannins and big spicy, chocolate, licorice, black cherry, black tea, floral flavours.
The Fonseca 2007 is four-square on the palate with round tannins and big spicy, chocolate, licorice, black cherry, black tea, floral flavours. There is excellent depth, fruit, structure and acidity in what is a bold Fonseca that will age well and maintain its fruit for decades. A dense succulent port for the ages.
Neal Martin, www.erobertparker.com, May 2009
“A limpid purple garnet core. The nose is quintessential Fonseca...”
“A limpid purple garnet core. The nose is quintessential Fonseca, like a riotous party reaching its crescendo in the glass. Macerated black cherries, eau-de-vie, damson, fig and a touch of Seville orange. Then what is fascinating is that the uproar dies down with aeration, becomes more focused...as if the host has asked everyone to quieten down. The palate is powerful and spicy on the entry, sweet ripe black berried fruits, a touch of spice, fig and apricot, lovely cohesion and weight building towards a deeply joyous finish that lacquers the mouth in port-like reverie. Perhaps more approachable than the 2000 or the 2003 at this stage, this is a marvellous Fonseca.”
Score 96
James Suckling, Wine Spectator, May 2009
“Cooked raspberry, with hints of lemon peel and leaf. Full-bodied and medium sweet...”
“Cooked raspberry, with hints of lemon peel and leaf. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with a beautiful density and a sweet fruity and tannic aftertaste. Balanced yet muscular. A little disappointing, but clearly outstanding.”
Score: 92-95
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