Wine Advisor
Fonseca, Vintage Port 1963
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This example was bottled in Porto and remained in the house’s bin until this tasting. The 1963 Vintage Port has a dark russet color. The nose is beautifully defined, perhaps this particular bottle less exuberant than other that I have encountered. It offers walnut, small cherries, juniper berries and a touch of spirit that expands in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with wonderful balance and fine tannins. It has tremendous weight matched by nigh perfect acidity. It is very harmonious, almost honeyed towards the finish with hazelnut and cloves infusing the decayed fruit and hints of menthol on the spicy aftertaste. This is a sublime Fonseca that will last another two or three decades with ease. Drink now-2030+.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the evening dinner in Southwold. This is the first time that I have tasted the Fonseca ’63. Quite frankly, this bottle blows away the Croft ’63 with a knockout nose of kirsch, balsam, cloves and lush creme de cassis aromas that adhere to Fonseca’s exotic style. The palate is full-bodied with loaded with glycerin with wild strawberry, sloes, dates, shaved ginger and Schezhuan peppers that leave the tongue tingling long after the port had bid adieu. This is an outstanding, flamboyant, vivacious vintage port at the peak of its powers. Tasted January 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Fonseca is one of the great port lodges, producing the most exotic and most complex port. If Fonseca lacks the sheer weight and power of a Taylor, Dow or Warre, or the opulent sweetness and intensity of a Graham, it excels in its magnificently complex, intense bouquet of plummy, cedary, spicy fruit and long, broad, expansive flavors. With its lush, seductive character, one might call it the Pomerol of Vintage ports. When it is young, it often loses out in blind tastings to the heavier, weightier, more tannic wines, but I always find myself upgrading my opinion of Fonseca after it has had 7-10 years of age. The 1963, one of the great modern-day classics of vintage port, is an incredibly aromatic, sublime, majestic port that simply defines Fonseca's style perfectly.
About the Producer
Fonseca is one of the most prestigious and historic Port wine houses in Portugal's Douro Valley. Established in 1822 by Antônio Monteiro Fonesca, the quinta has been owned and operated by the same family for nearly two centuries. Known for their concentrated, complex and age-worthy Vintage Ports, Fonseca also produces outstanding Late Bottled Vintage, Crusted and Tawny styles that showcase the depth and diversity of the Douro terroir. The winery's flagship Vintage Ports, such as the iconic Fonseca Guimaraens, are highly coveted by collectors for their remarkable balance, structure and potential to develop over decades in the cellar. Fonseca is considered a benchmark producer in the storied world of Port.
