Taylor vs. Fonseca - What do you prefer

[Moses Botbol]

Last night we wanted to see who was king...



Results were really close. Can't post who won yet

[Andy Velebil]

I/m voting Fonseca...when its on, its on. but that darn bottle variation can be a b***h

[Mitch H]

Sort of like choosing a favorite child no? I love both house styles and think of Taylor as the more masculine and muscular of the 2, while Fonseca is the softer, more feminine styled but with a complexity and certain vanilla like character that seems to be the hallmark of the house. Happy to have lots of both in the cellar and have a brother with even more of them! Great looking sight Roy, sorry it took me forever to get over here...

[Roy Hersh]

If I wasn't in Portugal at the moment, I'd have a heart attack. 3.5 years later my brother finally finds the time to pay a visit to his brother's website.

:hello:

Come on back and you'll probably get a nice warm welcome Mitch.

[simon Lisle]

I prefer Fonseca post 1955 and Taylors before.

[Roy Hersh]

Simon,

I find it hard to make a blanket statement as you have, but it I agree with you in theory. I would choose the Taylor 1977 and 1980 for sure ... but otherwise, think you are spot on. The 1948 is also very very close, but why quibble over a point or two. Thanks for your assessment.

[Carlos Rodriguez]

I haven't try the vintages (at the moment). But of the SQVP, I do prefer Taylor's.

[Eric Menchen]

For me:
1970 - Fonseca
1977 - Taylor
1994 - Fonseca
For my wife:
1970 - not clear in her notes, but I think Taylor
1977 - Fonseca
1994 - Taylor
We do get along, really

[Glenn E.]

This weekend gave me a lot of new insight into this comparison, so now I feel qualified to comment!

We had three head-to-head pairings this weekend.

I ranked the Taylor over the Fonseca in 1970 and 1994, but in both cases the Fonseca was no slouch. Still, 2-0 Taylor.

I ranked the Fonseca over the Taylor in 1977, noting that to me the Taylor was "F77 lite". There might have been something wrong with this particular bottle of T77, though, because my notes indicate that it smelled of paper. I do not recall anyone saying anything about it being corked, though. 2-1 Taylor.

We had the 1966 Taylor this weekend and for me it won its flight (narrowly over the Graham), but the 1966 Fonseca was not represented and I have heard that it (like the 1963) is fabulous. So we'll call that a tie for now. The score is 2-1-1 Taylor.

We had the 1960 Taylor also this weekend and I was very impressed. I have not heard anything about the 1960 Fonseca, and if it were truely good I think I would have heard something, so I'll award 1960 to Taylor. 3-1-1 Taylor.

I have had the fabulous 1963 Fonseca twice now and would be very surprised if the 1963 Taylor could touch it. That brings the score to 3-2-1 Taylor.

So... it's really close. If the F66 is as good as the F63 then that would probably even the score.

However, if you were to throw Graham's into the mix I suspect the result might surprise you. That was the real eye opener for me this weekend, because I apparently really enjoy Graham's. It won '63 handily but didn't face Taylor or Fonseca in that flight, was second to the Taylor in '66, tied the Taylor for top honors in '70 where the Fonseca finished 4th, finished 3rd behind Taylor and Fonseca in '77, took 2nd behind Burmester and ahead of Fonseca in '85, and won '94 where the Taylor was 2nd and the Fonseca was 3rd. Pretty good juice!

[Pedro Guimaraes]

Though my knowledge cannot be compared with some of the members in the forum...i have to say Taylor, mainly because of the style - it's less fruit driven (IMUO) than Fonseca which for my palate is a plus...also i tend to enjoy the austerity and slight dryness one can get, a bit more, in Taylor's VP....

[Andy Velebil]

No change, still enjoy Fonseca better. It's ever so slighly better balanced IMO.

[Derek T.]

I have to say Fonseca does it for me over Taylor on almost every occassion I have had them side by side. I think for me it is simply a personal preference for the Fonseca style, not a quality issue.

Reading a post from Glenn above made me remember the first ever FTLOP Offline in London where we tasted the Fonseca, Graham, Taylor and Sandeman 63, 66 & 70 together. My recollection of that was that the 66s came out on top and, for me, Fonseca a clear winner over Graham and Taylor with Sandeman trailing in the wake of the others. I am sure Roy has an old Newsletter article about that offline which he may want to share in this thread?

As an aside, I went looking in the old threads for any comments about that tasting and found this quote from me in a post in this thread that is date stamped 05 Nov 2005 - only 3 years and 2 months ago.

Looking forward to meeting you all and learning a thing or two about how to taste port properly - neither Jo or I have been to a tasting before so can't wait to give it a go.

See you all tomorrow

Derek

Those of you who know me will also know that I have put in a lot of practice ever since that statement was made!

[Roy Hersh]

At what?

[Roy Hersh]

BTW, you were missed this weekend!

[Derek T.]

At what?

Staying sober are port tastings :help:

BTW, you were missed this weekend!

I really do wish I could have been there and I am looking forward to reading the reviews and TNs. I am sure I will drag myself over there one day - perhaps when The Depression is over and GBPs are worth something again

[Roy Hersh]

If that is the case, we will probably see you in 2010 or 2011, as I don't see any currency getting too much stronger for the balance of this year, and if I am wrong it won't be until way late in the year, but I personally doubt that.

Anyway, we'll just have to see you in London where it will look like a darn bargain compared to the past visits there since 2000.