1963 Fonseca Vintage Port

[Gary Richardson]

I bought this bottle from MacArthur Wines in Washington, DC on March 26th and opened the same day. It was a little bit of a risky buy, since it was actively leaking and had a mid-shoulder fill level. The top of the cork was in really bad shape and may have actually been defective based on what I saw when I pulled it. This bottle was in the worst shape of any that I have ever bought, but I knew what I was getting.

But, at $59.99 and being aware of the potential, I took a risk. Am I glad that I did! This bottle showed nearly as well as any 1963 Fonseca's that I have had.

The wax capsule was badly chipped, so it was easy to remove the remnants. I was optimistic when I got about 3/4 of the cork out smoothly, but then it crumbled at the end. So, I pushed the rest into the bottle and decanted through cheese cloth. There was a narrow groove running the length of the cork and it was clear that this was the channel that allowed the leak. The color of the Port was mostly red, with slight hints of orange beginning to show, fading to a clear rim of about 1/8 inch.

Upon pouring, the room was immediately filled with powerful fruit. I was guardedly optimimistic, and poured the first glass which my wife promptly pulled away and tasted. She declared it to be "amazing" and I knew that I had hit the jackpot. She was right. Flavors of sweet, dark plums and cherries, silky tannins and a long, smooth finish. Everything was completely in balance and there was no heat that I have sometimes seen in this vintage.

Very pleased with my luck on this one, and I hope the other 3 gambles that I made at the shop (unknown producer/year) prove to be half as wonderful as this.

Overall score: 95 points

-- Gary

[Lamont Huxley]

$59.99!?! Are you kidding me??

[Gary Richardson]

$59.99!?! Are you kidding me??

The bottle was literally dripping port as it sat on the rack. There was a little puddle under it on the floor. The shop had just gotten it in stock, and I suspect that the bottle had not been lying down for much of its life or the fill level would have been even lower. I got one of the drops off the bottle on my finger and tasted it, but still wasn't sure if I was going to buy it since it was hard to tell the quality from that one drop. But, it wasn't obviously bad. The ultimate outcome really shows the heartiness of Port.

I have 3 other bottles of unknown lineage (vintage or producer) that were low-to-mid-neck level, but the gentleman at MacArthur who I buy from said he thought they were all 1963s. They have always done right by me, so I took a chance and bought them at $99.99 each. I will make sure to post tasting notes as I drink them, if I can figure out what they are.

-- Gary

[Lamont Huxley]

I suppose for such a questionable bottle that seems a fair price to take the risk on it - I was just jealous more than anything but it's cool to hear that even such a damaged bottle can show so well!

[Eric Menchen]

Provenance!