1980 Fonseca Vintage Port
Posted: Sat Dec 19, 2009 3:48 pm
Fonseca 1980
The first bottle out of a previously unopened case, I was immediately alarmed by the poor level - barely in neck - and evidence of staining on the guarantee strip.
Stripping off the capsule revealed plenty of dried residue, and although the cork was not raised, my immediate concern was that this case had become very hot at some point.
Unloading the other bottles allayed my fears however, as it revealed the bottle to be the odd one out - I suspect the bottling plant sneezed!
Decanted an hour ago - modest amount of fine sediment.
Very light fresh colour in the decanter.
First sip - no bottle stink, pleasant bouquet and palate - very Fonseca -and immediately approachable.
However, I'll give it a little time before I tackle it in earnest..
..more anon
Tom
Four hours on and a glass proper.
Slight hint of tawny in the colour, clear meniscus - looks fully mature.
Light but very pleasant bouquet, slightly sharp on the palate, but very agreeable with a good finish.
But it is very lightweight wine.
I'll work my way through the decanter over the next couple of days, and report if there is any significant evolution, but I feel this wine is already fit to score.
For immediate gratification, the wine performs well. Not perhaps one to enjoy after fat steaks, or with chocolate puddings, but certainly a good choice to follow a light meal on a lazy summer's evening.
But too light to make the top quartile, so I give it a 7.
Where's it going? Not up, certainly, but probably not down very rapidly either, so a point off.
So my score is 7-6
I tend to think of the '80 vintage as '60 re-visited - a vintage that enjoyed very good reveiws in the 1980's, but is mostly well past it's best now.
Neither this bottle, nor the notes of other wines above leads me away from this view.
Tom
This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the original note in context.
The first bottle out of a previously unopened case, I was immediately alarmed by the poor level - barely in neck - and evidence of staining on the guarantee strip.
Stripping off the capsule revealed plenty of dried residue, and although the cork was not raised, my immediate concern was that this case had become very hot at some point.
Unloading the other bottles allayed my fears however, as it revealed the bottle to be the odd one out - I suspect the bottling plant sneezed!
Decanted an hour ago - modest amount of fine sediment.
Very light fresh colour in the decanter.
First sip - no bottle stink, pleasant bouquet and palate - very Fonseca -and immediately approachable.
However, I'll give it a little time before I tackle it in earnest..
..more anon
Tom
Four hours on and a glass proper.
Slight hint of tawny in the colour, clear meniscus - looks fully mature.
Light but very pleasant bouquet, slightly sharp on the palate, but very agreeable with a good finish.
But it is very lightweight wine.
I'll work my way through the decanter over the next couple of days, and report if there is any significant evolution, but I feel this wine is already fit to score.
For immediate gratification, the wine performs well. Not perhaps one to enjoy after fat steaks, or with chocolate puddings, but certainly a good choice to follow a light meal on a lazy summer's evening.
But too light to make the top quartile, so I give it a 7.
Where's it going? Not up, certainly, but probably not down very rapidly either, so a point off.
So my score is 7-6
I tend to think of the '80 vintage as '60 re-visited - a vintage that enjoyed very good reveiws in the 1980's, but is mostly well past it's best now.
Neither this bottle, nor the notes of other wines above leads me away from this view.
Tom
This tasting note is one of several related tasting notes. Click [here] to see the original note in context.