Fonseca, Vintage Port, 1997
Dense,dark purple colour. Closed, intense and brooding. Herbaceous and spicy flavours folowed by powerful,concentrated ripe tannins. Wonderfully rich texture and a great length of flavour. This will start to drink from about 2015.
critic reviews
Full saturated ruby. Inky, brooding aromas of syrupy black fruits and violet. Dense, thick and tactile, with superb depth of flavor and compelling juicy sweetness. Finishes with powerful tannins and superb grip. Not as flamboyantly aromatic as this wine normally is in its youth, but structured for long, slow development in bottle.
Somewhat of a lightweight for Fonseca, but undeniably charming, this dark ruby/purple-colored wine offers a floral, exotic, flamboyant bouquet, a sweet, fleshy style, but not a great deal of weight or massiveness. Heady alcohol, sweet tannin, and a velvety texture make for a gorgeous finish. While I would have preferred to have seen more weight, structure, and intensity, this is an outstanding, albeit lighter than normal Fonseca. Anticipated maturity: now-2020. Importer: Kobrand Corp., New York, NY; tel. (212) 490-9300