2018 FONSECA GUIMARAENS, Lea & Sandeman

FONSECA GUIMARAENS

2018

Origin Portugal, Port
District Vintage Port
ABV 20%

What a pleasure to taste and compare alongside the Taylor's. This is gorgeous. Very Fonseca, full of weight and richness. So spicy - and completely captivating. The family decided that this was really close to a full Fonseca declaration. yet it is missing one crucial element - fruit from a quinta in the Alto Douro which would have tipped it over the line to a full, classic release. You can sense the class here - for a Guimaraens - this really is good. Rich plum, soft fig and black-fleshed berry notes hit the palate in a beautifully melded middle - soft tobacco and wild herbs too but with a gentle rub to the texture. An appealing wilder note - you just want another sip. David Guimaraens explained one of the reasons this was not a full Fonseca is because he did not feel it had quite the long-term potential of a classic declaration - this may be true - but there is plenty of future here, and it will give great pleasure over the next 20-30 years. L&S (Jan 2021)


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The 2018 Guimaraens Vintage Port...has a rich and opulent bouquet with black cherries, stewed figs and dates. The palate is sweet and fleshy on the entry with black fruit, tar, desiccated orange peel, Xmas cake and juniper berries. I admire the harmony of this Vintage Port. The firm structure only becomes apparent towards the finish. Wonderful length on the aftertaste, the mouth stained with Port for 60 seconds after. Excellent. Drinking range: 2030 - 2065 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2021)

Blackish crimson. High toned and alluring on the nose. Quite a bit of structure and something suggestive of fireworks. This is the business for a vintage port! The sort of wine that would probably have qualified as a full-blooded Fonseca vintage port a few decades ago. Peppery and fiery and yet the tannins are subsumed under the fruit. We’re having steak tonight and I am tempted to drink this with it. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2021)

Warm, soft-edged and generally open, with a core of steeped plum, blackberry preserve and blueberry reduction flavors leading the way, backed by hints of ganache and licorice root on the finish that add a grippier feel. More bass than treble, but well-packed and should age well. Drinking range: 2030 - 2045 Rating: 94 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2021)

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