Lots of ripe fruit here with raisins and wet earth that turn to violets and hot stones. Full-bodied, tannic and powerful with fantastic grip and intensity. Grabs you. Impressive. Drink in 2025.
The nose is a bit closed but there are fragrances spring violets at the back. The start of the palate is rich with ripe fleshy black fruits all backed by firm fine tannins. Layers of flavour give complexity dark chocolate and ripe black plum and cherry on the mid palate underpinned by bilberry freshness. There is a vibrant fresh feel at the back a touch of mineral, purity and length. 2036-65
Opaque in the glass with a glint of purple, the nose here is peppery and smoky, with a blend of bramble fruits and tobacco. The palate is generous and plush, with rounded tannins offering ample texture for the expansive black fruit profile. Hints of cocoa and coffee come through adding to the sweetness before savoury spices add a harmony and precision to the acidity. Long and powerful on the finish, this is complex and perfectly balanced.
Dark crimson with a slightly chestnut hue. Very much a cloud rather than a rapier on the nose – hedonistic and ripe with masses of sweetness almost masking a rigorous corset of tannins. You really taste the heat here – but in a very ripe fruit way, not in a hot spirit way.
Drink 2036-2066
More muted and less engaging than some, this is a powerful and slightly introverted wine with seriously impressive detail and a distinguished air. The tannins are present and they warn the taster that unlike the majority of the wines at this tasting Fonseca will require more patience to allow it to slowly come to life.
The cornerstone of this wine is Quinta de Panascal in the lower reaches of the Tavora Valley alongside quintas Cruzeiro and Santo António in the Pinhão Valley: closed and rather withdrawn on the nose with an underlying dusting of tannin evident; firm, sweet cassis and berry fruit, dark chocolate intensity at the core, backed by broad yet tight-knit peppery tannins which grip on the finish. All there and very fine. 4900 cases produced. 18+/20
