Tasted at the 1963 Horizontal on 18 July 2023.
The wines appearing at the tasting were:
1963 Adam, with a cork branded "Carvalhas 1963"
1963 Borges
1963 Burmester
1963 Cockburn
1963 Constantino
1963 Croft
1963 Fonseca
1963 Graham
1963 Martinez
1963 Quinta do Noval, bottled by Army & Navy Stores
1963 Ramos Pinto
1963 Warre
1977 Fonseca, appearing as a mystery bottle poured and tasted blind
1977 Fonseca
- Alex Bridgeman
- Graham’s 1948
- Posts: 14916
- Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
- Location: Berkshire, UK
1977 Fonseca
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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- Fonseca 1980
- Posts: 1909
- Joined: 15:35 Mon 13 May 2019
Re: 1977 Fonseca
A beautiful colour.
Smells... well, like port (not a given at this tasting). Bit of eucalyptus on the nose from the spirit.
Nice ripe fruit but perhaps a little lighter on the palate than perfection for an F77 (mind you, so many of the 77s are lighter than perfection, or merely perhaps they are not the big bruisers I remember them being 25 years ago)
Top half of the draw on the night.
Smells... well, like port (not a given at this tasting). Bit of eucalyptus on the nose from the spirit.
Nice ripe fruit but perhaps a little lighter on the palate than perfection for an F77 (mind you, so many of the 77s are lighter than perfection, or merely perhaps they are not the big bruisers I remember them being 25 years ago)
Top half of the draw on the night.
- Alex Bridgeman
- Graham’s 1948
- Posts: 14916
- Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
- Location: Berkshire, UK
Re: 1977 Fonseca
Served blind, this wine was a mature brick red colour and 50% opaque. Generous red fruit with a twist of woodsmoke and a hint of orange peel give a complex and inviting nose. Smooth red fruit on the palate, with tannins wrapped around the fruit; the two combining to provide an immense and impressive Port that is fresh and full of amazing fruit. A long and lingering strawberry jelly finish, maintaining its impressive balance and complexity. This is a beautiful and complete wine. It was guessed to be an excellent bottle of Croft 1963 and was my wine of the tasting. 97/100. Decanted 12 hours.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.