Port Wine Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage 2008 75cl
TASTING NOTES
Very deep purple black with violet reflection. As you would expect of a Vintage Port Guimaraens, the first impression on the nose is an explosion of blackberries, cassis, strawberries and wild berries. These lush berry fruit flavors are seasoned with notes of coffee, molasses and spices and wrapped in a fragrant balsamic aura of rock rose flower and mint. The intense fruit flows through the palate as a dense cassis coulis. The palate is supported by a closed and tight weave tannins and long finish resembles an explosion of sumptuous flavors of ripe berry fruit.
JAMIE GOODE – WINE Anorak – NOVEMBER 2010-93 POINTS
“Rich, spicy and hot, with cedar wood notes, dense blackberries and black cherries. Full, focused and well balanced, with some floral notes of violets and more feature-rich, spicy and woody. Firm tannins, too. Very delicious . “
NOTES OF THE YEAR
The winter of 2008 was drier and colder than usual, registering only 258mm of average rainfall between November and March. Fortunately, April was a wet month and secured enough restoration of water supplies. Flowering occurred under wet and cold conditions. As a result, all castes were affected by an imperfect fertilization, yielding therefore lower yields, but with a large concentration of flavor.
Temperatures in the growing season in 2008 were remarkably similar to 2007, with lower temperatures than average and one month of mild August. The final maturity of the grapes was greatly favored by the rains that fell between 4 and 7 September and by a further precipitation to occur just before the harvest begins.
The harvest began on September 25 in Quinta do Panascal and September 26 in the valley of the sprocket. A key feature of the whole harvest were the hot days combined with cool nights, resulting in perfect weather conditions, not only for the final ripening of the grapes, but also for the duration of fermentation. This gave a wonderful freshness of fruit, complexity and great structure.
