Fonseca, Tawny 40YO Port

multi-layered, dark rum

Enjoyable, but not very complex. I was hoping for more from this level of age.

Unglaublich ( unbelievable). Hard to fathom this being a 41 year old bottle of port. The cork was saturated, but the wine no worse for wear. I would guess a young Quinto do Vesuvio if tasting blind. As it is famous for copious red and black fruit and lavender aromas. Layers of fruit with a bit of cocca on the finish. Interested to see how it evolves with only two of us drinking it. .

1985 vintage

My last bottle (sigh).... My previous notes speak for this bottle as well. It's only 40 years old, and shows no sign of aging out. Just a great vintage and house, and I'm glad I had the foresight to buy a case of it when it was dirt cheap. No regrets drinking it so "young" despite my 'sign' above, since I'm no longer young and I have to take every measure so that I don't leave such wonders undrunk!

1985 vintage

First Growth plus Ausone and LMHB dinner (1789 Restaurant, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.) : Fully mature complex nose displaying slightly dry red fruit, dry fig, dry apricot, a hint of strawberry jam, roasted chestnut, hazelnut, anise, cedar, caramel, sweet spices and limestone. Fully integrated palate, layers upon layers of generous dry red fruit, silky and fluid, bright acidity, medium mineral, and a long generous slightly dry red fruit driven nutty finish. No room to improve but this isn’t going anywhere.

1966 vintage

A Small Holiday Get Together : This pours medium ruby in the glass, faint bricking at the rim. The nose is of red plum, kirsch, leather, and chopped walnuts. The palate is vibrant entering on red plum with moderate RS and balanced alcohol, medium tannin, and medium acid. The finish is long and complex showing leather, sandalwood, and red plum. All in all, this is a simply wonderful bottle of Vintage Port, in fact not dissimilar from Taylor's 1970 recently …

1966 vintage

From 375. Lots of runway ahead, pure cherry, toffee, date and caramel. Lots of acidity made this taste quite fresh. Not sure how much more I could want from a vintage port.

1985 vintage

Cherries for days

1985 vintage

Nice, nutty and fresh

Still going strong with a dark compact fruit core while still maintaining a lovely balance. Lots of acidity and depth and overall just a stunning wine!

1985 vintage

Mørk rød farge, litt orange i kantene. Hadde forventet at den var brunere. Lukt av søte kirsebær og litt alkohol. Søt og fruktig anslag. Sitter lenge igjen i munnen. Litt alkoholpreg i ettersmaken. En god fruktig variant av en portvin.

1985 vintage

Plum, nutty, very fresh. Good for sipping!

Just wow! Pulled and poured, and this is an extraordinarily good bottle of port. So well balanced. Not overly sweet. Complex, tasty, just wow! For the ~US$50 that I paid this is extraordinary QPR.

2007 vintage

A powerhouse of Tawny, raisin loaded, oak and long aftertaste 🎅🏻

Kurzprobe Portweinmesse Leverkusen 2025

2007 vintage

spicy bouquet with notes of black berries and licorice,on the palate dark chocolate,licorice,dates and spices. A fine glas of port !

1985 vintage

Corked

2007 vintage

Floral nose (as noted by others); long, succulent, intense on the palate; rich without being too sweet, very nice.

1985 vintage

Fonseca vs Nacional EPIC Legacy Port Weekend; 10/18/2025-10/19/2025 (Northern Chicago Restaurants) : EPIC Legacy Port Weekend. Deeper darker color for the whole flight. Good flavor and so enjoyable.

1966 vintage

Fonseca vs Nacional EPIC Legacy Port Weekend; 10/18/2025-10/19/2025 (Northern Chicago Restaurants) : Deepest and darkest color of the flight. Deeper concentration of flavors on the palate with a good finish n

1985 vintage

fortified blind tasting via samples in tubes (home) : The wine shows red brown colour In the nose, the wine shows a very aggressive style, highly warm, loads of varnish notes, no fruit or floral notes here that I can distinguish, maybe some red berry notes way in the back. In the palate, the wine shows quite sweet profile, considerably warmth too, dried red berry notes, red cherry notes, cranberry jam, fruit in alcohol, med finish. It feels rather cloying …

tasting ground official tasting, blind tasting #30 (Oinoscent) : The wine shows some evolution In the nose, the wine shows dusty notes, dense red fruit, sweet spices, the oak is a bit more upfront Palate shows warmth, some dried fruit notes, red berry notes, crunchy, dried cranberry, some tannins, med body, med finish Called this tawny

40 years and still fresh and deep purple color Great floral nose and dark cherries on the palate

1985 vintage

This is in a wonderful spot!! Enjoy. Still needs a 3 hour decant.

1985 vintage

Nose: roasted stone fruits, roast nuts, Christmas pudding, treacle, baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, clove), milk chocolate, burnt caramel Palate: caramel, maple syrup, chai, cinnamon bun, roast peaches, baked plum and pluot, creme brûlée, maraschino cherry Finsh: sweet, complex, dense, stone fruit pit, maraschino cherry, caramel

Slightly sweeter, red fruit style tawny ... even for a 10 year. Simple, economical, drinkable ... and really good.

WC Blind tasting training #29 : In the nose the wine shows VA notes, dark fruit, dried and overripe fruits, raisins, plums, prunes, grape marmalade notes, some herbal notes, a few chocolate notes Palate follows the nose, coffee notes, very warm, loads of sweetness, pretty straightforward, lacks freshness, dark fruit, med finish The wine lacks balance, tastes very warm (20%alc), some medicinal notes in there don’t really help, very raisin-y profile, some nutty notes, walnut liqueur

Decanted (6) hours & consumed over three (3) nights. Threw modest sediment. Offers aromas of black plum, dark cherry compote, cocoa powder, dried herbs & cedar. Densely packed, flavors of ripe cherries & plum envelope the palate in a warm comforting embrace. Active acidity drives long evenly distributed mouth-coating finish. Slightly angular initially but rounded & adroit by night three. Enjoyable now with extended decant. Drink now or hold.

2007 vintage

Nose: string of aroma of apricots, nectarine, cinnamon, flan, nutmeg, Placate: oak, sandal wood, vanilla, cinnamon, hazelnut, caramel, leather Finish: caramel, leather, dark chocolate

Light red colour. Nose of red cherry, tea and anise. Smooth and light with mostly sweet tea in the finish.

This Port opened with a clear dark cherry colour and a nose of dark plum, blackberry, dark chocolate and lavender. The palate shows an initial lovely line of dark fruits, dark chocolate, liquorice, lavender and violets but is slightly attenuated on the finish. Its quite savoury and grippy on the finish but ultimately lacks the carry through of the best 2007 Ports.

2007 vintage

Meh. Had this port in the past. Gave it same note. Now I will steer clear of this 20 year old tawny in the future. I will go for the Taylor Fladgate which in my opinion is a better 20 year old tawny all across the line.

Drank over two nights. Excellent Port, not too sweet.

1985 vintage

Friday Group Brown Bag Tasting (J&J's) : Double blind. Medium crimson red color. This has a beautiful, complex bouquet featuring red and black currants, cedar, licorice, violet and kirsch. Full-bodied with medium tannins and flavors of cherry cordial, kirsch, licorice, sage and currants. Long finish. My gut said 1985 port, but I had no guess as to the house. This had been double decanted about 12 hrs before service. Absolutely outstanding, with a long way to go. (J2)

1985 vintage

Double decanted 12 hours before service. Upon initial decanting, this was a massive fruit bomb with little alcohol heat showing. At the 12-hour mark, the alcohol heat had come on. This wine clearly needs a 24-hour decant. That said, my notes from 2019 are still spot on. The fruit is phenomenal. The sweetness is medium. It's a fruity port more than a sweet port. At 40 years, this wine isn't close to being mature yet. I'm still convinced this wine …

1985 vintage

Stanton & Killeen - The Passing of the Port (Stanton & Killeen, Rutherglen) : Best in a lineup with the '85 Taylor's, Graham's and Warre's. The Fons was the best, the Warre's had VA. Still deep red. Balanced, very fine. Needs time.

1985 vintage

94, excellent after a pinot wine dinner

1985 vintage

No formal notes, but excellent and stable over three weeks. 92-93.

Too young and currently too sweet for my taste. Swollen, huge jammy fruits drowning anything you put into the piehole. Nevertheless, this will become one of the great ports given some 50, or so, more years of rest. Score for the evening's performance. May reach a 100 points, but I'll be dead before that happens. The cork on this one was in terrible shape (already)...

1985 vintage

Sehr toller Portwein, süß und tolle leichte Säure.

Lovely port. Increasingly I am leaning toward the tawny ports, with more nuttiness and caramel. I really like this one.

Decanted and drunk five hours later. Extremely dark with surprisingly little gradation. Quite reticent nose, dark and fruity like a Pomerol, with no hints of raisins. Smooth, big wine. Still very young, perhaps the last bottle should wait another decade.

1985 vintage

aromas of blackberry, cassis, dark cherry, and violets, layered with hints of spice, licorice, and chocolate. The palate is rich and full-bodied, showcasing ripe black fruit, plum, and fig, supported by firm tannins and fresh acidity. The long, velvety finish carries notes of dark cocoa and sweet spice, promising excellent aging potential.

2007 vintage

Super dark and primary; very fruit forward and bright. Tonnes of tannins. Classic Fonseca 85, really – totally typical.

1985 vintage

The mark reflects that the cork had already fallen in the bottle. having said that there was still good strong fruit even if the fortified element was rather dominating. A good mid red and impressive length for the age. No doubt a perfect bottle woudl still be outstanding.

1966 vintage

(Blind tasting) Developed, but not mature nose. Very fruity and elegant. Plum and blackberry. Spice, pepper and stony minerality. Lovely depth. Medium-fullish, fullish palate. Very good balance, freshness and elegance. Lovely sweetness. Not fiery. Impeccable balance between development, spice and fruit. Would not be surprised if this will score even higher in 20 years.

1985 vintage

Decanted 4 hours. Eye: Dark to medium red. Shows moderate bricking. Nose: Pretty boozy. Rich jammy fruits; namely plum and prune. Dark chocolate, and fresh vanilla. Just a super classic vintage port-nose. Rich, sweet, full of rancio. Palate: Still quite sweet, still quite boozy. The wine leads with caramel and rancio, before resolving into jammy red and black fruits. Finish: Mega long. Fruit and rich spice linger for ages. There is a cacao powder element and a faint boozy-rancio richness. …

1985 vintage

[tasted blind] deep ruby core with garnet rim and full body. moderately expressive nose of macerated fig and cherry fruit with dates, burnt brown sugar, spices and saddle leather. more expressive and expansive in mouth, it is beautifully layered with fresh red fruit, caramelised fig, and streaks of clove, pepper, and other spices. lovely acidic lift keeps the sweetness very much in check. long finish with medicinal accents. [the taste profile suggested ~30year tawny port; while the colour and freshness …

1985 vintage

A blend of traditional Port varieties from Quinta de Santo António, Quinta do Cruzeiro, and Quinta do Panascal; all located in the Cima Corgo sub-region of Douro. The grapes have been foot-trodden in lagares and the grape must is fortified after approximately 48 hours of fermentation. Aged in oak for approximately 18 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered. 20,5% alcohol. Tasted blind. Dense, fully opaque blackish-red color that doesn't seem aged nor particularly youthful. The nose feels sweet, fragrant and a …

1985 vintage

This was very good, and I usually consider it a super star. However tonight this was paired against the 2003 of the same exact wine and quite frankly it wasn’t even in the same league. The 2003 was 97/98.

2007 vintage

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Fonseca, Tawny 40YO Port

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