I found a very good deal on JM Fonseca 20-year-old Moscatel de Setubal from Post Liquors (http://www.postwines.com) in Long Island, NY - $39/750 ml bottle + postage, which is as good as the price was a few years ago, before they switched that wine to half-bottles and jacked the price way up. I bought the last 3 bottles.
Anyway, it turns out that the bottles themselves were quite old - not only had the wine barrel-aged for 20 years, but the bottling date was 1986, so they'd been sitting in bottles for another 20.
I don't normally decant Madeira or Moscatel de Setubal, but if its been bottled for this long, it may need it. Would you agree, and if so, how long? Also, is Moscatel de Setubal one of those wines that pretty much stops aging once bottled (since its so heavily oxidized during barrel aging) or could it possibly have done some bottle aging as well over the last 20 years?
Peter
Older bottles of Moscatel de Setubal - decanting advice?
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The JM de Fonseca 20 year old Roxo is one of the loves of my life. This wine is no longer produced. Very sad indeed. I own a handful and the last one I opened was at Thanksgiving for my brother and I. It is really great stuff. On my 40th birthday in '97, my good friend Bartholomew treated me to a vertical (while we were in Aspen, CO) where we opened and consumed every vintage Setubal of Fonseca's (not the Port company) from my birth year of 1957 back to 1927. Now that is a good friend! Enough reminscing as I only own some Roxo and also a handful of 1962s.
Anyway, the Vintage bottlings do improve with age, but these 20 year old blends do not. I would however decant (not for sediment) for just one hour to provide them a chance to bloom, but they'd also do well is sipped slowly, evolving in the glass. Your choice.
Anyway, the Vintage bottlings do improve with age, but these 20 year old blends do not. I would however decant (not for sediment) for just one hour to provide them a chance to bloom, but they'd also do well is sipped slowly, evolving in the glass. Your choice.
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
I decanted a bottle - to my surprise, it actually had a very strong sediment and needed straining through cheesecloth. I have a recent half-bottle of JM Fonseca Setubal (bottled 2003), so I compared the two. While the overall flavor is similar, the 1986 bottling is noticeably more concentrated, with an even more intense bouquet and longer finish than the 2003 bottling. The 1986 is more treacley and slightly less floral than the 2003.
I'm not sure how much of this is due to bottle aging (the effect of which I can't dismiss, considering the amount of sediment it threw) and how much this is due to a change in style over the last 20 years.
Peter
I'm not sure how much of this is due to bottle aging (the effect of which I can't dismiss, considering the amount of sediment it threw) and how much this is due to a change in style over the last 20 years.
Peter
Peter,
Fascinating and thanks for opening my eyes and your second bottle (from 2003). Since there was a sediment in the bottle, certainly you'd have to attribute the improvement in the wine to "bottle age" and I am surprised that you found sediment to this degree. Did you notice any, in your younger bottle?
Excellent report. Thanks!
Fascinating and thanks for opening my eyes and your second bottle (from 2003). Since there was a sediment in the bottle, certainly you'd have to attribute the improvement in the wine to "bottle age" and I am surprised that you found sediment to this degree. Did you notice any, in your younger bottle?
Excellent report. Thanks!
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com
No big deal - the 2003 bottle was already open; I just opened one of the 1986 bottle early. The 2003 bottle had no sediment and I don't remember seeing any in earlier bottles of 20-year-old Moscatel de Setubal (which, until now, have all been bottled within a couple years of when I purchased them). Its also possible that JM Fonseca didn't filter their Seutbal in the 1980s, but does so now.
Peter
Peter