2003 Fonseca LBV Port

[Ray Barnes]

I've tasted this twice and am having a difficult time describing it, compared to other LBVs. It's opaque, with a pleasant but not very open bouquet of dark fruit and alcohol, and has an odd flavour of brown sugar and dark fruit, again, although the fruit flavors are not very long or distinct. If I were drinking this with my eyes shut, I would have guessed it to be a boal madeira or perhaps dulce oloroso sherry. The finish is short. Everyone who tried it thought it was delicious, but it is in my view not in the same league as Fonseca's 2005 Guifaraens Vintage Port, or the 2003 Quinta do Noval LBV. It's only $21 in Point Roberts WA, so one cannot expect much, but it did not overdeliver. While it is unfiltered, I do not think it has great ageing potential. It is in my view a little better than Churchill LBV at around the same money. Considering that Fonseca's 2003 VP is reputed to be superb, I had expected a little more - but perhaps one can get spoiled. Overall, not bad, a fair to good buy.

[Michael Hann]

Ray: Sorry to hear of your disappointment. I tasted this LBV with pleasure a year or more ago and bought a case to let age about 5 years. I found this well balanced, elegant, fruity, but a bit ungenerous or closed, as suggested by some tannin I noted, which is why I thought I could improve it by aging it 5 more years. There was a non-neglibible amount of sediment in my bottle which I kept out of my glass by decanting. I noted on the second day of drinking that there was a hint of prune flavor in the Port, which I did not construe as a negative. I make all of these comments with great humbleness and reservation, as I am definitely a neophyte in Port drinking with a very narrow range of Port experience.

[Ray Barnes]

If my post gave the impression that the wine was poor, I apologize for that. If it may help, while I felt the wine did not overdeliver for the price, it also did not underdeliver either. At the very least, it was worth the modest cost. The Quinta do Noval costs closer to $37 and one would expect a better wine for the price difference, and to my limited palate's experience it was.

The boal madeira impression should not be construed as a criticism, since I am a huge fan of that wine. Again in my limited experience with LBVs, I look for a combination of chocolate, mocha, dark fruit and sometimes a bit of spice, with some richness and length, although not in the same concentration or complexity as a VP. I found the flavour and aroma profile of this wine somewhat atypical, but not unpleasant in its own right. Others have spoken more highly of this wine including the forum owner, against which my assessment should be strongly deferred. I do not attempt to parrot anyone else's observations.

Perhaps one must allow for the possibility of bottle variation.

[Ray Barnes]

I'm happy to report that yesterday and again today, now 4 days after uncorking, the wine has "put on weight" and taken on more of the flavour and aroma profile that one might be consider to be typical of a LBV. That brown sugar element seems to have vanished and there is much more chocolate and spice, along with a respectable finish. While at first I was not really impressed (or dissapointed), now I am starting to really like it. It's upgraded from a fair to good, to very good effort, and I think worthy of this estate's reputation. I think this wine has the potential to go another 5 years or more. Recommended at $21 a bottle for sure.

Now that the weather is getting considerably cooler in the Pacific Northwest, I am being reminded every day why the British held port in such high esteem. Indeed, a little a day goes a long way to raise one's spirits and body temperature.