Fonseca belongs in the first league of vintage port houses. Few port producers have maintained such consistency of quality and style from vintage to vintage.
Notes on Viticultural Year
The beginning of the year was marked by cold and rain. During five months, from November to April, almost 500 millimeters of rain fell in Pinhão in the heart of the Cima Corgo. The rain in winter and spring was fundamental in replenishing the depleted underground water reserves that made it possible to face a very dry ripening season.
Budburst occurred, as expected, near the third weekend in March, and warm, humid conditions in April encouraged vigorous growth. From May 1 to August 21 hot and very dry weather set in, with a short heatwave at the end of June.
However the abundant water in the soil allowed for perfect bunch formation and balanced ripening of the grapes. An absolutely timely rainfall on August 21st and September 1st caused the harvest to be refined. The first Fonseca property to start harvesting was Quinta do Panascal in the Távora valley, with the first grapes being picked on September 13th.
At Quinta do Cruzeiro in the Pinhão valley the start was on September 15th. At Quinta do Santo António, the organic quinta in the Pinhão valley, the harvest started ten days later, on September 25th. The wines from each of these properties were strongly aromatic and with an impressive depth of color.
Tasting Notes
Retinct black core with thin purple rim. The nose opens up into a dense mass of blackberries and currants. Compact and concentrated, it exhibits great purity – a characteristic of the 2011 vintage. The nose gradually opens up revealing a matrix of intoxicating herbal aromas, discrete notes of exotic wood, marzipan and plum, as well as an attractive graphite minerality. Solid, with well-integrated tannins that give volume and firmness in the mouth, with reserves of dense dark fruit and full of dark chocolate and licorice. It is a vigorous vintage full of fruit, as is the tradition of Fonseca Vintages.
