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News
“The harvest of 2016 will be remembered as having started very late. Fonseca’s Quinta do Cruzeiro started picking right at the end of September and Quinta do Santo António at the beginning of October. This was due to the late start to the ripening season and to the long and very even maturation of the crop. Balance is certainly one of the keynotes of the vintage”.
“The gradual and even ripening of the crop has produced beautifully balanced Fonseca 2016 Vintage Port, with pure fruit, firm but well integrated tannins and an attractive freshness.”
David Fonseca Guimaraens, Head Wine Maker
Wine Description
The Story
Fonseca has belonged to the first rank of Vintage Port producers since the mid-nineteenth century. Fonseca Vintage Ports are noted for their luscious fruitiness which develops great opulence and complexity with age. Wines born of inspired winemaking and a thorough understanding of viticulture and terroir, they appeal, perhaps more than any other house's Vintage Ports, to the enthusiast and connoisseur.
Vintage Ports represent the finest produce of a single exceptional year. Unlike Ports which age in wood, Vintage Ports will continue to age and improve in bottle for decades, their character bearing the imprint of both vineyard and wine maker.
A constant thread that runs through the history of Fonseca is the family's close involvement with the making of the firm's Vintage Ports. Throughout the 20th century, the making of Fonseca Vintage Ports was overseen by only four family members, Frank, Dorothy, Bruce and David Guimaraens and this has helped to make Fonseca one of the most stylistically consistent of Vintage Port producers.
The firm's Vintage Ports are drawn from its own quintas or estates: Cruzeiro and Santo António in the Pinhão Valley, which have contributed to the firm's Vintage Port blend for 100 years, as well the Távora Valley property of Panascal. Fonseca is unique among Port houses in making three different types of Vintage Port.
Fonseca Vintage Ports are released only when a year produces outstanding wines with long term ageing potential. These classic Vintage Ports are a blend of wines from Cruzeiro, Santo António and Panascal. Cruzeiro contributes concentrated black fruit flavours and firm tannic 'grip'. Panascal adds an opulent luscious fruitiness and a dense velvety texture. Finally, Santo António brings complexity and vibrancy with its fine scented character and fresh acidity.
Although they can be enjoyed when young, Fonseca Vintage Ports will continue to improve in bottle for many decades. They have the stamina and aromatic potential to last for over a hundred years. Attracting the highest scores and auction prices, they are favoured not only by fine wine enthusiasts but also by collectors and investors.
Wine Information
The weather pattern leading up to the 2016 harvest was relatively unusual. Rainfall in April and May was almost three times the 10-year average. This replenished ground water reserves reduced by the dry conditions the previous year but also resulted in significant fruit loss and reduction in yields in some areas as well as a late start to the maturation cycle. In contrast, July saw the onset of hot, dry conditions that lasted for the rest of the summer. Ripening was even, gradual and rounded off by a spell of rainfall towards the middle of September. Estates that delayed picking until after the rains were rewarded by perfect harvesting weather, the cool nights contributing to long, well-balanced fermentations and gentle extraction. Wine makers' notes record that the young wines displayed very fine aromas as well as pronounced tannins. This early promise has been fully realised, with the 2016 vintage ports showing elegance, finesse, crisp acidity and tannins of exceptional quality. Picking at Fonseca's Panascal estate began on 21st September and at Quinta do Cruzeiro in the Pinhão Valley on the 28th. Fonseca's third property, Quinta do Santo António, only started harvesting on 6th October.
Vintage 2016
The 2016 harvest in the Douro brought perfectly-timed rain that turned a good year into a great one. Fortunately, despite a challenging growing season and a much adjusted and delayed picking schedule, those producers with excellent vineyard knowledge and confident decision-making, were rewarded with spectacular Vintage Ports.
