December 24, 2023 - I had never tasted a VP before but after reading the reviews on this one (particularly the praise from Rick & Ilsa) I bought three bottles and opened one on Christmas Eve to establish a benchmark for future comparison. This bottle was decanted for 5 or 6 hours, returned to the cleaned bottle, and then consumed over the following four days. There was no drop in quality over time, and the extended air allowed some of the flavors to become more concentrated and intense toward the end.
This is dark dark dark purple in the glass, only slightly fading at the rim. Like staring into a delicious and velvety black hole. The nose is full of intrigue, stewed dark fruits like plums, fig, and black cherries, with hints of baking spices and extra doses of clove and anise. On the palate it delivers all those aromas and is luscious and concentrated, with a distinct nutty caramelized brown sugar element that provides the sensation of only a subtle sweetness. How do I describe this? You know how good quality dried dates are packed full of sugar, and yeah they're sweet, but because there's fiber and flavor you can eat 'em up without feeling sick? At least that's my experience with dates. And it was my experience with this wine. It is obviously sweet, but it was so well balanced with the acid and tannins that the perception of sugar content was dialed into the zone of "excellent without going overboard.” About those tannins--soft, round, and sexy. What will they be like in 25+ years?!? Beautifully long finish. It’s all here.
In terms of the score, I may revisit the 95 in the future. My wine Rolodex is miniscule in comparison to others and I have zero experience with fine wines at the top end of the 100-point scale. 95 is the highest score I've ever given, meaning this is the best I've ever had the privilege to drink. But I feel like I need to leave room for higher scores in case there are other wines that exceed this one.
Overall this was a memorable experience and I have no regrets losing my VP virginity to the 2011 Fonseca. Next bottle in 25 years?
December 24, 2023 - Fabulous port. Wish I could instantly add 20 years to it - so young still.
December 19, 2023 - Dark red-purple-Black. Plums, dark berries, dense, gentle tannins, sweetness and acidity. Balanced….dark, but light. Wonderful and very, very young.
November 5, 2023 - Split. The fifth of five wines tasted with a good friend over a long afternoon and evening. I am grateful to my friend for bringing it.
An exceptional wine from an exceptional vintage! Correct and satisfying. Very interesting to have tasted this a year ago, followed by the 1985, 2000, and 2016 vintages this spring, then this again. An educational experience of the house style and cellaring potential. Likely to enter its drinking window around 2050. Improvement seems likely. 97-98.
October 4, 2023 - Many previous notes apply so I won't go on and on again, but this is an excellent VP and still a outstanding qpr. If you don't get to it all, your children will thank you.
August 26, 2023 - Looking back at my cellar and tasting notes I see that I have enjoyed 19 individual bottles of this, posted 12 notes and still have 39 bottles (both 375's and 750's) in my cellar. Hopefully that says a lot of what I think of this wine. Rather than write another similar note here I will tell you that to me, my note of 6/11/2022 sums up my experience here. Exceptional qpr and a superior wine regardless of comparison.
January 3, 2023 - From split, decanted for 4 hours before serving. Lots of previous notes apply. To me, the greatest of the major port houses in the legendary 2011 vintage. Semi immortal, and still a huge qpr.
November 4, 2022 - Tasting Rendezvous with Rick, of Rick & Ilsa: Rick brought this split to our tasting rendezvous.
The best Ports of this vintage that I have crossed paths with, notably Dow and Graham The Stone Terraces, show like dry table wines, even though they are sweet. A mind-bender, I know! Go figure! Anyway, tasting immediately after the same vintage Sandeman, bore out this offering's stupendous quality, on par with those wines.
Perfume of dark, unsweetened cacao, dark berry liqueurs, muddled flower petals, sweet herbs, and mineral ores, among many other riveting essences. The wine makes its mark on the palate, featuring enchanting, tiered layers. I counted four tiers on the first sip, and a nuanced fifth on the second. Incredible tension, precision, and lift. Again, complexity runs so deep here, that one loses track of the fact that this is a fortified dessert wine.
Rick offered me the remaining third of the split, which I gratefully lingered over a long while the next evening. Pure pleasure! A top ten wine of this year for me! Likely to evolve and hold for at least three more decades, likely four, and perhaps five. Improvement seems certain. 97-98.
November 1, 2022 - From 375, double decanted for sediment, recorked and bounced along 250 miles before being sampled 8 hours later. Tasting pour showed off the concentration and power of this wine. Even under these poor conditions this shows masses of smooth, rich, intense fruit, along with rich ripe tannins. I am an unabashed fan of this wine and consider it the best of the mainstream ports from the excellent 2011 vintage. My lower score (than usual) is influenced by the conditions and the fact that I prefer my ports to have more decant time than some. The difference was easy to notice. I was anxious for my friend to try this as he loves port as much as I do and his experience vastly exceeds mine. Pleased his opinion was also positive. Excellent wine and recommended.
August 14, 2022 - From 375, decanted for 30 hours prior to serving. Cork has started to saturate, at least this bottle, about 1/4 of an inch, first time I've noticed this. This remains a favorite of mine and my note from 2 months ago still applies, and probably will for years to come as this is aging at a glacial pace. Excellent.