This is a nice slick vintage port with fine balance and nice intensity of dark plum, blackberry, dark chocolate and lavender leading into a refined finish. It lacks a little 'carry' and drive which may develop with age. At this point very enjoyable and benefiting from a good decant.
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Where supposed to only drink a glass. But drank 3. Still half left and will be back. First glass was good but third glass was beautiful. Will be back. Just over 90 at this time.
Had some both day 2 and 3 and that was very similar. Maybe a bit too much alcohole but all in all a good port that grew with time. 91-92
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Very good when first opened, despite its youth. After a couple of days it opened and came together, showing a dense colour and a very complex, fragrant nose. The palate was full of sweet dark plummy fruit, dark chocolate, smooth soft leathery tannins, and smoky hints. More sweet dark cherry and cherry skin emerged later. Good, gentle acidity with fine balance and excellent length. Note. I was surprised to see just how expensive this wine is now. Lovely wine but I can’t really assess the QPR and put a number on it. It is certainly up in the 90s.
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Phil's Coravin exploration (Phil's place, Putney, Sydney): From Coravin. savoury, earthy, leather, gentleman's club, plums, sweet spice, a little walnut, smidge of almond. Juicy. Fleshy. Sweet. Similar flavours to the nose with a touch of burnt brown sugar, texture to the palate is positively charming, alcohol heat present but not overtly intrusive. Happily tidy this up. Yum.
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This is closed down. A few hours got slight hints of chocolate and plums. All I can feel is the alcoholic burn. My estimate would be another 3-5 years? To be on the safe side I’m going 10 more years.
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Popped this too young really, a little too much heat on the palate although the nose was very good. Nice structure and I think this will be much better in 3-5+ (which I should have known before opening). Nice wine.
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Tasted after several months open in the cellar. Still a profound layered palate of penetrating plum fruit, bitter chocolate, and nervy acids, with a taut intertwining of acid, tannin, and fruit at the back. The nose is mostly gone after all these months, but still has some fine aromatic fruit and floral notes, with a whisper of tobacco. Deeply satisfying.
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Deep garnet/purple color. Super young, but showing notes of sweet black cherries, cassis, vanilla, Asian spices, some tobacco, dark chocolate. It‘s pretty full-bodied, dense and powerful, with pretty high tannin that is hidden under the wealth of fruit, and medium+ acidity. Very good length. An excellent but super young Fonseca. This will still need 5-7 years to enter the beginning of its drinking window. (94+)
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2007 Fonseca Vintage Port from a 375ml bottle....which was opened by mistake, as my post in the other thread explains. Regardless of my mistake.....this is still a very dark inky color. Loads of blackberries, loganberries, and menthol. Dense fruit, massive wall of tannins quickly take over that fruit, then the acidity kicks in. That is all followed by more fresh dark fruit that is not as sweet as one would think, very well balanced and not there is no unbalanced jammy-ness at all. The minerality doesn't come out until the long lingering finish. WAY too young at this point, but should have a fantastic life ahead of it. 94+ Points
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A vertical of Joseph Swan Zins (Scott & Jo's): Now, I will admit that drinking vintage port at age 9 is not usually a good idea. But this was interesting if not a great port experience. It had been decanted for a few hours. Were served it blind, and I would have bet it was not from Portugal. Most people guessed LBV. I thought it was some California version of a Port. Obviously young. Purple in color. The nose had some nice dark cherries. no raisins, chocolate or toffee. Maybe a bit of iodine? On the palate, very soft and smooth. No heat for me. Not a ton of fruit, but dark cherries. No complexity, but a nice mouth-feel. Worked nicely with a chocolate souffle, but even then no chocolate notes of its own. It kind of disappears on the mid-palate and only slightly recovers on the finish. I suppose I am being hard on it, but it is Fonseca. I expected more. Maybe it will get there with some age.
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Obviously a bit young to drink (I would guess this will peak around 2045), the 2007 is already a wonderful port and if you like them young, very much worth trying. Pitch black with a deep violet rim... Nose shows blueberry pie, beeswax, spice cake, creme de cassis. Sweet and lush, long, coats the whole palate. Tannins are incredibly soft and the underlying mineral structure lifts the wine and delineates it. Lovely stuff.
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This was a half bottle. Very dark red. Upon opening, scents of cherry cough syrup and tastes similar with alcohol heat. Decanted and drank over the course of six hours. Over time, it kept getting better and better, with scents and tastes of plum, cherry jam, chocolate, and fig. Excellent. Likely has decades of growth ahead of it.
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The fruit is more withdrawn than other ports of the same vintage I've had, which is not necessarily a bad thing. This is a more brooding beast. Beautiful stuff.
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BYO (My House): Seems very closed on the nose with mostly black currant fruit and vanilla. Concentrated black currant palate which seems young and creamy. Also showing some black pepper, dirt and a little lavender. Quite lovely and delicious with lots of acidity and tannins. Great young wine.
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The Fladgate Partnership Vintage Port Tasting (Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival): Deep purple/black colour moving to an almost pink hue at the rim. This was very similar in many ways to the ’07 Taylor but had less spice and an overall darker profile of fruit. Equally huge concentration and again incredibly youthful. Very tough to nit-pick the subtle differences but at this early stage I slightly prefer the Taylor to this. In a few decades these two 07s will offer great drinking and probably show more separation than I can detect now. Excellent. 90+
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Fonseca Offline @ Joost B.'s (Netherlands): Of course this is extremely young and primary but, oh so delicious now. Smooth, round and supple, not a single ripple or annoying edge, soft as a duck down pillow. Needs time to develop complexity, depth and spice. Will probably close down hard soon, so we can all witness its glorious resurrection in 15 years time. 18/20
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Decadent, lovely syrup. Clean, pure, soft, and luscious. Great composition, balanced elegance, and a commendable performance. Gustav Mahler in a bottle.
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Yes, I should be lashed for opening this bottle prematurely. but I was curious to try this highly acclaimed vintage. Well, if it's this good now, I can't wait to see how this puppy evolves over time.
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Port Tasting (Schaumburg Binny's): In comparison to the '07 Taylor I thought this was much more massive and powerful where the Taylor was more feminine/elegant in style.
Dark purple in color. Super seductive on the nose and palate. I got tons of dark berries, vanilla and hints of earth. Nice long finish.
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Tasting this good young port makes me wonder the recommendations to drink VP only after 30 or 50 years. Sure it will be a different product but this is value for money for drinking today. Huge amount of red berries on the nose, makes me think of boujelais, but the palate is total contrast: big and seductive, balanced and very long. Not too sweet and more complex than Graham's 2007. Was best at day 4 (and bottle lasted 4 days...)
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2007 Vintage Port Cask Samples (Seattle, WA): Dark red / purple. Nice enticing nose with dark fruit, tar, blackberry, and cherry. Nice and sweet on the palate. Tannins start soft but come on stronger towards the end. A bit tart and a sour quality to the finish. I really liked the aromatics on this but on the palate this is showing a bit weak. This was a cask sample so a lot can happen between now and bottling.
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Very fresh floral fruits with hints of tar and licquorice; delicious fruit on the palate with fabulous concentration and complexity. Powerful, tannic, acidic - superb!
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A very interesting nose with lots of floral tobacco and some grilled sardines. Really good fruit profile. Possibly not the structure for longest ageing, but rather delicious now.
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7/4/2023 - drjb Likes this wine: 92 Points
This is a nice slick vintage port with fine balance and nice intensity of dark plum, blackberry, dark chocolate and lavender leading into a refined finish. It lacks a little 'carry' and drive which may develop with age. At this point very enjoyable and benefiting from a good decant.
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1/14/2023 - Legian Likes this wine: 93 Points
The wine is rich and complex, aromas of caramel, raisin, chocolate, with tobacco notes; smooth, complex, rich, great
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12/7/2022 - mryev Likes this wine: 91 Points
Deep ruby with a violet tint. Velvety on the tongue but a bit rough, still quite young. Overall - pretty good though lacks complexity.
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10/25/2021 - adamanko wrote: 91 Points
Where supposed to only drink a glass. But drank 3. Still half left and will be back. First glass was good but third glass was beautiful. Will be back. Just over 90 at this time.
Had some both day 2 and 3 and that was very similar. Maybe a bit too much alcohole but all in all a good port that grew with time. 91-92
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6/22/2021 - johnrm Likes this wine:
Very good when first opened, despite its youth. After a couple of days it opened and came together, showing a dense colour and a very complex, fragrant nose. The palate was full of sweet dark plummy fruit, dark chocolate, smooth soft leathery tannins, and smoky hints. More sweet dark cherry and cherry skin emerged later. Good, gentle acidity with fine balance and excellent length.
Note. I was surprised to see just how expensive this wine is now. Lovely wine but I can’t really assess the QPR and put a number on it. It is certainly up in the 90s.
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2/16/2021 - chatters wrote:
Phil's Coravin exploration (Phil's place, Putney, Sydney): From Coravin. savoury, earthy, leather, gentleman's club, plums, sweet spice, a little walnut, smidge of almond. Juicy. Fleshy. Sweet. Similar flavours to the nose with a touch of burnt brown sugar, texture to the palate is positively charming, alcohol heat present but not overtly intrusive. Happily tidy this up. Yum.
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7/3/2020 - Order66 wrote:
This is closed down. A few hours got slight hints of chocolate and plums. All I can feel is the alcoholic burn. My estimate would be another 3-5 years? To be on the safe side I’m going 10 more years.
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12/30/2019 - Nohedes wrote: 88 Points
Popped this too young really, a little too much heat on the palate although the nose was very good. Nice structure and I think this will be much better in 3-5+ (which I should have known before opening). Nice wine.
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4/26/2019 - wgmccallum Likes this wine:
Tasted after several months open in the cellar. Still a profound layered palate of penetrating plum fruit, bitter chocolate, and nervy acids, with a taut intertwining of acid, tannin, and fruit at the back. The nose is mostly gone after all these months, but still has some fine aromatic fruit and floral notes, with a whisper of tobacco. Deeply satisfying.
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12/25/2018 - NostraBacchus Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep garnet/purple color. Super young, but showing notes of sweet black cherries, cassis, vanilla, Asian spices, some tobacco, dark chocolate. It‘s pretty full-bodied, dense and powerful, with pretty high tannin that is hidden under the wealth of fruit, and medium+ acidity. Very good length. An excellent but super young Fonseca. This will still need 5-7 years to enter the beginning of its drinking window. (94+)
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12/18/2017 - RayOB wrote: 92 Points
Drank at 67
Rich palate with a lot of fruit
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3/30/2017 - cofidis2 Likes this wine: 94 Points
2007 Fonseca Vintage Port from a 375ml bottle....which was opened by mistake, as my post in the other thread explains. Regardless of my mistake.....this is still a very dark inky color. Loads of blackberries, loganberries, and menthol. Dense fruit, massive wall of tannins quickly take over that fruit, then the acidity kicks in. That is all followed by more fresh dark fruit that is not as sweet as one would think, very well balanced and not there is no unbalanced jammy-ness at all. The minerality doesn't come out until the long lingering finish. WAY too young at this point, but should have a fantastic life ahead of it.
94+ Points
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1/25/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 88 Points
A vertical of Joseph Swan Zins (Scott & Jo's): Now, I will admit that drinking vintage port at age 9 is not usually a good idea. But this was interesting if not a great port experience. It had been decanted for a few hours. Were served it blind, and I would have bet it was not from Portugal. Most people guessed LBV. I thought it was some California version of a Port. Obviously young. Purple in color. The nose had some nice dark cherries. no raisins, chocolate or toffee. Maybe a bit of iodine? On the palate, very soft and smooth. No heat for me. Not a ton of fruit, but dark cherries. No complexity, but a nice mouth-feel. Worked nicely with a chocolate souffle, but even then no chocolate notes of its own. It kind of disappears on the mid-palate and only slightly recovers on the finish. I suppose I am being hard on it, but it is Fonseca. I expected more. Maybe it will get there with some age.
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9/30/2014 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
At Fonseca
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10/20/2013 - KPB wrote: 96 Points
Obviously a bit young to drink (I would guess this will peak around 2045), the 2007 is already a wonderful port and if you like them young, very much worth trying. Pitch black with a deep violet rim... Nose shows blueberry pie, beeswax, spice cake, creme de cassis. Sweet and lush, long, coats the whole palate. Tannins are incredibly soft and the underlying mineral structure lifts the wine and delineates it. Lovely stuff.
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4/22/2013 - Al-Vino Likes this wine: 93 Points
I deserve a second lashing for opening up another bottle years before its time...
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12/25/2012 - dase13 Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was a half bottle. Very dark red. Upon opening, scents of cherry cough syrup and tastes similar with alcohol heat. Decanted and drank over the course of six hours. Over time, it kept getting better and better, with scents and tastes of plum, cherry jam, chocolate, and fig. Excellent. Likely has decades of growth ahead of it.
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4/14/2012 - John McCabe wrote: 93 Points
Very soft and gentle, some malty tones. Hard to believe this is so young.
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11/2/2011 - John McCabe wrote: 94 Points
The fruit is more withdrawn than other ports of the same vintage I've had, which is not necessarily a bad thing. This is a more brooding beast. Beautiful stuff.
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6/16/2011 - canan wrote: 95 Points
BYO (My House): Seems very closed on the nose with mostly black currant fruit and vanilla.
Concentrated black currant palate which seems young and creamy. Also showing some black pepper, dirt and a little lavender.
Quite lovely and delicious with lots of acidity and tannins. Great young wine.
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4/1/2011 - godx wrote: 90 Points
The Fladgate Partnership Vintage Port Tasting (Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival): Deep purple/black colour moving to an almost pink hue at the rim. This was very similar in many ways to the ’07 Taylor but had less spice and an overall darker profile of fruit. Equally huge concentration and again incredibly youthful. Very tough to nit-pick the subtle differences but at this early stage I slightly prefer the Taylor to this. In a few decades these two 07s will offer great drinking and probably show more separation than I can detect now. Excellent. 90+
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7/9/2010 - jkoenen wrote: 92 Points
Fonseca Offline @ Joost B.'s (Netherlands): Of course this is extremely young and primary but, oh so delicious now. Smooth, round and supple, not a single ripple or annoying edge, soft as a duck down pillow. Needs time to develop complexity, depth and spice. Will probably close down hard soon, so we can all witness its glorious resurrection in 15 years time. 18/20
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6/2/2010 - fingers wrote: 93 Points
Decadent, lovely syrup. Clean, pure, soft, and luscious. Great composition, balanced elegance, and a commendable performance. Gustav Mahler in a bottle.
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5/29/2010 - Al-Vino wrote: 93 Points
Yes, I should be lashed for opening this bottle prematurely. but I was curious to try this highly acclaimed vintage. Well, if it's this good now, I can't wait to see how this puppy evolves over time.
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1/23/2010 - alanr Likes this wine: 94 Points
2007 Ports at Beltramos: Intense dark, deep fruit, beautiful herbal/anise notes, medium tannins, long finish. Fabulous.
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12/12/2009 - IWineAlot wrote: 94 Points
Port Tasting (Schaumburg Binny's): In comparison to the '07 Taylor I thought this was much more massive and powerful where the Taylor was more feminine/elegant in style.
Dark purple in color. Super seductive on the nose and palate. I got tons of dark berries, vanilla and hints of earth. Nice long finish.
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11/15/2009 - Jojala wrote: 95 Points
Tasting this good young port makes me wonder the recommendations to drink VP only after 30 or 50 years. Sure it will be a different product but this is value for money for drinking today. Huge amount of red berries on the nose, makes me think of boujelais, but the palate is total contrast: big and seductive, balanced and very long. Not too sweet and more complex than Graham's 2007. Was best at day 4 (and bottle lasted 4 days...)
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6/9/2009 - kris.h wrote:
2007 Vintage Port Cask Samples (Seattle, WA): Dark red / purple. Nice enticing nose with dark fruit, tar, blackberry, and cherry. Nice and sweet on the palate. Tannins start soft but come on stronger towards the end. A bit tart and a sour quality to the finish. I really liked the aromatics on this but on the palate this is showing a bit weak. This was a cask sample so a lot can happen between now and bottling.
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5/26/2009 - vespasian wrote:
Very fresh floral fruits with hints of tar and licquorice; delicious fruit on the palate with fabulous concentration and complexity. Powerful, tannic, acidic - superb!
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5/13/2009 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 90 Points
A very interesting nose with lots of floral tobacco and some grilled sardines. Really good fruit profile. Possibly not the structure for longest ageing, but rather delicious now.
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