Fonseca Vintage Port 2007

Intensely fruity on the nose, with lots of blackberry and violet. Full-bodied and lightly sweet, with slightly astringent tannins and a medium finish. Silky. Still very tight. Needs time. Best after 2010.

Fabulous nose of crushed raspberries, balckberries and licorice. Full-bodied and velvety, with superclean fruit and a long finish. Beauty. Very harmonious for Fonseca. Best after 2011.

(Barrel tasting) Tightly wound and unyielding. Lots of plum and raisiny character. Full-bodied, medium-sweet and very, very velvety, with lots of fruit and round tannins. Good grip. Very harmonious for Fonseca.

Dense ruby/purple colored, with an exotic, exuberant perfume of black fruits, flowers, incense, and licorice, this unctuously-textured, full-bodied port is one of the most concentrated of the vintage. Sweet, expansive, and succulent, this large-scale, but remarkably well-balanced effort is surprisingly forward and accessible (by Fonseca's standards). Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.

Sporting an opaque, black-colored robe with dark purple trim, the 2003 Fonseca Vintage Port exhibits a nose of profound depth. Its sweet black mass of dark fruit and spice aromas leads to a character of immense depth, richness, and weight. Full-bodied, viscous, and almost impenetrable, this dense, backward port is powerful and exceptionally long in the finish. Possibly the most masculine Fonseca I've ever encountered, it coats the taster's palate with licorice, jammy black fruits, and notes of chocolate that last for over a minute. This blockbuster will require at least three decades to fully blossom. Anticipated maturity: 2035-2060.

Saturated deep ruby. Brooding, reticent nose of cassis and kirsch; there's nothing cooked about this one! Then massive, sweet and superrich in the mouth; explodes with exotic ripeness. Intriguing note of graphite. This coats every nook and cranny of the palate and clings and builds on the back end in a way that no other wine of this vintage can match. Huge, sexy and wonderfully lush Fonseca, built for the long haul. As impressive as the best 2000s, and, along with the Quinta do Noval Nacional, is an early candidate for port of the 2003 vintage.

Dense and serious, a powerful vintage, as would be expected from Fonseca. The whole emphasis of the wine pushes the tannins forward, but this structure is based on black plums with dark fruit skins and a solid, chunky character. The finish is juicy and bold.