Fonseca Guimaraens Reserve Vintage Port 1976

1976 Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage Port – The color of this was amazing dark, being solid black with a tawny colored rim around the outside. I can’t ever remember seeing a color like this on this old VP. The nose was very gummy and thick with a floral aspect similar to the elderberry flower. Very reducted on the palate with thick tar, raisins, and green stems. Yet it was still tannic at the same time. The finish was moderate with a rich mint aspect to it. While good in its own right, served blind this could have easily been mistaken for a lighter style PX Sherry. An extremely dry winter was followed by a hot summer causing springs and wells to dry up for the first time in living memory. Some older vines didn’t survive the summer. Some rain started to fall in August and September was cool with light rains. Picking started on September 23rd and fermentations were slow due to cool weather. Yields were down over 30% compared to 1975.

Drink: now