FONSECA GUIMARAENS

2018

EN PRIMEUR

What a pleasure to taste and compare alongside the Taylor's. This is gorgeous. Very Fonseca, full of weight and richness. So spicy - and completely captivating. The family decided that this was really close to a full Fonseca declaration. yet it is missing one crucial element - fruit from a quinta in the Alto Douro which would have tipped it over the line to a full, classic release. You can sense the class here - for a Guimaraens - this really is good. Rich plum, soft fig and black-fleshed berry notes hit the palate in a beautifully melded middle - soft tobacco and wild herbs too but with a gentle rub to the texture. An appealing wilder note - you just want another sip. David Guimaraens explained one of the reasons this was not a full Fonseca is because he did not feel it had quite the long-term potential of a classic declaration - this may be true - but there is plenty of future here, and it will give great pleasure over the next 20-30 years.L&S (Jan 2021)

In Bond

75cl bottles (wood case of 6)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

The 2018 Guimaraens Vintage Port...has a rich and opulent bouquet with black cherries, stewed figs and dates. The palate is sweet and fleshy on the entry with black fruit, tar, desiccated orange peel, Xmas cake and juniper berries. I admire the harmony of this Vintage Port. The firm structure only becomes apparent towards the finish. Wonderful length on the aftertaste, the mouth stained with Port for 60 seconds after. Excellent. Drinking range: 2030 - 2065 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jan 2021)

Blackish crimson. High toned and alluring on the nose. Quite a bit of structure and something suggestive of fireworks. This is the business for a vintage port! The sort of wine that would probably have qualified as a full-blooded Fonseca vintage port a few decades ago. Peppery and fiery and yet the tannins are subsumed under the fruit. We’re having steak tonight and I am tempted to drink this with it. Drinking range: 2030 - 2050 Rating: 17.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Jan 2021)

Warm, soft-edged and generally open, with a core of steeped plum, blackberry preserve and blueberry reduction flavors leading the way, backed by hints of ganache and licorice root on the finish that add a grippier feel. More bass than treble, but well-packed and should age well. Drinking range: 2030 - 2045 Rating: 94 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2021)

The 2018 Guimaraens Vintage Port, the first release since 2015, has a rich and opulent bouquet with black cherries, stewed figs and dates. It has a little more warmth than the Quinta da Roeda 2018 tasted alongside, certainly one of the more decadent aromatics. The palate is sweet and fleshy on the entry with black fruit, tar, desiccated orange peel, Xmas cake and juniper berries. I admire the harmony of this Vintage Port. The firm structure only becomes apparent towards the finish. Wonderful length on the aftertaste, the mouth stained with Port for 60 seconds after. Excellent. Drinking range: 2030 - 2065 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2020)

2018 was a complicated vintage in the Douro, described by the Symington family as ‘a rollercoaster’ climatically, yet the resulting wines are looking remarkably good. Largely this will be a year for the Single Quintas – and not a ‘general Declaration’ by all. Had they all gone for it - this would have been the third year on the trot for a full Declaration and this has never happened before. You could even sense some unease at the release of 2016 & 2017 back to back (both wonderful and worthy vintages) this double-whammy had not happened since 1872-73! So perhaps for 2018 it was never going to be - whatever the quality of the year – who knows, only time will tell.


So far we have only tasted the fantastic 2018 release from Quinta do Romaneira – and it really is brilliant, showing the vintage clearly had what was needed to make great Port. If you survived the long winter drought, the serious hail in April and the damp Spring – the long, hot summer was excellent for maturing the fruit. Undeniably, it was a hot year – but this is becoming common in the Douro and producers know just how to handle it. Clever vine canopy management, plot by plot harvesting at just the right moment for each parcel and gentle handling in the cellar, are all tools helping winemakers tame the sizzling heat.


A ‘not so general Declaration' can be a great opportunity for buyers and drinkers. Great Houses releasing ports from their Single Quintas in a great vintage often spells value and 2018 is looking very promising.


So promising in fact that some big names have not been able to resist declaring their 'Classic Wines'. Sandeman have released a 2018 – but they did not declare in 2017 – so for them this is not ‘three on the bounce’ – and Taylor are releasing a 2018, but they will hold on until next year.


Adrian Bridge who heads up Taylor and Fonseca told us:

“Although a Classic declaration normally only happens about three times a decade, the exceptional run of years has meant that Taylor’s is able to make a third in a row. This is very unusual but our principle is that we only declare a Classic Vintage when the quality is there and this is dictated by the year, not by any other consideration. Indeed, in view of the economic situation in which we find ourselves, we will bottle in July as usual but will not offer the wines until early 2021”


We are delighted to offer (for now) the following small selection of excellent Vintage Ports. Not only will these prove fantastic drinking in the coming decades – but Vintage Ports are also one of the best mementos of a special year. With the life in them to mature gracefully for at least 20 years, a case of one of these could be the most wonderful present for any children or god-children born in 2018.


Some of these are in very limited supply – so please let us know what you would like and we will do our very best to secure it for you.




Finally, because they never stop being true, some words of wisdom from Patrick Sandeman:

"The next question is whether one needs to buy and lay down vintage port at all in this day and age… Well, if, like me, you think that a dinner party is only a dinner party if you climax with a decanter of vintage port or two (otherwise it is only really a supper party), or if, like me, you decant a bottle of vintage port every Friday night during the months of November and December to drink over the week-end, then you will need at least two dozen bottles a year, and assuming that there is only one great vintage every four years, you should be buying at least eight dozen bottles. Equally, if you are of the camp that ‘no longer drinks port because it gives me a hangover’, then you too should be laying down some port for when you learn to drink less before and during dinner, and appreciate something exceptional at the end of the evening. Finally, of course, there are the (2018) babes whose God-parents, aunts and uncles, and parents should be buying at least two cases of six bottles (one to sell to help pay for the gap year in eighteen years time, the other to drink)." Patrick Sandeman

Best wishes,
The Lea & Sandeman Team

Recommendations

We are always delighted to offer advice should you need it. Please contact our private client team via email.

Pricing & Availability

All prices are quoted in bond by the case size stated. Some wines are highly sought after so we may give priority to previous buyers and those who buy across the offer. We expect these ports to arrive in the UK early in 2020.

Other Vintages

If you are interested in mature vintages of port, you can browse our duty paid selection here.