Fonseca Vintage Port 1997

An incredibly deep and inky ruby with a broad red rim. Generous and seductive nose reminiscent of blackcurrant and cherry. Dense, luscious black fruit laced with dark chocolate, liquorice and roasted coffee. Herbal and resiny scents emerge an hour after decanting. Later the fruit becomes more luscious and creamier, with rich raspberry jam flavours overlaying the dark fruity base. The full round palate is supported by thick well-integrated tannins and delivers an abundance of luscious chocolate and blackcurrant flavour which lingers into the long velvety finish. A wine poised between youth and maturity. Fonseca vintage port is a selection of the very finest wines from a single classic year, bottled after two years in wood. Only when the wines of a particular year are judged to be of exceptional quality and concentration is a Fonseca vintage declared. This rare wine succeeds 180 years of great, often legendary Fonseca vintage ports. Vintage ports continue to age in the bottle, and will continue to improve for many years. The port should be stored horizontally with the label or crest uppermost. As the port ages it will form natural deposits in the bottle and should be decanted with care before it is served.