Review: Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003

Posted by Arctic Wolf on March 27, 2012

Today I am stepping out of my comfort zone, and publishing a review which, although it was very enjoyable for me to write, probably should be read (and interpreted) with a hefty grain of salt by you, the reader.

You see, I like dessert wines, and one of my favourite dessert wines is aged Port. I have a small collection of Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port Wines in my cold room, and about four weeks ago I selected one to enjoy. I am not sure why I decided to write a review, I think perhaps it was to solicit comment especially regarding my thoughts on how to properly age such a wine and how to properly serve it once it is opened. My thoughts on these matters are written as part of the review, and if you have thoughts of your own you are welcome to share them in the comments section of the review. I guess I am saying that this review was written more for my benefit than it was for the benefit of my readers.

The subject of this review, is a bottle of Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) Port Wine which I purchased in 2009, Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage Port 2003, Bottled 2008, “Unfiltered”. I was told when I purchased this wine that it was a solid LBV Port which would age well in my cold room, and should be opened four or five years after it was bottled for maximum enjoyment. This Port wine is of course from the Douro Region of Portugal. It was bottled in 2008, after approximately five years of maturation in oak vats.

This is my first “Wine Review”, and I approached the review in the same manner as I have all of my reviews, which is to say that I wrote primarily about the enjoyment which the spirit gave me and where I found that enjoyment.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…As the glass breathed, the mouth feel became softer and more enjoyable although that fresh acidity seemed to linger. Along with the taste of ripe cherries, darker dry fruit appeared (dates and prunes) as well hints of oak and bittersweet chocolate…”

Here is a link to the full review: