Fonseca Vintage Port 2017

Fonseca 2017 Vintage Port is an extravagant, larger-than-life wine that embodies the house's famously voluptuous style at its most dramatic. If Taylor's represents the intellectual apex of the 2017 vintage, Fonseca represents its sensual peak. This is a port of staggering richness and intoxicating perfume that leaves an indelible impression.

The nose is explosive. Blackberry preserves, black plum, and cassis cascade from the glass, joined by dark roses, exotic spice, and a wisp of incense that adds an almost spiritual dimension. The fruit intensity is remarkable even by Fonseca's generous standards. On the palate, the wine is massively rich and voluptuous, with ripe blackberry, fig, dark chocolate, and espresso forming a core of extraordinary density. Licorice and sumptuous tannins provide structure, but the overwhelming impression is one of sheer, unapologetic pleasure.

The finish is enormously long, warm and enveloping, with persistent dark fruit and chocolate that seem to go on indefinitely. There is a generosity to this wine that is Fonseca's signature, a willingness to give everything without reservation.

Fonseca 2017 is one of the vintage ports of the year, rivaling Taylor's for top honors. While it lacks Taylor's mineral tension and structural severity, it compensates with an almost hedonistic richness that is impossible to resist. This is a wine that will develop beautifully over 30-50 years, though its opulent fruit and ripe tannins may make it approachable somewhat earlier than some competitors. A magnificent achievement.