Fonseca Vintage Port 2009 / 375 ml.
Note: The image above may display a previous vintage of this item.
Item#: 67228
This is gorgeously vibrant and grapey, with good cut to the luscious dark fruit and cedar flavors that are flanked by zesty acidity and tannins. A touch brooding midpalate, with a minerally rush and a finish of slate and iron. Best from 2016 through 2036.
A classic Fonseca, rich and powerful, with just an extra edge of weight from the vintage. It has a dry character, a tannic edge that gives great promise, but the open-hearted fruit is all there. A wonderfully intense wine for aging.
The voluptuous 2009 vintage seems to play right into Fonseca’s house style, creating a cool, concentrated wine. There’s a schisty grip of tannins and a fine cut of acidity to balance chewy blueberry jam flavors. Darker notes of roasted black cherries and brighter strawberry layer detail into the finish. A delicious young Porto, this will probably be at its peak 20 years from the vintage.
Out of stock
How to Get It (Select available options below at checkout)
Store Pickup
Not Available
for this item
Out of Stock
Ship to Home
Not Available
for this item
Why Can't We Ship This Item?
Either the bottle is too large for our packaging (i.e. we cannot ship anything larger than 750 ml), the dimensions/shape of the bottle doesn't fit within our packaging for safe shipment, or this is a widely-distributed wine (e.g. Barefoot, Yellow Tail, etc) which we only sell at our physical store or for in-store pickup.
Local Delivery
Not Available
for this item
Out of Stock
Enter address at checkout for applicable rates.
Critical Acclaim
SP95 95 pts. / Wine Spectator (Jul 31, 2012)
WE95 95 pts. / Wine Enthusiast (4/1/2012)
WS93 93 pts. / Wine & Spirits (December 1, 2011)
Where It's From
Appellation / Douro
Located in northwest Portugal, The Douro region follows the path of the Douro river. It's home to Portugal's most prized export, port wines, as well as a blossoming selection of world-class table wines. Typical red grapes used in Douro are Touriga Nacional (which produces tannic, dark red wines) and Tempranillo (under the name Tinta Roriz). The steep slopes of the Douro River Valley make it difficult to farm, but the resulting wines are worth all the effort.
Country / Portugal
Portugal is most famous (and justifiably so) for its Port wines, fortified wines that are typically sweet and often served with dessert. Port wines come in many styles such as Tawny, Late Bottled Vintage, etc, and are classified by how they were produced.
Besides Port, however, Portugal is also one of the fastest-rising wine countries in the world (as far as quality and production) when it comes to table wines. You'll find some unbelievable values in Portuguese table wines, with grapes like Touriga Nacional at the forefront.
More Information
SKU | 67228 |
---|---|
Product Type | Wine |
Alternate Name | Fonseca Vintage Port |
Country | Portugal |
Product Location - Location-Appellation | Douro |
Package Size | 375 ml. |
Wine/Spirit Brand | Fonseca |
Bottles per Case | 12 |
Spirit/Port Style | Vintage Port |
Vintage | 2009 |
Can it Be Shipped | Yes |
Premier Pick | No |
Wine Type | Fortified Wine |
Dollar Sale (Y/N) | No |
NV / 750 ml.
Plump and just a touch heady in feel, with sweet peach and yellow apple fruit backed by a hint of golden raisin. The warm buttered brioche finish is ever so slightly coarse in feel. Drink now. 1,400 cases made, 400 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
Primary Grape: Malvasia Fina
Limited Inventory We'll confirm your order by email.
7 items or less in stock.
Only $20.69 each when you buy a solid or mixed case
NV / 750 ml.
Fresh and bright in feel, with a nice mix of kirsch and plum notes, lined with a red licorice hint and backed by red teak and hazelnut husk accents. Drink now. 2,400 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
Shows a slightly darker and richer profile than most of its peers, with fig, plum cake, dark licorice and toasted black sesame notes rolling through. Slightly gutsy, offering a brambly edged finish. A muscular tawny. Drink now. 3,000 cases made, 2,400 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
Refined, with bright flavors of dried berry, plum compote and cherry tart that are long and lush. Very creamy on the finish, which features chocolate mousse. Drink now. 6,000 cases imported.
In the full Fonseca style, this aged tawny shows both rich fruit and a more serious wood-aged character. Good acidity follows the sweet initial taste, broadening into ripe flavors of nut, plum jelly, and a final crisp acidity.
Only $33.29 each when you buy a solid or mixed case
You save:$11.40 (20%)
2016 / 750 ml.
Lots of ripe fruit here with raisins and wet earth that turn to violets and hot stones. Full-bodied, tannic and powerful with fantastic grip and intensity. Grabs you. Impressive. Drink in 2025.
This leads in with bramble, spearmint and blueberry notes, with the energy extending through the core of dark plum, blackberry and fig fruit. The finish features a strong graphite spine, allowing this to draw deep water, but this remains stylish in feel overall. The definition of suave. Best from 2030 through 2055. 4,900 cases made, 1,100 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
This bottling brings together a fine structure with great fruit to give a luscious wine that is also destined for long-term aging. With its ripe berry flavors sustained by some acidity, this is already balanced. Drink from 2028.
The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend that was not quite bottled when seen (set for a week later), but it was the final blend. It was aged for 20 months in wood and comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This Fonseca is remarkably expressive, lifted and gloriously fresh. It has good concentration but some years have had more and seemed sexier. However, the most notable feature is the structure. It is very impressive in structure, that classic Port power and firmness coming to the fore and overshadowing the rest at the moment. This is very tight and very unevolved. Don’t even think of buying it if you aren’t prepared to cellar it. The 2030 start date that I have will not be even close to late enough if you want harmony and complexity. To me, this is the best of the three 2016s from the Fladgate Group this issue (Croft and Taylor being the other two), thanks to its pure intensity, but time will tell if it becomes as sexy as I’m sure Taylor’s will be. In the meanwhile, Fonseca looks like one of the greats of this vintage.
The 2016 Fonseca Vintage Port began to be picked on 21 September at their Panascal vineyard, their Quinta do Cruzeira vineyard not picked until 6 October. It is deep, almost inky in colour. The bouquet is very intense with luscious black fruit laced with embers, clove and hints of bay leaf. There is wonderful purity here and a broodiness that suggests you’d better be patient. The palate is sweet and lively on the entry with some gorgeous ginger and curry leaf notes littered over the compact black fruit. There is wonderful density to this Fonseca. It is like a coiled spring with so much energy towards the finish that you just know this will be a long-term prospect. Superb. Production is 4,900 cases.
Primary Grape: Touriga Nacional
You save:$30.00 (23%)
2015 / 750 ml.
A firm and gutsy Fonseca with medium to full body, chewy and powerful tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Lots of blueberry, blackberry and mineral undertones. Even some slate. Long and powerful. Medium sweetness. Better in 2019.
This is warm and lush in feel, and really well-built, with layers of blueberry, açaí berry and plum reduction flavors rolling through, laced with hints of ganache and fruitcake. Lots of graphite-edged grip lines the finish. Best from 2027 through 2040. 4,500 cases made.
Primary Grape: Touriga Nacional
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Wine Spec. Top 100 - 2017 | #88
Out of stock
You save:$12.00 (20%)
You save:$22.00 (20%)
NV / 750 ml.
Juicy, with plenty of crushed cherry and Asian spice flavors that feature milk chocolate notes. Cocoa powder and pepper fills the lively finish. Drink now through 2025. 0400 cases imported.
Fresh and pure, with a lovely beam of black cherry and boysenberry compote flavors infused with a hint of Black Forest cake through the bramble-tinged finish. Drink now. 400 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
A wine that is soft and fruity. The tannins are light, spiked with acidity and some bitter chocolate. The final character is fruity, rich and soft.
Only $22.49 each when you buy a solid or mixed case
2016 / 375 ml.
Lots of ripe fruit here with raisins and wet earth that turn to violets and hot stones. Full-bodied, tannic and powerful with fantastic grip and intensity. Grabs you. Impressive. Drink in 2025.
This leads in with bramble, spearmint and blueberry notes, with the energy extending through the core of dark plum, blackberry and fig fruit. The finish features a strong graphite spine, allowing this to draw deep water, but this remains stylish in feel overall. The definition of suave. Best from 2030 through 2055. 4,900 cases made, 1,100 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
This bottling brings together a fine structure with great fruit to give a luscious wine that is also destined for long-term aging. With its ripe berry flavors sustained by some acidity, this is already balanced. Drink from 2028.
The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend that was not quite bottled when seen (set for a week later), but it was the final blend. It was aged for 20 months in wood and comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This Fonseca is remarkably expressive, lifted and gloriously fresh. It has good concentration but some years have had more and seemed sexier. However, the most notable feature is the structure. It is very impressive in structure, that classic Port power and firmness coming to the fore and overshadowing the rest at the moment. This is very tight and very unevolved. Don’t even think of buying it if you aren’t prepared to cellar it. The 2030 start date that I have will not be even close to late enough if you want harmony and complexity. To me, this is the best of the three 2016s from the Fladgate Group this issue (Croft and Taylor being the other two), thanks to its pure intensity, but time will tell if it becomes as sexy as I’m sure Taylor’s will be. In the meanwhile, Fonseca looks like one of the greats of this vintage.
The 2016 Fonseca Vintage Port began to be picked on 21 September at their Panascal vineyard, their Quinta do Cruzeira vineyard not picked until 6 October. It is deep, almost inky in colour. The bouquet is very intense with luscious black fruit laced with embers, clove and hints of bay leaf. There is wonderful purity here and a broodiness that suggests you’d better be patient. The palate is sweet and lively on the entry with some gorgeous ginger and curry leaf notes littered over the compact black fruit. There is wonderful density to this Fonseca. It is like a coiled spring with so much energy towards the finish that you just know this will be a long-term prospect. Superb. Production is 4,900 cases.
Limited Inventory We'll confirm your order by email.
8 items or less in stock.
You save:$13.00 (20%)
NV / 750 ml.
Intense, powerful and complex, this features heady aromas and flavors of toffee, marzipan, butterscotch and chocolate. Notes of mocha and French roast chime in as well, with a long, glorious finish of dried white fruits and spice. Drink now. 2,000 cases imported.
A gentle style, with hints of praline and hazelnut mixed with lightly mulled peach and white cherry fruit. Reveals a wood spice twinge on the finish. Drink now. 2,000 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
The NV 20 Year Old Tawny was bottled with a bar top cork in 2013. It comes in at 111.6 grams per liter of residual sugar. A big mouthful, this is a 20 that first coats the palate and then ends with silky texture and concentrated flavor. Very graceful, it is not as impressive in terms of mid-palate density, but it is more than respectable. It shows fine complexity, appropriate to its age category. The finish seals the deal, more lingering and gripping than I expected from the first taste. It is another delicious Tawny from the Taylor Fladgate group this issue, so dig in.
Limited Inventory We'll confirm your order by email.
4 items or less in stock.
You save:$13.00 (20%)
2013 / 750 ml.
Elegant, with good grip to the dark cherry, plum and minerally flavors. Lithe midpalate, featuring a complex finish that weaves together well-proportioned notes of slate, white pepper and dark chocolate. Drink now through 2035. 300 cases imported.
The 2013 Guimaraens Vintage Port is a blend from three Quintas (Panascal, Cruzeiro and Santo Antonio). It comes in at 101 grams per liter of residual sugar. Bottled at the end of June 2015, this 2013 was a bit too sedate and understated after the initial aeration, but it was impressive in its ability to pull itself together, ultimately fleshing out, putting on weight and seeming far lusher and richer. It has lovely fruit and an intensely flavorful finish together with fine structure. It became surprisingly intense on the finish as it held, too, a pattern that was repeated the next day. That said, it is probably not quite as concentrated as it sometimes appeared on first taste. It may drink rather well on the younger side, but I’m always going to recommend holding them a bit to allow them to settle down, and even more importantly, acquire some complexity. For better results, come back in ten years or so.
Fonseca uses its Guimaraens brand in years when there is no general vintage declaration. Even so, the wine has all the broad, ripe and generous character that is so typical of Fonseca. It is packed with rich black fruits that are enveloped by the structured tannins and never-too-sweet character. It obviously needs to age; drink from 2025.
A refined, super-pretty young vintage Port with fabulously fine tannins. Medium to full body with an off-dry, silky finish. A limited-production vintage Port for near-future consumption: Try in 2018.
Primary Grape: Touriga Nacional
Out of stock
You save:$12.00 (20%)