Verema

For The Love Of Port

I’ve had this Port so many times that I question my sanity on opening more with only a few cases left. It was to share with a good friend though and this was a beautiful example of what a superb VP this really is. Decanted for 10 hours and it finally hit its sweet spot, although just a little bit reticent on the nose until coaxed once inside my glass. Dark ruby with a clear rim. Fresh fragrance of violets and lavender, plums and mocha. The palate was big and brash with powerful and primary boysenberry and grenadine flavors and a licorice thread on the fabulous finish. The acidity and tannins will easily bring the fruit to bear at least a half century of life although I would say: Drink 2012-2035 for peak appeal. 96+ point

For The Love Of Port

Revista Adega, Melhor Vinho

Sweet fortified red wine made from a blend of traditional Douro red grape varieties, aged for around two years in barrels before bottling. It displays floral notes, dried herbs and sweet spices surrounding ripe, compote-like black fruit, all of which carry through onto the palate.
Dense, structured and still youthful after more than 35 years, it impresses with firm, fine-grained tannins and vibrant acidity, lending freshness, flow and depth. The finish is juicy and persistent, with notes of dried plum and cocoa.

Gismondi on Wine

The '85 harvest was a giant, yielding the most Port in the last 50 years, but it doesn't seem to have affected quality. At 33 years old it still has remarkable colour. The structure is supple and spicy, the fruit still very much present from what was a rich, powerful vintage. Stony mineral, plummy fruit with bits of violets linger across the palate. The tannins are fading, revealing the opulent hedonistic style of a great Fonseca. No rush to drink this. (Anthony Gismondi).

Vinhulen.dk

Fonseca 1985 som överraskar med sin helt otroligt mörka färg. Doften är ganska anonym och sluten. Smaken är likaså för tillfället lite återhållsam. Tanninerna är anonyma. Sammantaget ett slutet, stort vintageportvin som behöver ligga några år innan det åter öppnar sig i full blom. Förvaringen är helt avgörande. Detta vintageportvin har förvarats 100 % perfekt i en nedlagd tunnelbana under London sedan lanseringen 1987. Perfekt tempererat och nu framtaget. Vinet är perfekt och känns nytt, som om det tappats på flaska igår. Toppklassprodukt.

Linnea Berthelsen, Sommelier

Robert Parker

The 1985 Fonseca is still youthful in appearance with hardly any ageing on the rim. The nose offers kirsch, sloes and Christmas cake. With time, there are subtle notes of dried fig and dates beginning to emerge and add to the complexity. The palate is medium-bodied and beautifully balanced on the supple, rounded entry. It is not quite as complex as the aromatics, with dates and dried fig, the finish mellow and refined. It is very elegant for a Fonseca, weighty but supremely well focused. This is a fabulous Fonseca that is ready to drink now, but will age for another 30 or 40 years. Drink now-2030+.

Wine Spectator

Very dark and youthful ruby-purple. Very intense aromas of blackberry and black licorice. Full-bodied and lightly sweet, with chewy tannins and a rich licorice, blackberry undertone.

Falstaff

Deep crimson, good depth, delicate bright rim. Attractive bouquet of cherry confit, underlaid with raisin and prune. Complex, juicy fruit, soft elegant structure, nuances of dried fig on the finish, nice length, it has charm.

Jamie Goode

Vert de Vin Magazine

Vivino

Vivino

(787 bedømmelser, ”Højeste kvalitet for pengene af Vintage Port”, Vivino's 2017 Wine Style Awards: Portuguese Port, 03-10-2026)