WineLovers Discussion Group

WTN: 2000 Jose Maria da Fonseca & Van Zeller LBV Port.

Very lite cherry color, hint of bricking on the rim with some alcohol on the nose here.
Good tannins/chocolate/blackcurrant/medium sweet/ good finish/prune/raisins. Quite drinkable still, nice layers of fruits here. Lasted very well over 4 days but best on day 3.

Bob Parsons Alberta wrote:WTN: 2000 Jose Maria da Fonseca & Van Zeller LBV Port.

Quite drinkable still, nice layers of fruits here. Lasted very well over 4 days but best on day 3.

I don't have a lot of experience of LBV but why the "still"? Most port lasts very well and, though LBV is designed to be vintage style for drinking young, a 2000 is hardly an oldster.

How many people here agree with me that the tawny style (including Colheita) is at its best capable of even more sublime, if lighter, results than vintage?

Tim, I was getting various emotions whilst drinking this and was not sure on day 2 if it was holding up. That day the nose was blah.

I find some LBV ports hold up well, some not so well (but usually at least several days). Bob: does this one have a regular cork or a T-cork (with the plastic grip)?
The former are usually unfiltered LBVs which are said to be able to improve with age, whereas the latter are usually filtered and don't improve. I like Van Zeller's Douro table wines, but never had the ports. On the other hand, JM Fonseca (not to be confused with the Fonseca port house - part of Taylor/Fladgate) wines have never impressed me much.

Good to hear from you Joe, thought you might pop in

Regular cork. In many ways have to agree with you regards JM. I have not seen that many VZ wines here.

LBVs can hold up decently. I don't find that they improve at all with time in bottle, though I have virtually zero experience with "unfiltered" LBVs (which supposedly handle age better).

Tim - I am a very big fan of Tawny Port, though I will say that despite some magnificent Tawnies, I have never had one that approached the very best aged VPs. Note that I am setting that bar with Ports such as '45 Taylor, '70 Dow and '85 Fonseca. It's a high bar.

Bob Parsons Alberta wrote:Good to hear from you Joe, thought you might pop in

Regular cork. In many ways have to agree with you regards JM. I have not seen that many VZ wines here.

Well, you know JM Fonseca is a big company mostly based in the Setubal (south of Lisbon) with its most famous product being Lancers. On the other hand, Cristiano Van Zeller is from a famous Douro family which used to own and run Quinta do Noval. Cristiano now owns the much smaller Quinta do Vale Dona Maria in the Rio Torto valley where he makes some highly rated Douro table wines (CV and Quinta Vale D. Maria) and some port as well. I don't know where the Fonseca/Van Zeller wines fit in: there are also some Douro table wines under the Domini label. Looks like JMF's attempt to have a presence in the Douro.

David M. Bueker wrote:LBVs can hold up decently. I don't find that they improve at all with time in bottle, though I have virtually zero experience with "unfiltered" LBVs (which supposedly handle age better).

Tim - I am a very big fan of Tawny Port, though I will say that despite some magnificent Tawnies, I have never had one that approached the very best aged VPs. Note that I am setting that bar with Ports such as '45 Taylor, '70 Dow and '85 Fonseca. It's a high bar.

David: have you had many Colheitas (vintage dated tawnys)? They appear to be more popular in Portugal than N. America. A recent meal at Porto's O Paparico was followed by a couple Colheitas recommended by the owner (and a great wine guy): Krohn 1984 (tinto) and 1963 (branco), and they were superb. I'm going to start following this type of port more closely.

If you see Ferreira's Duque de Braganca 20 year old tawny you might see how it stacks up against a good VP.