Fonseca Guimaraens Vintage 1998

Fonseca Guimaraens 1998 Vintage

Ageing Period:
Aged for 24 months in oak casks and then in bottles for about a decade until it reaches maturity.

Winemaking Process:
Port Wine from a single harvest or of undeclared or “non-classical years”, made from high quality vineyards of Fonseca’s farms.
These wines mature in Fonseca’s cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia and are only sold a decade after the harvest, when they reach maturity.

Tasting Notes:
Ripe raspberry and cherry jam aromas, with a lovely aromatic dimension.
Vibrant wild berry flavour.
Plump and rounded tannins, that give good weight and texture.
Finish with lots of flavour and length.

YEAR NOTES
The 1998 growing season started extremely wet.
Water reserves were restored, but the rains also caused extensive erosion problems, particularly in the old vines on slopes.
A cold spring followed, with temperatures almost below zero until mid-April.
In May, the heat started.
A dry and hot summer, with temperatures exceeding 40 ° C during the first two weeks of August, was followed by daily rainfall during the harvest, which began on 20 September.
The almost perfect growing season caused great excitement in the Douro until the harvest began.
The rain, during the harvest caused dilution of must in fermentation and a corresponding reduction in power of the final wine.
All hope was lost and performance in general proved to be the lowest in the decade.