Producer Profile
Fonseca
Fonseca Guimaraens, often simply called Fonseca, is the largest Port house in Portugal. The House was established in 1822, when brothers Manuel Guimaraens and Joao Salgueiro acquired control of the Fonseca and Monteiro company from the Fonseca Family by purchase of the majority of their shares. A condition of this sale was that the Fonseca name would remain. David Guimaraens, the descendant of Manuel, has been head winemaker since 1994.
He oversees the winemaking and blending for all their Port. Fonseca currently owns three main Quinta vineyards in the Douro; Cruzeiro, Panascal and Santo Antonio, totalling more than 170 acres. These estates are heart of the distinctive character of Fonseca's Vintage ports. Four families have shaped Fonseca's heritage and established its reputation as a 'first growth' Port house. The first Fonseca Vintage was first released in 1840. Today, they produce a variety of styles included tawny, and vintage port. Whilst many consider Fonseca to be synonymous with Vintage Port, many Port lovers hold their Bin no.27 in particularly high regard. This reserve is one of the most popular Port blends following its launch 4 decades ago.
Fonseca belongs in the first league of Vintage Port houses. As few Port producers have maintained such consistency of quality and style from vintage to vintage. Fonseca also became a pioneer of organic and sustainable viticulture, helping to conserve the unique ecosystem and the landscape of the valley for future generations. As Robert Parker wrote in The Wine Buyers Guide, "Fonseca is one of the great Port lodges, producing the most exotic and most complex Port. With its lush, seductive character, one might call it the Pomerol of Vintage Ports".
