Fonseca Quinta do Panascal Vintage 2008

Aging Period:
Aged for 24 months in oak casks and then in bottles for several years.

Winemaking Process:
Quinta do Panascal has one of the Douro Valley's most reputable vineyards and produces wines that are Fonseca Vintage Port hallmarks.

Tasting Notes:
Opaque purple color Port with a narrow violet rim.
The nose opens with an unrestrained emergence of concentrated and dense cassis and black cherry, laced with a sumptuous confection of treacle and dark chocolate.
As it develops, damson plum notes emerge from a seemingly impenetrable dark berry fruits layer followed by an intoxicating aromatic herbs and black pepper and sandalwood exotic notes.
This wine's rich and delicious fruity flavor on the palate blends with its granular tannins, which are beautifully integrated to produce a wild eruption of texture and flavor.
The opulent black fruit flavor is seemingly endless and rises through a spicy freshness at the finish.

YEAR NOTES
The winter before the 2005 harvest was extremely cold and dry, leaving water supplies severely reduced, after another hot and dry 2004.
Due to cold weather and a shortage of water, the growing season started later than usual.
The entire growing season was marked by a lower strength and a smaller size of the berries, in all noble grapes varieties.
From May 16 to September 6 there was almost no rain.
However, despite the extreme heat and conditions similar to those of a drought, the ripening process continued normally but at a slower rate than normal. Fortunately, dry summer conditions were mitigated by the constant rains that fell between 6 and 9 September, giving the vineyards a so needed relief that allowed completing the ripening process, obtaining a perfectly ripe and balanced harvest.