Portugal · Távora-Varosa

Fonseca Guimaraens

Douro Port house with Grade A quintas, estate grown Panascal Vintage Port, Crusted Port and Reserve bottlings.

The producer

Fonseca's Douro holdings include Quinta de Cruzeiro, Quinta do Panascal and Quinta de Santo António. Cruzeiro and Santo António are in the Pinhão valley, while Panascal lies in the Távora river valley and produces a Single Quinta Vintage Port from estate grown grapes. The range includes Reserve Port, Crusted Port and Vintage Port. Panascal retains lagares for grape treading and wooden vats for Port, while Santo António is certified for organic grape and olive oil production.

Known for

Douro Port across quintas

Notable facts

The story

The 1815 Ledger Entry

On 8 April 1815, an entry in the ledgers of the Real Companhia Velha recorded Fonseca's first evidence of trading in Port. Founder João dos Santos Fonseca had purchased 32 pipes of Port. His first documented sale followed on 14 September, and the firm's first overseas shipment left in 1816. The surviving record captures the house at the beginning of its commercial life through a purchase, a sale and an export shipment.

The 1815 Ledger Entry

On 8 April 1815, an entry in the ledgers of the Real Companhia Velha recorded Fonseca's first evidence of trading in Port. Founder João dos Santos Fonseca had purchased 32 pipes of Port. His first documented sale followed on 14 September, and the firm's first overseas shipment left in 1816. The surviving record captures the house at the beginning of its commercial life through a purchase, a sale and an export shipment.

From the atlas

Fonseca Guimaraens

Fonseca Guimaraens is a Douro Port house with Grade A quintas, a family Vintage Port line, and a Panascal Single Quinta made from estate grown grapes.

At A Glance

FieldDetail
RegionDouro Valley, Portugal
Port categoriesVintage Port, Crusted Port and Reserve Port
EstatesQuinta de Cruzeiro, Quinta do Panascal and Quinta de Santo António
Grape setTouriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca in Terra Prima
Named estate winePanascal Single Quinta Vintage Port
Defining featureTraditional lagares and wooden vats at Panascal

The Producer

Fonseca's Douro holdings include Quinta de Cruzeiro, Quinta do Panascal and Quinta de Santo António, all classified Grade A. The house also has an unusual Vintage Port family continuity. With the exception of the 1955, every Fonseca Vintage Port was made by one of three members of the Guimaraens family.

The estate group combines long established vineyard sources with distinct bottle categories. Cruzeiro and Santo António have supplied Fonseca for more than a century, while Panascal produces a Single Quinta Vintage Port exclusively from grapes grown on the property. Santo António has been converted to Fonseca's sustainable viticulture model and is certified for organic grape and olive oil production.

Place

Two Douro valleys divide the estate holdings. Quinta de Cruzeiro and Quinta de Santo António sit in the Pinhão valley, while Quinta do Panascal lies in the Távora river valley.

The valley distinction appears in the wines. Pinhão supplies fruit from estates that have served Fonseca for more than a century. Panascal carries its own Single Quinta Vintage Port, made entirely from estate grown grapes, so the bottle names one property as its source.

Soil And Site

At Quinta do Panascal, a vineyard plot planted in 1985 was converted to organic viticulture in 1992. It began at two hectares and was later expanded to six hectares.

Organic viticulture excludes synthetic treatments from the farming system. At Panascal, the conversion applies to a defined vineyard area whose scale later increased, giving the estate a larger organically farmed plot within its Douro holdings.

Story

Manoel Pedro Guimaraens sailed for England in June 1822 at the age of 27. By 1840, Fonseca had become the second largest exporter of Port, and near the end of that decade the firm shipped its first Vintage Port to England. Overseas trade and Vintage Port therefore appear together in the house's early commercial record.

During the 1970s, Fonseca purchased Quinta de Cruzeiro, Quinta do Panascal and Quinta de Santo António. The purchases brought three Grade A Douro properties into the house's holdings and gave the range named estate sources across the Pinhão and Távora valleys.

Vineyards And Cellar

Panascal keeps its grape varieties in separate vineyard rows, then harvests and ferments them together. Co fermentation joins the varieties before the Port is made, instead of creating separate wines for a later combination.

The farmhouse retains lagares where grapes are trodden and wooden vats where the Port rests. Foot treading crushes the grapes and extracts colour and tannin during fermentation. Wooden vats provide a traditional vessel for the wine's rest after production.

Wines

Fonseca's range includes Fonseca Vintage, Guimaraens Vintage Port, Crusted Port, Terra Prima Organic Reserve Port, Bin 27 Reserve Port and 10 Year Old Tawny.

Guimaraens Vintage Port may be produced in years when Fonseca does not make a classic Vintage Port. Crusted is selected from Ports from the Cima Corgo area and made only in small quantities. Its full bodied wines spend four years in large wooden vats, then are bottled without filtration and cellared for three years before release.

Terra Prima is an Organic Reserve Port. Bin 27 is a reserve wine blend aged in large oak barrels. The range therefore includes estate Vintage Port, a bottle aged Crusted Port, Reserve Port and Tawny Port.

In The Glass

Bin 27 shows blackberry, cassis, cherry and plum. The palate is full bodied and round, with a soft, velvety texture and firm tannins that fill the mouth.

Crusted brings intense dark berry fruit from the nose through the palate. Sinewy tannins give an assertive grip, and the fruit remains through a long finish.

The 2012 Guimaraens Vintage Port combines fresh black fruit with a dense tannic framework that supplies volume. Cassis and raspberry continue through the long finish, and the Port can keep improving for decades in bottle.

A Bottle To Understand It

Terra Prima Organic Reserve Port is the first bottle to open. Its grape varieties are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca. The wine is a Reserve Ruby aged in large barrels before filtration and bottling, with concentrated fruit and sweetness carried by fruit purity.

This bottle places a defined grape composition, Reserve category and organic designation together. The palate is velvety, with berry, plum and cherry fruit supported by firm but integrated tannins.

Anecdote

On 8 April 1815, an entry in the ledgers of the Real Companhia Velha recorded the first evidence of Fonseca trading in Port. The firm's founder, João dos Santos Fonseca, had purchased 32 pipes of Port. His first documented sale followed on 14 September that year, and the first overseas shipment left in 1816. The surviving ledger entry, the sale and the shipment place Fonseca's early history in three physical acts: buying pipes, selling Port and sending it overseas.

Final Word

Quinta de Santo António is certified for organic grape and olive oil production and has been converted to Fonseca's sustainable viticulture model.

Sources

Open Fonseca Guimaraens in the interactive map →