Return to Port : Fonseca-Guimaraens Offerings Earn High Marks in the Current Vintage-Port Revival

AT THE MOST famous watering holes and posh restaurants across the country, vintage ports are enjoying a healthy renaissance as the postprandial sip, often edging out Cognac and other liqueurs. It’s a civilized happening.

There is a peaceful luxury in this velvet-rich wine, which contains an unmeasurable component that I would call calmness. One cannot drink these wonderful wines in unthinking drafts; they dictate leisurely sipping, at a pace equivalent to that of philosophical contemplation. More than one scholar of ports has dubbed them the “wines of philosophy.”

Just hold the glass to the candlelight and watch the “tears” of the wine’s fine body flow back into the bowl. These “legs” are also known as “cathedral windows,” with the flowing pattern breaking into arching rivulets.

Generically, these days, port does not have to be spelled with a capital P; it’s a common category, just like claret, burgundy, champagne or sherry, much to the annoyance of the countries where those wines originated centuries ago.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms stipulates that the name is capitalized only when the source is indicated, such as in California Port. This system extends to champagnes as well. That continues to anger the French, who correctly believe that Champagne is a geographic appellation denominating that ancient province where sparkling wine was born--and that there is no such thing as California Champagne.

World courts accepted the French position, and European Common Market countries dealing with France have agreed not to use the term Champagne for their sparkling wines. So there is Italian Spumante and German Sekt. The Portuguese attempted to apply the same restrictions in various world courts against South African Port, Australian Port, California Port, and so forth, and emerged with only a compromise: that genuine port made in Portugal, where port was born, should be labeled “Porto,” a term that no other country can use. Alas, no one anywhere asks for a glass of Porto.

Only from the wines of Oporto, Portugal, comes true ecstasy for the taste buds.

This great wine takes its name from the Roman designation of the mouth of the River Douro-- portus cale , or “the port.” Oporto is today a thriving metropolis. Vila Nova de Gaia, Oporto’s sister city across the river, is where the world-famous port wine houses, called lodges, are headquartered. At the remote vineyard estates along the Douro and its tributaries, where the grapes are grown, the grapes are still trodden barefoot in open stone lagares (wine vats). The must is allowed to ferment until it is “stopped” with the addition of brandy, preserving much of the natural sweetness of the very ripe grapes. Then the wine is moved to Vila Nova de Gaia for blending, aging, bottling and shipping.

The grape of claret is Cabernet Sauvignon. Burgundy and champagne boast of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir origins. Riesling dominates fine Rhine and Mosel wines. Palomino gives sherry its identifying character. But there is no single grape species dominating those Douro vineyards; there are more than 17 species of Vitis vinifera. The leading shippers vinify the grape varieties separately and blend them with skill and patience. Famous shippers include Sandeman, Dow’s, Graham, Croft, Cockburn, Taylor Fladgate, Quinta de Noval, Robertson and Fonseca-Guimaraens.

When wine maker Bruce Duncan Guimaraens of Fonseca-Guimaraens visited California last month, I looked forward to our meeting.

Before our dinner, I had perused the Fonseca literature that had been sent to me. The descriptive language could only have come from one with the most ardent love of the wine: “Fonseca Ports show a lush, voluptuous fruit intensity and a structure of both great dimension and finesse. More feminine than massive, they are coveted for their sublime refinement and breed. Among the first growths of the Douro, Fonseca is clearly the ‘Margaux of Port.’ ” When I asked Guimaraens, great-grandson of the founder, whether he had penned this description, he admitted that he had “helped.”

All through dinner, I was impatient for dessert time and the lineup of Fonseca Portos.

Fonseca Siroco White Porto Extra Dry ($10). Popular in Paris as an aperitif, this port is sometimes served on the rocks, with a twist of lemon. It’s delicate, refreshing, composed of Malvasia varieties, straw-gold in color, off-dry in taste.

Fonseca Bin No. 27 Fine Reserve Porto ($12). The subtitle “Vintage Character Porto” reveals that its taste is a blend of high-quality reserve wines from a range of vintages. Deep garnet in color, it has black currant and cherry flavors in its profound complexity. It does not require decanting.

Fonseca Twenty Year Old Tawny Porto ($35). With russet highlights on the edge of the glass, this wine has suggestions of cinnamon and butterscotch and an underlying subtlety of oak.

Guimaraens Vintage Porto 1965 ($26). A glorious wine--full and rich; of long, long finish and great value. Decant before serving at dessert time.

Guimaraens Vintage Porto 1977 ($65). A collector’s item, sumptuously complex and delectable. Bruce Guimaraens declares that if you open it now and drink it, “you should be arrested . . . for child abuse, or infanticide.” The longer you wait, the better it will taste. Wonderful wine for the ceremony of decanting, bringing forth a jewel-clear and richly unforgettable wine.

Chair and sconce courtesy of Mission Antiques, South Pasadena.