Fonseca Ruby Port 750ml

Fonseca Ruby Port is the Porto house’s classic ruby, aged for three years in large wooden vats and bottled ready to drink. Fonseca has shipped a Ruby since it was founded in 1815, and its Ports have been made by five generations of the Guimaraens family.

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Ruby is the young, fruit-first style of Port. Large vats let the wine soften without picking up much oak, so it keeps its deep colour and fresh fruit, unlike a tawny, which spends longer in small casks and turns nutty and amber. Fonseca’s background is in Vintage Port, with three estates in the Douro, Panascal, Cruzeiro and Santo António, at the heart of its style. The Ruby is its everyday bottle, made to open and enjoy straight away.

Fonseca’s own tasting notes:

Nose: Fresh, lively and youthful, packed with cherry and blackcurrant.

Palate: Full-bodied, with firm but well-knit tannins.

Finish: Long, rich and fruity.

Fonseca recommends serving it at 16 to 18°C, a little below room temperature on a warm day, in a port or small wine glass. It needs no decanting. The house calls it an excellent dessert wine, especially with ripe blue cheese, and it also suits dark chocolate, berry desserts and a cheese board. Once opened, store the bottle upright, away from light, somewhere cool. Fonseca says it drinks at its peak for about two months after opening, so there is no rush to finish it in one sitting.