Port ProDuCers anD shiPPers 217Hunt Roope and Constantino are brands belonging to Ferreira. They have been
amalgamated in a single subsidiary firm: Hunt, Constantino Vinhos Lda.
Fonseca
c/o Fladgate Partnership
Po Box 1311 ec sanata Marinha 4401–501 Vila nova de Gaia, Portugal
tel: (351) 223 742 800
http://www.fonseca.pt
Catch a Port shipper at a candid moment and many will admit that, aside from their own,
Fonseca is their favoured Port. Few other shippers can flaunt quite such an accomplished
range of wines.
The company was founded by Manuel Pedro Guimaraens. Born near Barcelos, north
of Oporto, in 1798, he began as a trader exporting cloth and a range of comestibles to
Brazil both on his own behalf and for an associated company, Fonseca & Monteiro.
In 1822, Guimaraens acquired the majority shareholding with the caveat that Fonseca
should remain the brand name no matter who owned the business. Manuel Pedro was a
controversial character. He took the side of the liberal Dom Pedro in the 1820s conflict
with the absolutists and was forced to leave the country on a number of occasions; in one
incident he was smuggled on board a ship bound for England, hidden in an empty pipe of
Port! Despite the liberal victory in 1832 he remained in London until his death in 1858.
Under his stewardship, Fonseca Monteiro & Guimaraens (as it became known) grew into
one of the largest Port shippers. The company continued to be based in London until
1927 when it was repatriated to Oporto.
In the slump that followed the Second World War, the Guimaraens family consolidated
their holdings with those of Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman. Successive members of the
Guimaraens family have nevertheless continued to steer the firm. Frank Guimaraens,
followed briefly in the mid-1950s by Dorothy Guimaraens and then Bruce Guimaraens
(see page 172), are collectively responsible for every one of Fonseca’s remarkable vintage
Ports from 1896 to 1991. The mantle has passed to Bruce’s son David who, having
graduated from Roseworthy in Australia, is now the company’s winemaker.
Fonseca’s wines are based on three quintas. Cruzeiro and Santo António in the Pinhão
valley were both acquired in the 1970s but have long formed the basis for Fonseca’s vintage
Ports. Having been replanted in the 2000s, Santo António is now certified organic. Quinta
do Panascal in the lower reaches of the Távora complements them with a different terroir.
It is open to passing visitors who want to experience a working quinta. Down in Gaia,
Fonseca’s labyrinthine lodges serve as the workaday production centre for the group, whereas
Taylor’s lodge has been restored as a showpiece. Just occasionally one senses that Fonseca is
somewhat lent upon by its larger sibling. Fonseca’s wines are inevitably compared with those
produced by Taylor but their markets are surprisingly different. Whereas Taylor’s strength is
in the UK, Fonseca’s main market is across the Atlantic in the USA.
Fonseca’s best-known wine is Bin No. 27, a ripe, hearty reserve ruby wine that is
based on grapes from Quinta do Panascal. The company also bottles a small quantity