Bin27

Bin 27 is as well known as Fonseca itself. Although for connoisseurs and collectors the Fonseca house is synonymous with Vintage Port wine, it is actually Bin 27 the wine that most quickly comes to mind of thousands of consumers and Port lovers when they think of Fonseca.

Bin 27 is a rich, fruity wine made from a blend of reserve wines. It is sold all over the world, with particular popularity in the North American market.

Fonseca Bin 27 was launched in Great Britain in 1972. At that time, the Port wine market was undergoing profound changes. Consumers were becoming increasingly savvy and demanding in their choice of wines. They were no longer satisfied with the simple young Port wines that until then represented a large part of the consumption; they were looking for more sophisticated and differentiated wines, both to enjoy at home and in restaurants. And Vintage Port was not always the solution. Although consumers liked the depth of flavor and the rich character of Vintage Port wines, the need to decant and finish the bottle within a few hours meant that they were not always the best choice for drinking by the glass on more informal occasions. In addition, Vintage Port wines were relatively expensive. Fonseca's sister house, Taylor Fladgate & Yeatman, responded to this demand by developing a new style of Port: Late Bottled Vintage, which was very successful. Fonseca, however, decided to do something different. The house realized that what defines Fonseca, both in terms of the wine and the consumer, and what sets them apart from other Port houses, was the powerful and complex fruit quality of their wines. No other producer was able to match the fruity and opulent character that was the unmistakable differentiating mark of the house Fonseca and that found its maximum expression in its Vintage Port wines. The answer was to create a blend that could convey that magnificent fruit quality, but in a more rounded and more accessible style of Port, intended for more immediate consumption. After exchanging views with Cock, Russell & Spedding, the company's agents in London at the time, Alistair Robertson began working on the project, which came to fruition in 1972.

Using wines from Cima Corgo and Douro Superior, areas in the center and east of the Douro valley, they created a full-bodied, smooth and densely fruity wine, within a style once known as "vintage character", but which today is often known as a reserve or "finest reserve" The idea of combining different vintages allowed them to create a wine that would be entirely consistent in style from one bottling to the next. Half a century earlier, the company had the custom of naming their Crusted Port wines, also made in a full-bodied, fruity style, using the numbers of the compartments where the wines were stored. These cellar-like compartments are called "Bin"; hence the wines were called Bin 740 or Bin 82 VG. Reviving this tradition, Alistair decided to name the new wine Bin 27. A differentiated presentation was created, painting the name prominently on the bottle with white paint and the Fonseca insignia in red. The bottle with the painted letters was later imitated by other Port wine brands, being replaced in the mid-1980s by an elegant paper label.

Bin 27 was an immediate success. Five years after its launch, it was already sold in almost 30 countries around the world, from Australia to Iceland. Bin 27 was supported by numerous promotional activities over the years, among them the sponsorship in 1977 of John Ridgway's yacht, the "Debenhams", in the round-the-world Whitbread race and the production in 1984 of the world's largest bottle of wine. This Bin 27 bottle contained 98 liters, or the equivalent of 132 normal bottles. It had a circumference of 1.5 meters at the base and almost 1 meter in height, and was sealed with a 13-centimeter stopper.

Today Bin 27 continues to be made from selected reserve Port wines, which are chosen for their smooth, round and full-bodied mouthfeel and their intense and fine fruit character. Some of these wines originate from Fonseca's own estates, while others are made from grapes supplied by independent winemakers with whom the company maintains a close relationship. The wines are aged in large oak barrels to give them smoothness and complexity, but without stripping them of their intense and vibrant fruit character. Bin 27 shares the tradition and style of the great Fonseca Vintage Ports, as well as much of their depth and character. However, Bin 27 is bottled when it is ready to drink, and can be served by the glass without the need for decanting. To ensure consistency of character and its intrinsic Fonseca style, it is made from different lots of reserve wines, offering the customer a safe and affordable value.