98 points James Suckling: "Lots of ripe fruit here with raisins and wet earth that turn to violets and hot stones. Full-bodied, tannic and powerful with fantastic grip and intensity. Grabs you. Impressive. Drink in 2025. (5/29/18)"
96-98 points Mark Squires (Wine Advocate): "[$120 list] The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend that was not quite bottled when seen (set for a week later), but it was the final blend. It was aged for 20 months in wood and comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This Fonseca is remarkably expressive, lifted and gloriously fresh. It has good concentration but some years have had more and seemed sexier. However, the most notable feature is the structure. It is very impressive in structure, that classic Port power and firmness coming to the fore and overshadowing the rest at the moment. This is very tight and very unevolved. Don't even think of buying it if you aren't prepared to cellar it. The 2030 start date that I have will not be even close to late enough if you want harmony and complexity. To me, this is the best of the three 2016s from the Fladgate Group this issue (Croft and Taylor being the other two), thanks to its pure intensity, but time will tell if it becomes as sexy as I'm sure Taylor's will be. In the meanwhile, Fonseca looks like one of the greats of this vintage. Drink: 2030-2075. (Jul 2018)"
97 points Wine Spectator: "[$120 list] This leads in with bramble, spearmint and blueberry notes, with the energy extending through the core of dark plum, blackberry and fig fruit. The finish features a strong graphite spine, allowing this to draw deep water, but this remains stylish in feel overall. Best from 2030 through 2055. (10/24/18)"
97 points Decanter: "Closed and withdrawn on the nose at this stage with an underlying dusting of ripe tannins evident. Firm, sweet cassis and berry fruit, with classic dark chocolate intensity at the core, backed by broad yet tight-knit peppery tannins which lead to a big, grippy finish. All there and very fine with a hugely promising future ahead. Drink: 2035-2055. Alcohol 20%. (Dec 2018)"
97 points and 'Cellar Selection,' Wine Enthusiast: "This bottling brings together a fine structure with great fruit to give a luscious wine that is also destined for long-term aging. With its ripe berry flavors sustained by some acidity, this is already balanced. Drink from 2028. Alcohol 20%. (Dec 2018)"
97 points Anthony Dias Blue (The Tasting Panel): "[$120/750ml list] Dark and mildly sweet with density and notes of vanilla and toast; racy, luscious, and long; superb now--and built to last--from a producer that released its first Port in 1840. (Sep 2018)"
96 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "[$120 list] The 2016 Fonseca Vintage Port began to be picked on 21 September at their Panascal vineyard, their Quinta do Cruzeira vineyard not picked until 6 October. It is deep, almost inky in colour. The bouquet is very intense with luscious black fruit laced with embers, clove and hints of bay leaf. There is wonderful purity here and a broodiness that suggests you'd better be patient. The palate is sweet and lively on the entry with some gorgeous ginger and curry leaf notes littered over the compact black fruit. There is wonderful density to this Fonseca. It is like a coiled spring with so much energy towards the finish that you just know this will be a long-term prospect. Superb. Drink: 2026-2070. (Jun 2018)"
FREE SHIPPING PROGRAMS
Shipping Policy
Legal age requirement: Wines and other alcoholic beverages may be sold and delivered only to persons over the age of 21.
By ordering from this website, you affirm that you are at least 21 years old. Woodland Hills Wine Company makes every effort to ensure that alcoholic beverages are not delivered to anyone who is under the age of 21.
All alcoholic beverages that we ship on your behalf must be received and signed for by an adult of legal drinking age. We encourage you to deliver to a business address to reduce the likelihood of failed delivery. If the wine is returned to us for failure to provide positive proof of age, the customer is responsible for paying all related shipping charges.
Interstate shipping: Many states have laws prohibiting or severely restricting the shipment of wine into their states from elsewhere in the country. If you enter a shipping address to a state restricting the shipment of wine, you will receive a notification that we cannot ship to your state. If you wish to ship to another state, you assume all responsibility for determining whether you may lawfully import alcoholic beverages into that state. As interstate shipping laws are constantly changing, you may want to check with the appropriate agency in your state or county.
See here for more.
All wines are sold in California and title passes to buyer in California. We make no representation as to the legal right of anyone to ship or import wines into any state or country outside of California. By placing an order with us, you authorize WHWC to act on your behalf to engage a common carrier to deliver your order to you. Our acknowledgment of an order is not a guarantee that we will ultimately be able to ship wine to you. If we are unable to ship wine to the state you request, we will notify you before processing your order to determine whether you wish to proceed.
Extreme weather advisory: Prolonged exposure to heat and freezing temperatures can damage wine.
Carriers do not insure against heat or cold damage, and we are unable to take responsibility for such damages after your wine has safely left our store. You are solely responsible for determining when and by what method you wish us to deliver your order—so be aware of weather conditions before shipping an order. That being said, we do reserve the right to withhold an order if we have clear reason to believe weather conditions are severe enough to significantly endanger the safety of your wine. In such a case, we will notify you promptly and discuss alternatives. Except for deliveries on the West Coast,
we encourage you to select Next Day or 2-Day serviceas your shipping method during the winter or summer months, in order to reduce the likelihood of weather-related damage to your wine. In winter and summer we generally do not ship on Fridays, since carriers hold shipments over the weekends in their warehouses, where storage conditions may be far from ideal for temperature-sensitive products such as wine.
Sales tax policy: Applicable Los Angeles County sales tax of 9.5% is added to all orders shipped or delivered within the state of California. Orders shipped to states outside California are not subject to California state sales tax. However, all orders picked up at our retail store are subject to California sales tax, even if it was not charged at time of order. Note that any new governmental taxes incurred subsequent to order will also be charged at date of shipment or pickup.
Order processing time: Orders of "in stock" wines (as well as the "in stock" portion of orders that include both "in stock" and "pre-arrival" wines) are generally processed and shipped within 24 hours. Special shipping requests—including rush orders, international deliveries, requests to ship original wood cases, etc.—should be made by phone (preferred),
email, or through the "Order Notes/Special Instructions" field in the Shipping Details page (step 1) of the online checkout process.
Futures/pre-arrivals: Futures/pre-arrival wines are not available for immediate shipment; we can provide you with estimated arrival times for particular wines by phone (800-678-9463) or
email.
Shipping for futures/pre-arrivals is not charged at time of order, but is determined once the wine arrives at our store and we contact you for further instructions (including shipping address and method). We do not automatically ship out pre-arrival wines. We typically email you upon the wine's arrival and will follow up by phone if we receive no response within a reasonable period of time.
International orders: We accept international orders for many countries, and can provide a quote for international shipping upon request. Be aware that there may be additional duties, taxes, and tariffs based on your destination country. You are responsible for determining your customs charges, and they will be due COD upon delivery in your country. Contact us for more information—by phone at +1-818-222-1111 or by
email.
Shipping spirits:
Distilled spirits may only be shipped to addresses within the state of California. Our website will not allow you to complete an order which contains spirits items if you attempt to ship the order to another state. Be advised that accurate shipping rates for orders including spirits can only be provided at time of shipping. Certain odd-shaped spirits bottles cannot be safely packed, in which case we will contact you for further instructions.
Shipping options
We offer the following shipping methods:
- Ground: Day-definite delivery typically in one to five days, depending on distance.
- 3-Day: Delivery by the end of the third business day.
- 2-Day: Delivery by the end of the second business day to most areas.
- Next Day: Delivery by the end of the next business day.
- Priority Next Day: Delivery by 12:00PM on the next business day to most areas.
- Regional carrier - GSO Standard: Golden State Overnight (GSO) is a regional next-day package delivery specialist. Its standard CPS service provides guaranteed next-day delivery by 5pm to all California addresses, as well as to most major metro areas in Arizona and Nevada; includes Saturday deliveries at no additional charge. Not recommended for residential delivery.
- Regional carrier - GSO Priority: Provides guaranteed next-day delivery by 10:30am to most addresses in its delivery coverage area of California and metro Arizona and Nevada. See GSO-PDS guaranteed delivery times by zip code
- Hold for will call: Available for in-store pickup within 24-48 hours or order confirmation. Will Call Policy
- Hold for future shipment: If weather conditions are unfavorable for the safe transport of your wine at the time of order, we can hold in our temperature-controlled facility until weather conditions improve. Hold for Future Shipment Policy
Exceptions to service commitments above exist for Hawaii and Alaska, as well as for certain rural areas. Please contact us if you require a more specific delivery commitment for your destination.
Estimated shipping rates for each of these options are provided during checkout.
Before we ship your order, we will send you an order confirmation which includes actual shipping charges; at time of shipment, we will send a shipment confirmation that includes a shipment tracking number.
Special shipping requests —including rush shipping, international delivery, requests to ship original wood cases, etc.—should be made by phone (preferred),
email, or through the "Order Notes/Special Instructions" field during checkout.
Shipping rates
Our shipping rates include the cost of insulated foam shipping containers.
Estimated shipping rates are provided at checkout based on shipping address, shipping method, and number of bottles (in stock) in your order. Note that quoted shipping rates are estimates, and actual shipping charges may differ based on factors which are not taken into account by our automated shipping estimator. For example, due to their heavier weight, sparkling wines (and, increasingly, some non-sparkling wines which come in heavier bottles) are charged an additional $1.00 per bottle above the estimates provided. Our shipping estimator is not set up to recognize price differences for bottles smaller than 750ml in size, but the actual rates incurred for these bottles (500ml, 375ml, 300ml, etc.) are typically lower than those for 750ml bottles, and we will pass along these savings to you. Also, shipping charges for unusual bottle sizes cannot be accurately estimated in advance.
Actual shipping charges are included in the order confirmation email we send to you upon shipment.
Insurance: Insurance coverage (optional) is available for 1.0% of the total purchase price of your order over $100, and covers any loss due to breakage or theft that may occur while your order is in the possession of a common carrier. It does not cover damage resulting from extreme hot or cold temperatures during transit. While shipping insurance is optional, declining coverage releases WHWC of all liability associated with breakage or loss that may occur to your order during shipment. If you have opted for insurance coverage and you receive damaged merchandise, you must notify WHWC of any broken or damaged bottles within two days of delivery so that we may process your claim with the carrier.
Original wood cases: We will ship the original wood case (if applicable) upon your special request. Please call us to arrange, or note this in the "Order Notes/Special Instructions" field during checkout.
Charge-backs: Our carriers levy a small surcharge for delivery to residential addresses. The customer is responsible for correctly identifying address type (residence or business); charge-backs that we receive from our carriers due to incorrect identification by the customer will be billed back to the customer. If a customer provides incorrect shipping address information which causes a failed delivery attempt, our primary carriers UPS and FedEx charge a $14 PENALTY PER PACKAGE for address corrections, which will also be billed back to the customer.