QUINTA DO NOVAL
2018
The 2018 Vintage Port from Noval, picked from 5 September, has a really lovely bouquet with black plum and cassis fruit, still with that faint tincture of fireside hearth, concentrated and supremely well focused. This is the most "vinous" recent vintage insofar that it veers away from a fortified wine, perhaps with less VA than the 2017. The palate has a satin-like texture on the entry, a little spicier than the 2019, hints of black pepper, graphite, clove and allspice, very harmonious and poised on the graphite-tinged finish. Excellent. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London. Drinking range: 2030 - 2070 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Nov 2022)
In Bond
75cl bottles (wood case of 6)
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Juicy and muscular, with a ball of plum paste, warmed fig compote and black currant reduction flavors that need time to unwind. Ample graphite- and bramble-accented grip underscores the fruit on the finish, while a ganache note finds room to strut its stuff in the end. Should be one of the longer-lived wines of the vintage. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 97 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Dec 2020)
The 2018 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It comes in with 100 grams of residual sugar. This was bottled May 13, 2020. Simply gorgeous, this is aromatic, chock-full of flavor and wholly delicious—but that's just the starting point. It has a serious backbone too, perfectly countered by the mid-palate depth. More than lovely, it might well be my favorite of the 2018s I've seen thus far, if I were forced to pick just one. It is surprisingly accessible, in a way, but that's because the mid-palate soaks up the power. It was certainly still vibrant days later. It should age well, but let's be just a little conservative now in evaluation and drinking windows Drinking range: 2027 - 2070 Rating: 95+ Mark Squires, robertparker.com (Sept 2020)
The 2018 Quinta do Noval is exuberant and calls out for attention on the nose: black plums, sage, cloves and potent scents of fireside hearth. Lovely definition here and very focused. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, smooth and disarmingly harmonious. It fans out with confidence and delivers Oriental spices, hoisin, tobacco and black pepper on the very persistent finish. This is a superb Quinta do Noval. Drinking range: 2033 - 2070 Rating: 95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2020)
No percentages here but a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão and Sousão, picked over a long period from 5th September to 13th October: lovely deep, dark colour; dense, ripe, bold fruit (a touch hot country) on the nose; lovely super-ripe blackberry / cassis fruit initially, wonderful freshness, vitality and verve, backed by broad, ripe tannins and a long powerful finish. This has it all! 1600 cases in total, representing 7% of Noval’s production. ***** Rating: 19 Richard Mayson, www.richardmayson.com (Jun 2020)
Quinta do Noval
After a sometimes decadent history, and the ravages of phylloxera, Quinta do Noval was bought by Port shipper António José da Silva in 1894, and his family owned and developed Noval for nearly the next 100 years. In the 1920's they introduced that ubiquitous piece of Port marketing - the stencilled bottle - and, with the 1954 vintage, the far more useful concept of Late Bottled Vintage Port. In 1925, they planted the iconic and, astoundingly, ungrafted Nacional vineyard, the 1931 of which is regarded as one of finest Ports ever produced. The mantle of running this great estate was passed, in 1993, to AXA Millésimes who own, among others, Châteaux Pichon Longueville and Suduiraut, and Christian Seely was put in charge of the renaissance of this great vineyard.