The Fine Wine Experience Quinta do Noval & Nacional Tasting (with Christian Seely)
Institute of Directors, London
Tasted Thursday, March 15, 2007 by Xavier Auerbach with 976 views
Institute of Directors, London
Tasted Thursday, March 15, 2007 by Xavier Auerbach with 976 views
2003 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 95 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
6000 cases. Black cherries, sweet, very intense, soaring acidity, the heat of the vintage is apparent, the babyfat barely manages to cover the magnificent structure, liquorice, raspberry, high toned, burnt almond. Exotic and exuberant, exciting.
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2003 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 98 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Richer, warmer, broader shoulders than the straight Noval Vintage 2003. Richer spice, very long and deep, extra dimensions of tannin, enormous extract, brutish, will take a lot of time to come together. Radiant. An exotic legend in the making. Will take thirty years.
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2000 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 95 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Lovely depth and extract, rich red fruit, liquorice, smoked almond, much more settled than the 2003 at this stage, beuatifully balanced, will be a very elegant and classic vintage port in time.
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2000 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 97 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
As always, this young Nacional is raw and brutish when compared to the straight Noval, but in time will show much more dimension and depth. Very classical, liquorice. Excellent balance and length. Dense and long. Hibernating. but still very drinkable because of its rich, stellar fruit. Less exuberant than the 2003, lovely purity and balance, will it develop like the 1966?
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1997 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 95 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
1200 cases. Beautiful, balanced and concentrated, a very elegant style of Noval (after the exuberant 2003 and the classic 2000), starts to provide a glimpse of its personality. Eucalyptus, long.
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1997 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional Flawed
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Corked. Yet below the TCA you could sense a wine of extraordinary elegance and length. Not rated.
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1994 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 94 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
900 cases. The first vintage of the AXA/Christian Seely era. Beautiful, rich wine, coming into its own, classical but rich, well structured, fruit and wonderful length, relatively feminine, toffee and figs, good definition.
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1994 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 98 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
190 cases. Great port, a giant that is slowly waking up. Eucalyptus. Has the wow-factor. beautiful lift. Long life. Amazing.
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1963 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 92 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Light and elegant, beautiful nose of cold tea, mint and eucalyptus, fully mature but perfectly healthy, touch of turkish delight, delicious if slightly drying, shows considerable depth, well-structured, fragrant and well-balanced. According to Christian Seely the best specimen of the 1963 Noval he has ever tasted.
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1963 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 100 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Ex-cellars Quinta do Noval. A perfect bottle. Immense. Closed, deep, spicy. Very fresh and rich, stellar fruit, christmas spices, a clenched iron fist but the glove is not quite velvety yet. Enormously structured. Too young, believe it or not. Drink from 2020. Will easily live to be 100 years. Perfection. A humbling experience.
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1947 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 90 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
Purchased by Linden Wilkie from Hans Jorissen in Leiden. At first glance not unlike a 20 year old tawny. A more thorough inspection (and a little time in the glass) reveals a very fine and intense nose, turkish delight, latakia tobacco, cold tea, hint of rancio; light, fully developed, but with good acidity, vestiges of the tannic grip you'd expect of a Nacional as well as the radiance and length. Vital, touch of liquorice. A rare privilege.
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1931 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage 100 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
English-bottled by Fearon, Block, Bridges and Routh. A giant, an athlete and a ballerina all rolled into one. Such power, such finesse; flowery and ethereal nose, ultra-refined liquorice, very deep, harmonious, wonderful grip, the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, spices, enormous length. No words of mine can do justice to it. Absolutely sublime. Perfect even.
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1931 Quinta do Noval Porto Vintage Nacional 94 Points
Portugal, Douro, Porto
English-bottled by Justerini & Brooks. A bit muffled on the nose, touch of toffee, hint of maderisation. Extremely powerful, comparable build to the straight Noval 1931, perhaps even broader shoulders. Certainly its equal in length, in fact even longer still - seemingly endless. Even more complex and finely tuned too. Perfumed, touches of hint and eucalyptus. Fascinating and very impressive. From a perfect bottle this must be otherworldly. Who knows, maybe one day....
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