Quinta Do Noval Vintage Porto 2015 (750ml)

The red Ports were very promising from the moment grapes were crushed in the lagares, showing deep color. The resulting Vintage Port, a strict selection of the very best wines of the year, representing just 9% of the harvest of Quinta do Noval, has a great aromatic intensity and purity of fruit. The nose has wild spicy black pepper notes, with great freshness and balance on the palate. There is an underlying strong tannic backbone. The wine is powerful deep and long and should develop into a classic Quinta do Noval Vintage Port.

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterised by its purity of fruit and a fine, delicate quality that is typical of the wines of the property in general, but which finds its most remarkable and enduring expression in the Vintage Ports.

Equilibrium, harmony, finesse and elegance characterise our great Vintage Ports, which are declared only when we are certain that the year has produced a blend, however small, that is worthy of bearing the name of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port.

Noval follows its own path in its approach to Vintage Port. If we believe that we have wines of the quality and personality to join the ranks of the Quinta do Noval Vintage Ports of previous years, we will bottle it and declare it, even if this means declaring several years in a row, and even if it means, as is often the case, bottling only a few hundred cases of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, representing a tiny percentage of the total production of the Quinta.

Grapes are trodden by foot to obtain the must, then during fermentation macerate to obtain the best possible extraction in the lagares, the traditional stone vats from the Quinta.

It is matured for 18 months in wooden casks in the air- conditioned cellars of the Quinta, at the demarcated region of the Douro Valley before bottling.

The 2015 Vintage Port is part of our mini-vertical this issue. As compared to its immediate siblings in this mini-vertical, this is a big step up on the 2014. Really—it isn't far off the 2016, either. Pretty much every component is better here than on the 2014, and by a wide margin. The fruit is better here, and the concentration is better; so, too, is the structure. The texture is caressing while the acidity strafes the fruit and mingles nicely with the ripe (relatively ripe, that is) tannins. It is pure, rich, sexy and still balanced, with an invigorating finish. It's delicious too, its lively fruit and good structure promising a long life ahead. This has blossomed since I first saw it for sure. You can think about drinking this in a decade, more or less, but keep it longer for best results, or give it a few hours in a decanter. Anticipated Maturity: 2025-2070