Quinta Do Noval Vintage Port 2018

Quinta Do Noval Vintage Port, 2018

Grapes: A blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cao & Vinhao (Sousao)

Producer Tasting Note:

The wine is wonderfully ripe, full and exuberant, spicy on the nose, with very fine long tannins and a classic Noval purity and elegance.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"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." Drink 2027-2070

95+/100 points, Mark Squires, WINE ADVOCATE, September 2020

"While this vintage was not generally declared as such by the major Port houses, it has produced some very fine wines. This wine, still very young, is dry in style, full of black cherry and spice flavors along with intense acidity. The spirit is not fully integrated yet, but that will come. It is certainly for long-term aging, so wait to drink until 2028."

96/100 points, Roger Voss, WINE ENTHUSIAST, December 2020

"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." Drink 2030-2055

97/100 points, WINE SPECTATOR, (#45 in the 2021 "Top 100 wines")