2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

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Glenn E.
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2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Glenn E. »

I bought a 6-pack of these back in late 2008 or early 2009 (basically upon release) with the deliberate intention of seeing how they would age. It's an unfiltered LBV, so in theory it should age well, and I was really enjoying the 2003 Noval VP so I thought this might be similar. My original intent was to wait until at least 2018 to open any of them, and based on this bottle I probably should have waited because it has taken most of a week for it to really soften and open up. This TN is a compilation over 6 days as the Port has evolved in a decanter sitting on the kitchen counter at room temperature.

2003 Quinta do Noval LBV
unfiltered, bottled 2008

Color: Very dark red with purple hints, opaque center

Nose: Bright and vibrant, but with earthy undertones. Faintly minty. Also faintly green.

Palate: For the first few days bright and rather tart. About day 4 it started to soften up. By day 6 it is now pleasant and smooth. It's on the dry side regardless, though now that it has softened some sweet fruitiness shows through. Mostly bright red raspberries, red currant, and tart strawberries during the early part of the week. Now showing some of the tarter side of purple bramble berries and possibly not-quite-ripe blackberries and tart blueberries. Good tannins and acidity all week. Quite a lot of structure - these should easily last 25 years and probably more.

Finish: Initially a space shuttle landing with lots of tannins and grape stem. It has leveled out some now and so could be called medium length, but it still has the grape stem tail. Tannins are strong but not harsh... perhaps firm is the right word.

Score: 93 points. At the moment this isn't really my style - it's much to dry and far too tart without days of decant time. But it's a very impressive LBV with a complex palate and the structure to age for decades. The fact that an 11-year old LBV needs 6 days to mellow out shows its age-worthiness. I started at 91 but it has improved consistently over the week and I think it now deserves the 93. Now I just need to keep my hands off the remaining 5 until at least 2018... then maybe another taste... then wait until 2023. I don't expect these to be fully mature, even for an LBV, until at least then if not 2028.
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Mahmoud Ali
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Mahmoud Ali »

Glenn,

Nice tasting note - and I admire your ability to keep the bottle going for six days. That would not be possible in my household.

Unfiltered LBVs are very well structured and can last for decades. The last one I had was a '92 Warre's and at twenty years of age it was still firm - and that was last year! Are you sure the '03 Noval LBV was bottled in 2008 - that would make it five years after the vintage and I thought that traditional, unfiltered LBVs were bottled after four years.

Cheers................Mahmoud.
Paul Fountain
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Paul Fountain »

Mahmoud Ali wrote:Glenn,

Are you sure the '03 Noval LBV was bottled in 2008 - that would make it five years after the vintage and I thought that traditional, unfiltered LBVs were bottled after four years.
Yep Glenn is correct there. My bottles of this are easily accessible so I went and had a look, and they say bottled in 2008 on the label. If you think about it, an lbv made in 2003 could be bottled in 2008 and still be well under 5 years.

Thanks for the note Glenn. I might hang on to mine for a bit longer. This port was a bit of a wow moment for me. It was the first LBV that I had tried as well as the first really young port I had tried that was built to age, and the tannin structure took me by surprise and hooked me in. It was followed up with the 2003 Noval VP. That tasting was what started me on the slippery slope of port purchasing. [cheers.gif]
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Glenn E.
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Glenn E. »

As Paul said, it clearly says 2008 on the label. Most producers do seem to bottle LBVs after 4 years, but the only requirement is 4-6 years and that applies to all LBVs whether filtered or not.
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John M.
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by John M. »

I've seen other LBVs at 5-6 years, too. I kind of enjoy the better LBV producers and their varied policies--such as Smith Woodhouse and Warre's waiting a long time to release their LBVs so they have some age on them. And others bottling at 5-6 years if that's what it takes.
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Eric Menchen
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Eric Menchen »

And change the TN title to remove "Quinta do."

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Andy Velebil
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Andy Velebil »

I've split this important discussion into it's own thread here
http://www.fortheloveofport.com/ftlopfo ... 19#p118319
Andy Velebil Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used. William Shakespeare http://www.fortheloveofport.com
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Roy Hersh
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Re: 2003 Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port

Post by Roy Hersh »

I haven't had the 2003 version in some time, but it is truly one of their excellent LBVs of which there are quite a few. I don't think that Noval gets enough recognition for their LBV lineup as people immediately aspire to Nacional when Noval is even mentioned. [shok.gif]

Nice note Glenn.
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