2003 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port

[Todd Pettinger]

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port – 2003
This is the second bottle of true Vintage that I have opened myself and much to my delight the cork came out cleanly using Ah-so style prongs. I realize that is likely due to the youth of the wine and cork and upon examination, there is hardly any penetration of the wine into the cork.

Decanted cleanly with a surprising lack of sediment. Again, likely due to the youth of the wine, it has not had much time to throw a heavy sediment. This will be the youngest VP I have ever tried, but I wanted to get a feel for just how blockbuster this 2003 year is supposed to be. I intend to purchase a few cases to lay down for my first-born son in the next few months and want to get a feel for the here-and-now prior to placing them all in the basement. I halved the 750 into a 375 ml bottle which I vacuvin’d and promptly place back into the cellar until tomorrow for the follow up of Easter dinner. After reading Roy’s decanting method and taking into consideration the view of many on this forum for optimal decanting times vs personal taste I wanted to experiment with decanting half the bottle now and sealing up the second half to compare for tomorrow.

A strong, powerful nose of tannins greeted me from the freshly decanted wine. I sense some displaced alcohol on the follow through. The port is dark purple, very inky. In the glass the colour is still inky purple, bricking towards the edge, with a clear meniscus. Tears are well structured and slow-running.

The first taste is an assault on the senses of fresh grapes, raspberries, currents and perhaps blackberries. The alcohol is slightly stand-offish, but does not have the sense that this will last. A monsterous fresh berry taste leads through the finish, which is not long but very sweet.

I have high hopes for this wine. Further notes to follow as the decanting time increases and I look forward to tracking the progress that this youngster makes.

+2½ hours
Nose has changed slightly, with a touch of old leather being added to the strong fruit bouquet. A hint of licorice, and black cherries.
Colour appears to be the same, still dark and swirling with purple and deep reds. After the small sample in the glass is gone, I noticed the distinct staining – extremely purple that requires an actual scrubbing of the bottom of the glass to be taken out.
The palate is still strongly tannic with the same VA present, causing a bit of fuzzy-mouthfeel. There is no after burn of alcohol, and I may be mistaken, but the port has a slightly longer length.

+6½ hours
The colour has gone much darker; deep purple blending to black in the middle.
Nose has evolved as well with over-ripened black plums, definite notes of blackberries.
A hint of bitter chocolate appears on the palate, blending nicely with the existing palate. This is still very powerful and slightly tannic (perhaps to a lesser degree than 4 hours ago.) Very tasty – my mouth continues to water for a full minute after the end of the sip. This is great stuff – definitely something I want to track over 40-50 years as it evolves and becomes the full-blown monster that is indicated by this young preview.

+11 hours
No further changes in the nose.
Chocolate has disappeared from the palate.

+21½ hours
No change in colour, still black and inky.
No change in nose.
There is not a whole lot of evolution in the palate at this point. The port is at a stage where it is solid and full-bodied and extremely good.

Not expecting much further change at this point. The explosion of fresh fruit has subsided perhaps a bit, but the port is still huge. A monster in waiting.

35 hours
Wow, this little monster is still holding bold, brash fruit notes. Headstrong, but a tad to much alcohol showing through at this point. There has been virtually no change in the nose, colour or palate of the port – the structure has remained intact the entire way through.

Bring in the reserves…
I have just finished pouring the last remaining glass of the decanter and have thrown the reserved 375 mL bottle into the decanter to do a bit of a comparison.

The “new stuff” has less nose of alcohol and tannins in it – but it very well may be due to the fact that it is still cellar temperature, once it arrives up to room temperature it may show differently. On the palate, slightly more fruit and “sweet” flavours, vs the older, decanted stuff. I will keep watching to determine if the new port follows suit once brought to room temperature.