1960 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port

[Al B.]

Deep rose red colour, with a touch of orange on the rim. A delicate sweetness on the nose, like ripe wild strawberries. A nose buried in the glass brings out a dusty tone, some pepper and some liquorice with a touch of alcohol showing. Very attractive.

Blanced entry, a touch of glycerine adding to the texture. Initial thoughts are of sweetened redcurrants with just the right balance of sugar and acid. Beautiful balance in the mid-palate with lots going on - masses of fruit in the fore but with a background of herbs, spices and Liquorice All Sorts. A huge aftertaste that starts with a chocolatey tingle in the cheeks that just grows into a complex symphony of Christmas Cake flavours with dried fruits mixed in with deep, dark cake mix. An aftertaste that just keeps going.

This is a remarkable wine that has a huge palate presence and the traditional stunning aftertaste that is expected from a Nacional. While the wine is clearly mature, there is still the fruit and tannin required to allow this wine to hold well for a decade or two, but I doubt it will improve in that time. This is probably one of the 5 best wines that I will drink this year so I will score it a 10/10 on Tom's scale or 96 points on the Parker scale.

[Roy Hersh]

And to think you believed this was only a regular bottling of Noval. What a great story. Thanks for sharing your TN!