2003 Noval Vintage Port
The stream showed a deep, luxurious garnet as it was being decanted. Once in the decanter it is very dark, but not opaque, and showing mostly red with only a hint of purple. It is similar in the glass, only not quite as dark. The dregs from the bottle are a totally opaque inky purple/black with a surprisingly large amount of very fine sediment. My first thought is that this one is going to be a teeth stainer.
A rich aroma of plums and mellow red fruits filled the room upon decanting. The fruits are overpoweringly thick and almost meaty in tone. There is a bit of disjointed alcohol present on the nose, but even that has a difficult time fighting its way through the thick and luscious fruit forest.
I found it surprisingly silky in the mouth. Again the fruits are so powerful that it is almost jam-like in flavor, though not in texture. The texture is silky like one of those fancy European drinking chocolates you can order at The Chocolate Box in downtown Seattle. The tannins are present and smooth, but at this point they're so overpowered by the fruits that you could miss them entirely if you weren't looking for them. I have a difficult time judging Ports this young because the structure is hard to feel, but I think this one has everything needed to last a good long time. There's a nice milk chocolate-like sensation in the late palate.
If you are into very young Ports, this is a great one!
and figured that putting it in the refrigerator would lessen the effect of decanting, and I didn't want that for this particular test.
