2000 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port

[Mahmoud Ali]

I had an occasion to open the 2000 Noval VP. It was at the end of an evening of dinner and wine and I apologize for the lack of notes.

On this day the 2000 Noval was a beautiful and elegant port, rich, deep and complex, the aeration long enough to blow the spirit off.

I decanted the port at about 11 am into a medium sized decanter and later, at about 5:30 pm, back into the rinsed and dried bottle. At about 7 pm I decanted it into a large wide-bottomed decanter where it stayed till about 10 pm. It was served with Stilton and roasted pecans.

Although one person immediately declared it to be a vintage port, others at the table, perhaps fooled by it's elegance, depth of colour, and lack of spiritiness, thought it a single quinta or traditional LBV. The contrast between the colour, suggesting youth, and it's smooth elegance, suggesting some evolution, may have been the reason. I can understand why some people have a hard keeping their hands off young ports. Properly decanted it can be a real treat.

One final note. I poured the remnants from the decanted bottle into a port glass and covered it with plastic wrap. Three days later I tasted it and found, despite the fine, powdery sediment, to be lovely, still deep, pure and rich. Yum, all sediment should drink so well.

Cheers...............................Mahmoud.