For The Love Of Port

• N.V. Quinta do Noval Porto Noval Black - Portugal, Douro, Porto
  Opaque red violet color; tart berry, black fruit nose; tasty, rich, berry, blackberry, raspberry palate; medium-plus finish (good value at $16 to $22) (91 pts.)

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My wife hates port, but when she had some of this at Dan Posner's annual tasting last month, she enjoyed it because it was not as overpowering as real VPs. She ordered three bottles - one to give to my mother and the other two for us. I thought it was very pleasant and enjoyable.

I opened a bottle last night after a very long day at work. I've gone through almost a case of this now and I still love it. Noval did a great job on this one that's for sure.

I've probably had half a case of this over the past few months and I've enjoyed every bottle. An interesting side note is that friends of mine that aren't into Port really seem to enjoy it. I think that's saying a lot about the approachability of this wine.

While visiting Noval in May, the group of "jaded" drinkers ... spoiled by a plethora of 1963-1966-1970 VPs at every stop and a handful of awesome Nacionals at the source, all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the Noval Black. Their enthusiasm for that wine ... given the rest of our lineup, made a great and indelible impression on me.

I really like the flavor profile of this. If it had just a tad more grip, I'd drink it every day.

Eric Ifune wrote:I really like the flavor profile of this. If it had just a tad more grip, I'd drink it every day.

LOL...it's pretty darn good juice. I've gone through 10 bottles of this already and need to get more. It is now my favorite "house Port"