QUINTA DO NOVAL Vintage Port 2017 Bottle

Description

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2017 is an exceptional wine that has garnered high praise from critics. Decanter awards it 98 points, noting its deep, opaque appearance and minty fruit, revealing wonderful finesse with ripe tannins and a long, structured finish. James Suckling rates it 97 points, highlighting the bold grip, dark blackberry and blueberry flavours, along with fine tannins and a lovely finish, recommending enjoyment starting after 2027. Vinous also awards it 97 points, praising its beautifully defined nose with layers of black cherries and floral notes, complemented by a well-balanced palate and wonderful texture. The Wine Advocate scores it 97 points, emphasising its aromatic quality, power, and significant astringency, marking it as a long-term keeper.

*****

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterised by its purity of fruit and a fine, delicate quality that is typical of the wines of the property in general, but which finds its most remarkable and enduring expression in the Vintage Ports.

Equilibrium, harmony, finesse and elegance characterise our great Vintage Ports, which are declared only when we are certain that the year has produced a blend, however small, that is worthy of bearing the name of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port.

Noval follows its own path in its approach to Vintage Port. If we believe that we have wines of the quality and personality to join the ranks of the Quinta do Noval Vintage Ports of previous years, we will bottle it and declare it, even if this means declaring several years in a row, and even if it means, as is often the case, bottling only a few hundred cases of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, representing a tiny percentage of the total production of the Quinta.

Of course, in very great years, when there is unanimity among Port producers, and a General Declaration results, Quinta do Noval will declare its wine also, and perhaps with a little more wine than usual. But whatever the year, the standards of selection in the Noval tasting room are extremely rigorous, and even in the more generous years volumes of our Vintage Ports are always extremely small: at the very most, up to 15% of the production of our great vineyard terroir.

DECANTER 98 points
Tasted by: Richard Mayson
(at Quinta do Noval Decade Tasting, 21 Jun 2022) Part of Quinta do Noval: a decade of declarations
Drinking Window: 2035 - 2070
An exceptionally early harvest followed on from a cold, dry winter and a very hot, dry summer from June onwards. Deep, opaque and still youthful in appearance; opening up in the glass to reveal super-ripe, minty fruit with a touch of dust and eucalypt. Already showing wonderful finesse; big, broad and fleshy with solid, ripe tannins rising in the mouth to a long and massively structured (foursquare) finish. Beautifully defined and integrated overall. Very impressive: this will be a long-term keeper.

JAMES SUCKLING 97 points
Big grip in this wine with dark blackberries, blueberries and floral notes. Fine tannins. Ripe but sweet and pretty. Shows a lovely finish. Try after 2027.

VINOUS 97 points
The last time I tasted the 2017 Vintage Port, I posed the question of whether it was the best ever? Perhaps. Picked from 21 August to 28 September, it is beautifully-defined on the nose with layers of black cherries, allspice, violet and cassis, becoming more floral with time in the glass. Returning after 10 minutes and juxtaposed against the 2016, there is just a little more VA. The palate is well-balanced, very structured with wonderful tension. I love the texture of this Noval, which is slightly granular towards the finish and brims with life. Outstanding. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London. - Neal Martin

THE WINE ADVOCATE 97 points
Drink Date 2030 - 2075
"The 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This was bottled in May 2019, about a month before tasting, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. Aromatic, wonderfully fragrant and laced with eucalyptus, this then shows typical Noval focus and power. A couple of hours in a glass simply increased the power. More intense than the very fine 2016, it grips the palate and shows rather significant astringency. As wonderfully aromatic as this is, there the 2016 might have the edge." - Mark Squires, 2019

JANCIS ROBINSON 18 points
Dark shaded crimson. Interesting, 'wild' nutty nose. Recalls Nacional aromas. But there was also a 2017 Nacional vintage port (£900+) so presumably I'm deluding myself. Very fresh and direct yet creamy textured. Obviously very young but there is much more integration than in the Quinta do Crasto 2018. (JR)