2003 Quinta do Noval

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Alex Bridgeman
Graham’s 1948
Posts: 14868
Joined: 13:41 Mon 25 Jun 2007
Location: Berkshire, UK

2003 Quinta do Noval

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

Deep rose red in colour, 95% opaque at the centre. On the nose it is surprisingly lively, slightly aggressive and full of sweet but bruised strawberry with the bruised tone showing as a dirtiness to the scent. Oddly balanced entry, lots of spiky acidity giving an effervescent feel to the tongue but also with plenty of fruit that retains a nice freshness, but under all this is a baked layer of flavours showing the hot year that characterised 2003. The tannins are faint and show as a coating of licorice on the cheeks and edge of the tongue, but the main feature on the palate is the lack of balance between the acidity and the baked fruit. The aftertaste is hot, with the acidity dominating, before leading to a very long finish of baked berries and black chocolate. Very persistent finish. Hopefully another decade or two in the cellar will allow this to pull itself together into something much more interesting and impressive. 88/100. 05-Dec-17. Decanted 2 days.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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