1966 Quinta do Noval

[Alex Bridgeman]

The branded cork revealed this to have been bottled by Mayor Sworder of EC4 in 1968. Chosen to be opened due to the very poor colour apparent through the bottle glass.

Very pale when decanted, but put on some promising colour in the decanter to become a deep burnished orange, 20% opaque. A little hollow on the nose, a touch rubbery or some mild coffee. Sweet and tawny on the palate, a nicely balanced wine with a core of bitter coffee beans. Medium bodied and medium textured, which then shows a massive coffee cream chcolate on the mid-palate. Deep coffee and bitter orange aftertaste and then a massive finish.

This improved further and became a more complete port after 24 hours in the decanter, becoming dominated by the rich, deep orange concentrate that mature port displays. This was not a typical bottle, but was very good to drink. 87/100. Drunk 13-Oct-12 after decanting 10 hours