1963 Quinta do Noval

[jdaw1]

Oscar visited London, so the team sampled some VPs and some stuff described as ‟brown sticky stuff”. Some were served sighted, some were blind.

Links:

• Review of the evening as a whole;
• 1955 Dow (DRT);
• 1963 Quinta do Noval (JDAW);
• 1980 Warre (IDJ);
• 1982 Warre LBV (JDAW);
• 1965 Noval Crusted (AHB);
• 1952 Niepoort colheita (CMAG);
• 1968 Niepoort colheita, bottled 1979 (THRA);
• 1978 Krohn colheita (BMHR);
• 40Y Quevedo tawny (OJMQ);
• 30Y Sandeman tawny (WS);
• Placemats, and the parameters by which made;
• Planning and arrangements.

[jdaw1]

N63, brought by JDAW. Brick red, 30% opaque. Nose had spearmint, with cherry behind. To taste some heat, some soft red fruit, and slightly lighter than mid weight.

N63 is a variable bird. My alma mater, Queens’ College Cambridge, had, during the late 1980s, a stash of wonderful Noval 1963. I acquired a few bottles (less than a dozen), and drank the last in about 2003. One present at that tasting complained of ‟too much damson jam”. (Could it have been mis-labelled ‘NN’? Was it NN63 that taught me to like port? We will never know.) Other N63s have been thinner, or lighter, or too evolved, or just less good.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Bottled by Corney & Barrow. Orange rim, pale colour - clearly mature. Vibrant and fruity nose with lots of licorice. Balanced on the palate, smooth and elegant. Lovely poise and layering. Full of fruit and with a great focus that is underpinned by a spicy tobacco. Big on the finish, with a sweet jelly and long length of tobacco. Absolutely fabulous. Served blind, this was guessed to be Fonseca 1970. 95/100.