QUINTA DO NOVAL

The 2016 Vintage Port was picked mainly from 19 September in ideal conditions. It is more broody than the 2017 at the moment and demands a little more encouragement from the glass. I have been prudent with my reviews in the past, but this 2016 seems to have considerably improved in the four years since I last encountered it. More earthy in style, it offers lovely dusky black fruit, sage, a touch of menthol and star anis, unfolding in the glass with each swirl. The palate is medium-bodied with a velvety entry. Superb tension here, the acidity cuts through the richness of this Port with effortless ease. Linear, poised and mineral-driven, Vintage Port gets little better than this. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London. Drinking range: 2027 - 2070 Rating: 97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Nov 2022)

This is distinctive, with youthfully rambunctious dark currant, fig and blackberry fruit paste flavors liberally spiked with bramble, Turkish coffee and ganache notes. As the fruit pumps through the finish, a tarry spine adds a bristling, mouthwatering edge. Drinking range: 2035 - 2055 Rating: 98 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Oct 2018)

The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood. It comes in with 82 grams of residual sugar. This was in bottle for only about seven weeks when seen, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. It looks super, with plenty of room to grow in the cellar. Christian Seely likes to say that this regular Noval and the Nacional are not better than one another, just different. In fact, I usually prefer Nacional, but in this vintage I make a case for equality and endorse that view. This was stunning from the first smell, promising concentration, intensity of fruit and great things to come. It had a 100-point nose that made me go "wow!" No wine I tasted had a better nose than this. Violets and blue fruits lead off, with a trace of eucalyptus. I tend to think Noval is a producer that always shows mid-palate finesse, but this seems pretty deep too. It is also intense. The tannins won't sear your mouth because the balance is impeccable. To be sure, it might close down, but it is surprisingly approachable now, notwithstanding that intensity. Rest assured that this lively young Porto still has all the materials to make old bones. Needless to say, "approachable" does not mean "ready." You need to toss this in the cellar for a decade, at least. Purists will say to double that or more. When the palate becomes as expressive as the nose—if it does—this will be entitled to an uptick. Drinking range: 2026 - 2075 Rating: 97 Mark Squires, robertparker.com (Jul 2018)

The 2016 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is a blend of Touriga Naçional, Touriga Franc, Tinta Cão and Sousão, all foot-trodden and aged in wooden casks for 18 months. It has a voluminous, warm and inviting bouquet that positively “bulges” with damson, bilberry, crushed violets and blackcurrants, all beautifully defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with a feisty, spicy opening: black fruit laced with cracked black pepper, clove, cardamom and a pinch of sea salt. Whilst the aromatics have all the “fun”, the palate is more “serious”, as if compensating for the nose with a sense of reserve and restraint. Together they make for a fascinating, quite mercurial Quinta do Noval that should age gloriously over the next 30 years. Drinking range: 2024 - 2054 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2018)

AXA's large, 148-ha historic property drawing on fruit from three different parcels mostly in Pinhão, including over the hill in the Roncão Valley with marked schist and a different mesoclimate plus one parcel overlooking the valley. Very dark crimson. Rich and spicy on the nose. Juicy and succulent. A hint of something almost overripe. Heady and very definitely not uptight. Sort of sprawls all over the palate in a devil-may-care fashion. Lots of fun, though the tannins are by no means insistent. Oddly readable, but lots of fun. Drinking range: 2030 - 2065 Rating: 18 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2018)

A superb Noval with delicacy and freshness on the nose and a beautiful and succulent palate, this is an ethereal creation with generous black fruit and a deep core of structure and power. It will appeal early in its life and then mellow incrementally over half a century! Rating: 18.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2018)

Dense but opening up on the nose to reveal dark chocolate intensity with a delicate leafy edge; ripe and minty initially on the palate, lovely purity of fruit and great definition, sweet cassis backed by broad, ripe, grippy tannins, not as big as some wines form this vintage but showing great balance and poise from start to finish. 6,000 cases in total. Rating: 18 Richard Mayson, www.richardmayson.com  (May 2018)

This is a superb baby Noval that reminds me of the 1966. Chewy yet so polished. The light sweetness suggests an overall dialing back of the sugar content. Stemmy and lightly green. A truly classic Noval. Almost all from Pinhao. Buy. Better in 2025. Rating: 98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2018)