Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2014

Professional Ratings

• 96 Wine Enthusiast
  This beautifully perfumed wine has all the tannins that will allow it to age over many decades. It also offers the rich blackberry, dark plum and great structure that will support that aging. As so often, Noval has released a vintage when other major producers have held back. But this powerful wine fully justifies the decision. Drink from 2025 for the fruit, 2030 for the complexity.
• 96 James Suckling
  This is a really fantastic young vintage Port showing terrific clarity and power. Full body and a tight center palate of blueberry and plum character. So long and persistent in the mouth. Goes on for minutes. Try in 2023 and beyond. Not a generally declared year for Port, but this is a stunner.
• 91 Wine Spectator
  A solid, textbook version, this has flesh and weight, with vivid blueberry, plum and blackberry compote flavors carried by lightly brambly grip through the licorice-fueled finish. Best from 2020 through 2035.
• 91 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2014 Vintage Port is a typical Douro field blend (bottled in September, 2016) with 101 grams per liter of residual sugar and 19.5% alcohol. This is filled with charm. I will say that it showed better in Porto as a barrel sample over the summer than it does now--it has closed up a bit after bottling. I'm going with my initial impression, because it should come back. Wonderfully aromatic and laced with herbs and spice, it is easy to see why it will be attractive. Its limitations are easy to see, too. It is probably a bit too compact for greatness, not really showing a lot of depth--even at age 15, the 2001 Nacional reviewed last issue surpassed it easily--and the structure is just average compared to some old-school examples from Noval. This still has many moments, though. If it is a bit light, it is fresh and lively, with just enough structure to carry on. It will certainly develop more complexity with age. At the moment, it is shockingly approachable, except for lacking truly expressive fruit. That should come in time--it was much tastier in Porto. About an hour in the glass, after use of an aerator, brought it around pretty well.

  If you have read my table wine article this year, you will see many comments on the very difficult 2014 vintage. You might wonder why Noval declared a Vintage Port in this rather miserable year for most of Portugal and most of Douro--continuing Noval's very admirable effort to push the declaration envelope (having recently declared 2011, 2012, 2013 and now 2014 in a row). Good for them, is all I can say. Christian Seely said, "We might have avoided controversy by not declaring this Vintage of 2014, but I found the wine absolutely irresistible and had no hesitation at all in declaring this very small quantity (1,000 cases)..." Well, even if it is not the greatest Noval, so what? We sometimes pay for famous table wines in modest vintages that cost more and won't age nearly as well. Why should Port be any different? This holds its own pretty decently.