Quinta do Noval Quinta do Noval Vintage Porto 2016 750ml

This is distinctive from the start, with a youthfully rambunctious display of 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. Sports more obvious grip and is a touch drier in style than most of its peers. Best from 2035 through 2055. 6,000 cases made, 535 cases imported. (James Molesworth)

This is well-packed, offering the vivid plum, boysenberry, cassis and açaí berry fruit profile of the vintage, along with a dark edge of tar, baker’s chocolate and salted licorice that courses underneath. The long finish lets the fruit play out, keeping singed alder and chai spice hints in the background. Smolderingly seductive. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Best from 2035 through 2060. 3,500 cases made. (James Molesworth)

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. (Mark Squires)

The 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This was bottled in May 2019, about a month before tasting, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. Aromatic, wonderfully fragrant and laced with eucalyptus, this then shows typical Noval focus and power. A couple of hours in a glass simply increased the power. More intense than the very fine 2016, it grips the palate and shows rather significant astringency. As wonderfully aromatic as this is, there the 2016 might have the edge. (Monica Larner)

The 2019 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It was bottled May 4, 2021, and has 100 grams of residual sugar. It was in bottle only a bit more than two months when tasted, but it seems quite brilliant, even so. Very concentrated, it adds controlled power and coats the palate. Tasted with some other 2019s, this certainly stood out for both concentration and power. It touches all the bases in terms of expressive fruit and structure, finishing dry and seriously. It seemed balanced enough to drink young, but that would be a mistake. For one thing, it steadily tightened as it aired out. It also increasingly showed gorgeous eucalyptus-laced aromatics. Two days later, it was notably more astringent. Four days later, it was very firm on the finish and better overall. In fact, that was a far better showing than on day one. This is plainly built for the long haul. I would expect nothing less from a fine Noval Vintage Port. It became more focused and precise as well. This needs the rest of this decade, at least, in the cellar to show better. Then it will develop well for decades and hold indefinitely. Frankly, it won’t show everything it has in even 10 years, where I have the "start drinking" window, so if you have a lot more patience, that would be useful. It will be more interesting around 2035–2040. This is a powerful beauty, well justifying Noval’s tendency to declare most every year. (Monica Larner)

The 2020 Vintage Port from Noval, which was picked from 1 to 22 September, has a residual sugar of 115g/l. It is forward and lively on the nose with macerated black cherries, cassis, raisin and pressed iris flower. Fine delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with an attractive peppery entry. Lively, good depth and density, this is very focused with impressive structure behind it. Yet there is no heaviness and there is just the right amount of salinity to keep it on its toes on the finish. Exquisite. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London.

Noval has released 2,780 cases, equivalent to 15% of production, of the 2019 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port. A blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Sousão, Tinta Roriz, foot-trodden in lagares with 18 months in oak barrel. This is well defined on the nose, with dusky black fruit laced with graphite and clove. A serious rendition when compared directly with the more “playful” 2019 Passadouro; hints of liquorice, eucalyptus and boot polish emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with vivid red and black fruit, liquorice and black pepper, crisp acidity with a structured finish. This is a fresh, tensile Noval that will age with style. (Neal Martin)

The 2023 Vintage Port from Noval comes from 12 different parcels, southwest facing the Douro and two east-facing, picked from 10 to 25 September, later than the Passadouro. It was fermented in granite lagares and matured for 18 months at the Quinta. The bouquet is exuberant, with bursts from the glass: blueberry, violet, touches of eucalyptus and tar. On the palate, it is fresh and vibrant with very fine tannins, silky smooth with a vivacious and pure finish. Touches of Christmas cake and cracked black pepper linger on the aftertaste. Marvellous.

Offers more grip than most of its ’23 brethren while displaying a well-packed core of blackberry, black currant and açaí berry reduction notes laced with an underlying bramble edge and set against a backdrop of bittersweet cocoa and Turkish coffee. A subtly wild edge runs throughout, lending ample character. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Best from 2038 through 2058. 2,280 cases made, 180 cases imported.

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. (Neal Martin)

Very ripe fruit give this wine a surprisingly soft texture. It has generous tannins to go with this opulent fruitiness. The wine is going to age relatively quickly, so drink from 2026. (Roger Voss)