Deep saturated ruby. Supersweet but vibrant aromas of crystallized dark berries, flowers, licorice and bitter chocolate. Very dense and medium-sweet, with superb concentration of flavor and lovely pliancy. Captivating hint of cocoa powder. Finishes with big but thoroughly ripe tannins and an explosive whiplash of flavor.

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Aromatic. Perfumed and gentle on the nose. Wonderfully smooth but with huge power underneath. (According to Christian Seely, this would been even better if we had tasted it from a 75cl bottle and not from a half bottle.) Very much more like wine than port – which is exactly what they are aiming for. (JH)

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The 1997 vintage port is the greatest Quinta do Noval I have ever tasted. The wine of the vintage, this black/purple-colored port boasts fabulous aromatics (espresso, blackberries, licorice, tar, and flowers), followed by massive concentration, full body, and levels of depth and richness. Gorgeously sweet, stunningly concentrated and full-bodied, this profound vintage port should be legendary. Quinta do Noval's production normally approaches 4,000 cases, but in 1997, only 1200 cases were produced, so it will be extremely limited in availability.

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Black color. Loads of ripe berry, mineral and wet earth character, with a hint of green tobacco. Full-bodied, medium-sweet, with a supersolid core of tannins. Long, long finish. The greatest Quinta do Noval in decades.

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Very dark ruby color. Along with the Niepoort from 1997, this is at the pinnacle of the vintage. It is a bit reticent at the moment with a tightly wound nose that remained in its shell. This is a huge wine with powerful and punishing tannins today that are not easy to get past in order to decipher the delicious black plum and raisin flavors that are present, yet obscured at the moment. Although I preferred the 2000 today, this is a wine for the ages and it is at a difficult stage in its evolution for accurate evaluation, as it had minimal decanting time due to the volume of bottles in this vertical. Revisit later in the decade for a clearer picture, as it currently seems to be in a dumb stage.

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