($100) Saturated deep ruby. Sweet aromas of black cherry, cassis, licorice, molasses, minerals, toffee and violet. Dense, sweet and pliant, with outstanding precision and depth of flavor. Like the Silval, this boasts a seductively creamy texture. The explosive, mounting finish offers a fine dusting of ripe, suave tannins and great breadth. Deceptively easy to taste today owing to its finesse, but it's hard to believe that it won't shut down in bottle in the near future. This wine features a particularly high percentage of touriga nacional.

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Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Sousão. RS 83 g/l, pH 3.74. Aged 20 months in used 640-litre (or bigger) barrels. Bottled May 2005.More closed than the Silval. Dark rich fruit on the nose. Intense and dark and still pretty restrained. Then beautifully rich and full and voluptuous while still hiding so much. Very very long with spicy depth and finish.  (JH)

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The inky, purple-colored, opaque 2003 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port soars from the glass, revealing dates, black cherries, copious flowers, and plums. Full-bodied, broad, and lush, this top-flight wine is harmonious and exhibits stupendous purity of fruit. Blueberries, cherries, and candied strawberries can be found in its nuanced, lengthy, plum-laced core as well as in its immensely long, dried berry-tinged finish. Drink this beauty between 2020 and 2045+.

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What a nose. Ripe fruit, with chocolate, blackberries and raisins. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with velvety tannins. Finish goes on and on. Layered and wonderful. 1,500 cases imported.

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Opaque purplish ruby hue. This 2003 stallion is a great modern day version of Noval’s renaissance since its purchase by AXA ten years prior to this harvest. Sweet scents of flowers, cocoa powder and cassis leap from the glass. Texturally pleasing with an impressive viscous presence accessorized by dark cherry and blackberry flavors which are ripe and abundant. The no nonsense tannins show that this will be a long lived VP and will be best served after long cellaring. It is easy to approach now but its best years are a few decades down the road. 6,000 cases produced. Drink 2015-2045.

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Blue berry, chocolate, rich fruits, light barnyard, clove, and anise. Rich small tannins, with a balanced strong acidity. Long finish, with rich cherry blackberry, chalky earth, and minerals. 4.5/5