2005 Quinta do Noval Single Vinyard Late Bottled Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

This could be in the running for longest name for a Port! This is another partial bottle from Roy and had been open for 5 days when tasted.

2005 Quinta do Noval Single Vineyard LBV
bottled in 2011
unfiltered

Color: Deep purple/red, fading through pink to clear at the rim. There's just the faintest hint of orange in the pink. Opaque center.

Nose: Faint alcohol and faint grape stem. Lots of lush purple fruits.

Palate: Tannic and somewhat tart on entry. Resolves into tart purple and red fruits. Lots of flavor, but not as rich as some other LBVs. Medium body weight. Good acidity which is highlighted by the tart fruits.

Finish: Tart and a bit on the dry side. This is followed by a bitter edge that fades and slowly resolves into tart apples. Good length, but not great.

Score: 90 points. An excellent LBV, but I would like the fruits to be more full and round in the mouth for a higher score.

[Jim R.]

Glenn, I envy you your ability to receive Roy's overflow of ports. I recognize Roy opens so many that he can't always drink all of them. Thanks for the tasting notes. Jim

[Glenn E.]

I have to admit that I'm very lucky to live so close, and I'm very grateful whenever he sends a few leftovers my way!

[Roy Hersh]

It works out nicely because Glenn posts his TN's here and mine only appear in the newsletter that subscriber's receive, not the free email version. So although we have very different palates when it comes to VP's (Tawnies/Colheitas not as far apart) Forum users get to see his impressions and usually much more quickly than my own. It works out perfectly.

If I drank all of the Port/wine that I open, I'd be 350 pounds and likely dead from diabetes. Now Madeira ... always gets finished in my home, but luckily for Glenn, he's not a big fan anyway.

As to this particular LBV, I really thought it was excellent, but not one of Noval's greats like their 1994/1997 LBV's.