For The Love Of Port

Opened for game night. Purchased because of the hilariously long name. I didn't check for a bottling date. The bottle does not say that it is unfiltered, so I assume it is filtered.

2009 Quinta Nova LBV
Color: dark purple with blue-black overtones. Not quite opaque, but close.
Nose: fruity, very ripe, very grapey. Lots of purple and black berry notes. Smells younger than 10 years old. The nose could pass for a Graham or Gould Campbell VP.
Palate: similar to the nose - this is a fruity, full, and mellow Port. If the fruits were brighter I might call it boisterous, but here they're more luscious. There's not a lot of complexity, but the "one note" that this Port has is big, full, and yummy. I suspect it is at or very near its peak as a bottle-aged filtered LBV, so drink up and enjoy.
Finish: good length, but has a bit of a bitter note. I didn't find it offensive, but others did. For me the fruits mellowed it out nicely through the entire finish.

Score: 90 points. I liked it better than the 2013 Carvalhas LBV we had at the same time, though I get the strange feeling that the Carvalhas is a "better" Port. Just not for my palate.

Glenn E. wrote:Purchased because of the hilariously long name.

So I was familiar with the Convento da Ordem do Carmo, in Lisbon, as I visited it on my last trip, and I am familiar with the Carmo area of Porto. So now you had me wondering what Carmo meant. Carmo in Portuguese is equivalent to Carmel in English, and this has an interesting tie back to winemaking:

The word Carmel (Hebrew language: כַּרְמֶל) means "fresh" (planted), or "vineyard" (planted) and Karmiel (Hebrew: כַּרְמִיאֵל) is a portmanteau meaning "God's Vineyard".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel

Isn't it referencing Our Lady of Mount Carmel?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carmel

David Spriggs wrote:Isn't it referencing Our Lady of Mount Carmel?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Mount_Carmel

Yes, that adds on the "Nosso Senhora" part.