For The Love Of Port

One of four bottles acquired by accident - the store shipped them (2 at a time) instead of the 2 bottles of 2003 Quinta do Portal that I ordered. Rather than paying to have them returned, the store sold them to me at a steeply reduced price. But alas, I do not have room to store all of them! This particular bottle was marked for early retirement due to the large and very prominent sticker that reads "SAMPLE - NOT FOR RESALE." Oops!

2003 Noval Vintage Port

The stream showed a deep, luxurious garnet as it was being decanted. Once in the decanter it is very dark, but not opaque, and showing mostly red with only a hint of purple. It is similar in the glass, only not quite as dark. The dregs from the bottle are a totally opaque inky purple/black with a surprisingly large amount of very fine sediment. My first thought is that this one is going to be a teeth stainer.

A rich aroma of plums and mellow red fruits filled the room upon decanting. The fruits are overpoweringly thick and almost meaty in tone. There is a bit of disjointed alcohol present on the nose, but even that has a difficult time fighting its way through the thick and luscious fruit forest.

I found it surprisingly silky in the mouth. Again the fruits are so powerful that it is almost jam-like in flavor, though not in texture. The texture is silky like one of those fancy European drinking chocolates you can order at The Chocolate Box in downtown Seattle. The tannins are present and smooth, but at this point they're so overpowered by the fruits that you could miss them entirely if you weren't looking for them. I have a difficult time judging Ports this young because the structure is hard to feel, but I think this one has everything needed to last a good long time. There's a nice milk chocolate-like sensation in the late palate.

If you are into very young Ports, this is a great one!

Did you manage to save some for day 2 and 3?

I don't know about day 3, but there's enough left in the decanter for a couple of glasses today.

Cool I am curious as to how it shows on day 2 for you.

+20 hours
The disjointed alcohol is still present on the nose and I'd really hoped that would blow off. It's not obnoxious or overpowering, but it's definitely there.

In the mouth the fruits have retreated just a bit, which makes the tannins much more noticeable. They're still quite smooth for such a young Port, but they have added a dryness and roughness to the texture that wasn't there before. The silky chocolate sensation has disappeared, but the chocolate flavor is still there (just hiding in the background). Some raspberry is now distinguishable.

Despite the disjointed nature of the alcohol on the nose, it does not interfere with the palate. It's actually quite pleasant and warm.

By the way, I failed to note yesterday that I only had time for a 2-hour decant yesterday. The bottle was opened at 5:00 pm and served at 7:00 pm. I think I liked it better last night, but it's still superb! I may even have a glass left over for tomorrow, but we'll see. There's a lot of time left in today!

+45 hours

Not much change since last night. The main change being that the alcohol on the nose has receeded enough that I don't notice it unless I'm really looking for it. There is also a little grape to the finish now, and some stem/skin is showing there as well. Otherwise, same as +20 hours.

Sadly, the decanter is now empty.

I have a difficult time judging Ports this young because the structure is hard to feel,

Well done Glenn!

Did you leave this in decanter the 2nd day?

It is fun to watch how the aguardente reacts as well as the tannins with time and oxidation. Very important lessons. In the case of the 2003 Noval VP, this is not about being disjointed, just extremely youthful. The alcohol will recede in the coming years, but it is a trait that can be found in many youngsters at this stage.

Yes, I left it in the decanter on the counter in the kitchen for the entire time. I knew it wasn't going to last long and figured that putting it in the refrigerator would lessen the effect of decanting, and I didn't want that for this particular test.

Ultimately I liked it best on that first night. It was just so silky and smooth. But as we all know, that might very well have just been my palate and not any actual change in the Port.

So I think I'm learning that I like my Ports to either be very young or very old. Only the extremes for me!

You can always ensure that the tannins of a young Port will be silky smooth. Just eat some triple creme cheese just prior to the Port, it is a guarantee. Something mild like St. Andre will certainly do the trick.

Thanks for the extended TN on this one. It's fun to see how a really young top VP shows at this stage of its life and how it can change over the course of a few days. Roy already mentioned about the whys of your TN, so I won't add anymore except lay the rest down for about 20 more years, sheesh