2003  

1991  

"Incredible aromas of crushed blackberry and raspberry. Full-bodied and medium sweet, with a very velvety and round texture. Goes on and on. Gorgeous Vintage Port." - 94pts WS

1977  

1997  

2019  

"The 2019 Vintage Port Nacional is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz, aged for 18 months in old wood. It was bottled May 4, 2021, with 100 grams of residual sugar and 19.4% alcohol. This opened rather differently than the regular Noval Port this report, showing more open and expressive fruit, more cherries and even more power as they both aired out. The aromatics are excellent here too, but more fruit driven. When I came back to both some two days later, this brilliant and graceful Nacional made the wonderful regular Noval seem clumsy. It's the difference in styles, really, and reasonable minds might differ in preference, but this Nacional has more precision and more finesse. It is brighter and laser-like focused with an expression of fruit that seems so pure that you can almost think they used a spoon to fill the bottle after just crushing the grapes. The regular Noval, by contrast, seems rounder, more full-bodied and richer, albeit less defined. They both have a fair share of power. On first taste, the regular Noval seemed less powerful. Two days later, it seemed more powerful, but the Nacional fruit was always more interesting and far more intense in its character. Three days later, there was certainly still plenty of firmness on the Nacional finish. If the structure is excellent, the fruit is sensational. Three days after opening, the fruit had not budged an inch, showing nothing but exuberance and youth. The juicy finish of this very fresh Porto seals the deal. True, it was in bottle only about two months or so when tasted, but its quality is not in question. If you want a collectible and can afford it, this is the easy pick. If neither of those is true, the regular Noval offers way more bang for the buck. Both have significant aging potential. As promising as the regular Noval is, however, this seems to have a lot more upside as well as a lot more "wow" factor. I have given this wine a drinking window that begins in about 10 years, but of course, that is a minimum for this as well as the regular Noval. These days, Ports are more refined, so you can theoretically start sooner, most of the time. In truth, it will need 20 years before it is firing on all cylinders. Purists will suggest longer." - 99pts WA

2019  

"The 2019 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It was bottled May 4, 2021, and has 100 grams of residual sugar. It was in bottle only a bit more than two months when tasted, but it seems quite brilliant, even so. Very concentrated, it adds controlled power and coats the palate. Tasted with some other 2019s, this certainly stood out for both concentration and power. It touches all the bases in terms of expressive fruit and structure, finishing dry and seriously. It seemed balanced enough to drink young, but that would be a mistake. For one thing, it steadily tightened as it aired out. It also increasingly showed gorgeous eucalyptus-laced aromatics. Two days later, it was notably more astringent. Four days later, it was very firm on the finish and better overall. In fact, that was a far better showing than on day one. This is plainly built for the long haul. I would expect nothing less from a fine Noval Vintage Port. It became more focused and precise as well...This is a powerful beauty, well justifying Noval's tendency to declare most every year." -97pts WA

1970