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Porto Vintage 2017 75cl

DOC | Porto | Douro | Portugal
CHF 139.45
Critics scores
97 Robert Parker
The 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This was bottled in May 2019, about a month before tasting, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. Aromatic, wonderfully fragrant and laced with eucalyptus, this then shows typical Noval focus and power. A couple of hours in a glass simply increased the power. More intense than the very fine 2016, it grips the palate and shows rather significant astringency. As wonderfully aromatic as this is, there the 2016 might have the edge. Too closed and muscular once past the aromatics, this rather dry Port needs some time. It is harder to read than the 2016 was, but this should overtake it in time. Have some patience with this one.
97 Robert Parker
The 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It comes in with 99 grams of residual sugar. This was bottled in May 2019, about a month before tasting, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. Aromatic, wonderfully fragrant and laced with eucalyptus, this then shows typical Noval focus and power. A couple of hours in a glass simply increased the power. More intense than the very fine 2016, it grips the palate and shows rather significant astringency. As wonderfully aromatic as this is, there the 2016 might have the edge. Too closed and muscular once past the aromatics, this rather dry Port needs some time. It is harder to read than the 2016 was, but this should overtake it in time. Have some patience with this one.
97 James Suckling
Big grip in this wine with dark blackberries, blueberries and floral notes. Fine tannins. Ripe but sweet and pretty. Shows a lovely finish. Try after 2027.
Producer
Quinta Do Noval
Quinta do Noval is responsible for the most famous of all Vintage Ports – Naçional. The roots of this estate can be traced back to the early 1700s, however with the pestilence of the late 1800s – Noval, instead of grafting the vines on American rootstocks, they miraculously managed to keep Portuguese stock – hence their unique “Naçional” wine. Today, under the direction of Christian Seely of insurance firm, AXA – Millésimes, the Port house has thrived like their similarly owned prestigious Bordeaux châteaux, such as Pichon-Longueville. Ideally situated in the heart of the Douro Valley, Quinta do Noval is the only historic Port producer that shares the same name as its vineyard. The steep hillsides are planted to the noble grape varieties of the region – the grapes flourish, producing high-grade fruit. Led by António Agrellos, the brilliant technical director, Naçional is an expansive Port, the power and depth of this wine is matched by the Portuguese earthy, spicy dark flesh characteristics that demand twenty of more years to develop.