Porto Vintage Nacional 2016 75cl

This is a tumble of personalities right now, with intense blackberry, plum, fig and boysenberry compote flavors lending a showy feel, while a wave of bramble, tar and dark earth notes impart muscle and heft. Shows a brooding edge, with Turkish coffee and baker’s chocolate details dominating the finish, where formidable grip keeps things grounded and riveted. Got any kids born in 2016? Best from 2035 through 2060. From Portugal.

The 2016 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 comes in at 85 grams of residual sugar and was bottled April 13, 2018. This is plainly more intense than the regular Noval (not unusual), but that's not the most impressive feature. It is more impressive for the lifted fruit than the power. The fruit is carefully defined, precisely carved out of the mid-palate slab. The silky texture gives this a different demeanor than the regular Noval too, while the beautiful fruit has a different flavor profile. It is more red fruits than blue—it has far less Touriga Nacional, said winemaker Carlos Agrellos. It has more bright flavors like raspberries than plums. It adds that tannic pop and wonderful balance too. It is still oddly approachable—if you're a masochist, of course, and for the moment. It will be intriguing to see how this develops. It should close down pretty hard. Then, it will age gracefully for decades. Will it make people forget about that amazing nose on the regular Noval? Time will tell. No pricing was set in the USA as of this writing.<br/>The mini-vertical this issue preceded the 2016s. Of course, even the "old" wines here are only as old as the 2011—not much for Vintage Port of this quality.