Quinta do Noval created the first LBV in 1958. An unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage made only with grapes from Noval’s vineyards, this LBV is an outstanding introduction to the Noval style. It is treated exactly like a Vintage Port, made with only noble grape varieties from the Quinta—Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão and Sousão. The main difference is that it is aged for four, sometimes five years in wooden vats instead of the two years typical of Vintage Ports. Simply, this is Noval’s ‘baby vintage’, with fine structured tannins, great freshness and purity of fruit. It also has a track record second to none in the category.
Like the Vintage Port, the grapes are trodden by foot in lagares (the traditional stone vats of the Quinta) then macerated during a three-day fermentation to obtain the best possible extraction of the polyphenolic compounds. From a terrific year for this grower’s Ports, it is a rich and complex wine with gorgeous notes of blackberry and blackcurrant fruits, alongside hints of dried peel and spice. True to form, it’s polished and very refined with admirable poise and freshness and a twist of quality dark chocolate and sweet tobacco on the lingering finish.