2022 - Quinta do Noval, Nacional

The 2022 Vintage Port Nacional was produced with grapes from ungrafted vines, not pre-phylloxera, as you might read elsewhere, as these are relatively young vines from two vineyards planted with a field blend of Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão (some 15% in the field blend) and Tinta Roriz. It's produced in exactly the same way as the other Vintage Port, in granite lagars and aged in old casks for 18 months. It has 19.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.67 and 86 grams of sugar, quite similar parameters to the regular Vintage Port from the same vintage, and it's quite low in sugar compared with other years. But the wine is more backward, with more detail, and it's more serious, with lots of complexity. The tannins and the sweetness compensate each other; there's a lot of depth, concentration and power but in a very harmonious way. I think this has better balance and more elegance than other recent vintages. It opens slowly in the glass to give classical notes of candied violets and rockrose and a lactic hint. It should age effortlessly for 50 years. 1,920 bottles were filled in May 2024.

The 2022 Naçional Vintage Port comes from the usual field blend planted on their own roots in the 1920s. The fruit was trodden by foot in concrete lagares and aged for 18 months in oak and 2,500-liter chestnut vats. This has a broader, deeper bouquet than the regular Noval fortified, black plum and licorice, blueberry and Christmas cake, all delivered with fabulous delineation and freshness. The palate is stunning: lovely balance and tangible intensity, yet it is so light-footed and gentle in terms of grip with a spicier, more peppery finish than the Quinta do Noval. It's very long on the finish. This is a Naçional that will age gracefully over decades. Just 167 cases were produced.

Full bottle 1,309 g. An old-vine field blend from a single ungrafted vineyard at the heart of the Noval estate that includes Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Foot-trodden in stone lagares and then aged 18 months in 2,500-litre casks of oak and chestnut at the quinta in their air-conditioned cellar. RS 85 g/l, pH 3.67, TA 4.6 g/l. Black right to the narrowest of purple rims. So intense and concentrated that the aroma is initially held captive in the glass. With air, there's extremely pure black fruit, no blueberry here. Rather it's mostly dark and savoury and only ever-so-slightly floral/herbal, reflective of the hot, dry conditions of the vintage. Like the dry schist terraces, it seems to have swallowed up the heat to produce an extraordinarily fresh wine. On the palate, immense power and structure in perfect harmony with the intensity of the fruit. Even with all this concentration and power, there's notable freshness, and the tannins are miraculously fine. An extraordinary vineyard and an extraordinary wine. Like the Noval classic vintage port, there is a strong temptation to drink this now but it is all in perfect balance for a very, very long life. In fact I would be hard pressed to say when it's best to drink this wine. Next week or in 50 years' time? Long, dark, perfect. (JH)