Description and Reviews:
A 2003 vintage Colheita Port Wine from Quinta do Noval Port.
An aromatic lift with violet and cherry notes and very finely tuned; suggest a certain silkiness and freshness despite this big vintage. The palate has a welterweight of fruit; a great raft of creamy, dark, espresso and bitter chocolate with sweet, thick, glossy black berries. There is huge length, structure, lovely sweetness and a tannin and acid base that suggest this will be near immortal.
In exceptional years, certain lots of wine with great ageing potential are set aside to spend their lives maturing in casks. At a given stage, we decide to bottle a part of a vintage. The rest is kept in casks where the wine will mature into new expression at a later stage. Thus, one and the same Colheita vintage can be put onto the market on 3 or 4 occasions: after 15 years, 30 years or 40 years of maturing, and in some cases even longer. All grapes come from the vineyard Quinta do Noval. Grapes from Quinta do Noval are trodden by foot to obtain the must, then during fermentation are pressed in lagares, the traditional stone vats from the Quinta. Legislation requires a minimum ageing period of 7 years in casks. At Quinta do Noval, Colheitas are commercialised after 10 to 12 years of maturing.
