2022 Quinta do Noval Nacional

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)

Movng to the 2022 Vintage Port Nacional, this comes from a tiny parcel in the estate vineyard planted to ungrafted vines and is a field blend of Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Tinta Roriz that spent 18 months in barrel and larger chestnut casks. It's a dramatically different wine compared to the classic cuvée and is tight and inward, with an incredible sense of purity in its blue fruits, graphite, cedary herbs, tobacco, chocolate, and crushed stone-like minerality. Despite coming from a scorching hot year, this stays vibrant and fresh, with incredible precision in both its aromatics and on the palate. It has less residual sugar (85 grams per liter) than the classic cuvée, and it certainly tastes that way as well, with a more structured, reserved style, yet it brings phenomenal extract and concentration that's flawlessly balanced with ripe tannins, notable acidity, and one hell of a finish. Unquestionably, for drinking any time over the coming 20 years, the classic cuvée is where you'll want to go. However, this is a legend in the making. It needs 15-20 years to hit maturity, and I suspect it will provide 50, 60, 70 years or more of prime drinking.

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.