2005 Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port
"The 2005 Late Bottled Vintage Port is a blend of 40% Touriga Nacional, 20% Touriga Franca and 20% Tinta Roriz and 20% Tinta Cão, aged in used Portuguese wooden vats. It comes in at 91.8 grams per liter of residual sugar. It was bottled in December 2011. Soft and velvety in texture on opening, this explodes the next day, becoming far more expressive, more intense and more vibrant. This is a beauty that still has many youthful nuances along the edges, with fine focus and penetration on the finish. Completely charming, it is another LBV in Noval's lineup that starts slow and then proves that it is in prime time. It should still hold well for the next decade–or two. I tasted it after the 2004; the comparison reminds me a bit of the comparison between the '00 and the '01 in the vertical this issue. I'm not quite sure this is as dense and as lush as its predecessor, the 2004–I imagine opinions will differ as to which is preferred depending on stylistic preferences–but it is livelier, more focused and more expressive. I thought it was the better performer on Day 2 as well, when it was superior to the 2004. By Day 3, it showed considerable power, but it also developed some complexity. It finished with wonderfully delicious fruit. It drinks fine as pop 'n' pour, but you can easily keep aging this. By a hair, this may well have been my favorite of the younger Novals, but it is a close call and the 2004, 2005 and 2007 trilogy is pretty nice. Drink 2015-2030." Mark Squires, The Wine Advocate,