Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2022

97 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Starting with the 2022 Vintage Port, this beauty sports a dense purple hue as well as a blockbuster styled array of jammy blackberry, plums, sandalwood, baking spices, and a kiss of chocolate. It shows the warmer style of the vintage, yet there's nothing roasted or over-ripe, and it has remarkable purity, full-bodied richness, a stacked mid-palate, and velvety tannins. It's much more approachable and voluptuous compared to the Nacional and has a beautiful elegance and seamlessness that makes it hard to resist even today. For the tech geeks out there, the 2022 checks in as 19.5% alcohol, 89 grams per liter of residual sugar, 4.6 total acidity, and a pH of 3.61. It's going to require a decade to start to show some secondary aromatics, and it will have 40 years at a minimum of prime drinking. While the Nacional gets all the attention, don't miss this. Drink: 2024-2064. (8/22/24)"

95 points Neal Martin (Vinous): "The 2022 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port was trodden by foot in concrete lagares and spent 18 months in wooden casks. This bursts forth on the nose: black cherries, raspberry coulis, licorice, cigar humidor and light pine touches. Wonderful delineation and focus. The palate is very well balanced with superb definition. Pure black fruit is judiciously spiced, with hints of Christmas cake, black pepper and outstanding cohesion on the finish. At 2,600 cases of twelve, this is a relatively larger declaration compared to recent vintages, indicative of Christian Seely's belief in the vintage. Drink: 2032-2065. (Jun 2024)"

95 points Ines Salpico (Decanter): "Interesting counterpoint between dense fruitiness and lifted herbal nuance. Unctuous concentration with juicy blackberry, bramble and black cherry. There is, however, a refreshing undercurrent of bergamot and wet stone adding gliding freshness. Earl Grey and dried rose petals play in the background for added elegance and depth. Beautifully presented, mineral tannins. Drinking Window: 2030-2055. (9/26/24)"

95 points Wine Enthusiast: "[$140 list] The Vintage Port from Noval is a classic. Its big structure, game aroma and dried fruit flavors measure up against layers of tannins and rich black fruits. Set for long-term aging, don't start drinking until 2033. Alcohol 20%. (Dec 2024)"

95 points Jim Gordon (JamesSuckling.com): "A huge, monumental wine that will need decades to reach its prime. Heady, bold aromas of crushed blackberries, wood char and grilled plums lead to blackberry jam, road tar, dark chocolate and espresso soaked in sweetness and resting in a full body. Such a long, sweet and fruit-infused finish. Best from 2037 and several more decades. (6/13/24)"

94+ points Luis Gutiérrez (Wine Advocate): "The 2022 Vintage Port was produced with a field blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa and Sousão, a selection of the best lots from different plots in the property. For this vintage, seven plots were used from the Pinhão Valley and one from the Roncão Valley, a property they purchased behind Noval, a very powerful place. It was produced in the traditional way: foot trodden in the stone lagars and matured in oak casks for 18 months in the acclimatized cellars in the property in the Douro Valley. It has 19.5% alcohol, with a pH of 3.61 and 89 grams of sugar. This is very tannic and concentrated, with noticeable sweetness, with a big structure. It's quite powerful, a little foursquare, 31,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024 Drink: 2030-2050. (12/12/24)"