Quinta do Noval Vintage Porto 2012 | 750 ml.

RP94 Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate 29th Apr 2015

"The 2012 Vintage Port was bottled in July of 2014. A blend of 70% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca; 5% Tinto Cão, it was aged for 18 months in wood and comes in at 102.5 grams per liter of residual sugar. This is going to be a sentimental favorite for a lot of consumers, although few will call it truly great. A big mouthful on first taste compared to most 2012s, it assaults the palate with delectable fruit. It’s not only tasty, though — it is astonishingly fresh and lifted, a creature of this vintage. Beautifully balanced and never seeming heavy, it manages to project power and grip on the finish while not searing the palate with tannins — relatively speaking, of course. (This IS young Port.) Tasted next to a group of other 2012 Ports, this wasn’t particularly more concentrated, but it was more expressive, better balanced and more vibrant. Coming back to it the next day showed what it does best: being rather invigorating and sometimes downright exciting in its freshness. The fruit finishes with crispness and vibrancy. It is exactly the profile I would expect from a good performance in a vintage like 2012 — a year that favored fresh, elegant wines with good acidity rather than deep and rich powerhouses. By Day 4, it was sensationally delicious, but certainly not the most powerful or concentrated Noval ever — and it had fleshed out a bit even so. By Day 5, it seemed like ready-to-roll, drink-me-now Port. You’d still be well-advised to cellar it a bit. There were 1,000 cases produced." (94 pts.)

RP94 Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate 3rd Mar 2016

"The 2012 Vintage Port is revisited for a checkup. This is a blend of Touriga Nacional 70%, Touriga Franca 25 % and Tinto Cão 5%, which was aged for 18 months in wood and comes in with just 89 grams per liter of residual sugar. This has become more intense and more impressive, closing down a bit since I first saw it. It may not have quite the underlying concentration and focus of the 2011 (also reviewed), but it is a much fresher and more lifted Port, with fine fruit front-and-center. It simply seems more invigorating, more gloriously alive. I wouldn’t be surprised if many like it better right now than the 2011 — although that won’t likely be the answer 25 years from now. It otherwise retains the style of all of Noval’s wines here — elegant in the mid-palate, more focused on aging than lushness and sweetness. It certainly seems quite brilliant for the year. Originally, I was afraid I might have overrated it as it was so exuberant and showed so well nearer to release. Now, I’d be more likely to question whether I’m underrating it. It’s never as obvious as some Big Boys and it probably is the third of the 2011-2012-2013 trilogy from Noval this issue (only by a hair), but it has its own virtues and plenty of them." (94 pts.)

WE95 Wine Enthusiast 12/1/2014

"The dark, almost black color and the wonderful violet aromas set the scene for this complex, dense and textured wine. It has a touch of spice, along with the rich plum and dark berry fruits. While it is rich, it is also a dry style of Vintage, bringing out structure as much as opulence. Drink from 2030." (95 pts.)