Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2003 / 750 ml.

Item#: 77961

SP9999 pts. - Wine Spectator - Apr 30, 2006
Fantastic aromas of blackberries, licorice and cherries follow through to a full-bodied palate, with well-integrated tannins and a long finish. A classy young Port. Could be a remake of the 1947. Best after 2015.
WS9898 pts. - Wine & Spirits - December 1, 2005
This wine, from a small plot of old, ungrafted vines at Noval, simply outclasses all the other wines of the vintage. It's reserved and classical, offering its elegance on a grand scale without any of the heat that radiates from many other great ’03s. The wine feels casual and effortless as it grabs you by the throat; if its intensity grabs you too hard, don’t cry to me that you opened it 30 years too soon. I’ll plead the insanity defense, driven to it by how completely seductive this vintage of Nacional feels: a voluptuous, layered, idealized Vale de Mendiz wine. Another taster described it as “completely complete” before she realized she’d need her own insanity defense to explain that one.
SP9797 pts. - Wine Spectator - Dec 11, 2023
Exotic, with a flash of mint giving way quickly to vivid blueberry paste, açaí berry reduction and blackberry pâte de fruit notes that are still quite youthful in profile. Shows both silky and brambly elements, as well as muscle and finesse as this extends with salted licorice, dark chocolate, cinnamon and alder accents through the mineral-tinged finish, where the minty note returns as a seductive echo. Unique and gorgeous. Best from 2025 through 2050. 240 cases made, 20 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
RP9797 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 29th Apr 2014
The Quinta do Noval Nacional 2003 is more backward on the nose than the Vintage Noval ’03, with perfumed black plum, incense, lavender and spice. The aromatics here are pure and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins matched by a killer line of acidity that comes wholly unexpected given the growing season. Thus, it is extremely focused and vigorous, with superb precision and tension. This is a modern-day legend in the making, superior to the 2000 and 1997. Drink 2018–2045. Tasted January 2014.
SP9696 pts. - Wine Spectator - Web only – 2011
Sauve and silky, with peppery overtones to the intense plum confit, dark currant, cherry and chocolate flavors, with hints of licorice. Vibrant, with plenty of youthful grip. The powerful finish is long and well-spiced. — Non-blind Quinta do Noval Nacional retrospective (February 2011). Best from 2015 through 2040.
ST94+94+? pts. - Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - Nov/Dec 2012
Full medium ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of cassis, black cherry and mocha. Sweet and fine-grained, combining a powerful structure with surprisingly harmonious, chewy black fruit flavors. Much thicker and denser than the basic 2003 vintage port served alongside it, and a level beyond that wine in fruit intensity. Finishes very long and suave, with tongue-coating tannins that will require at least another decade of cellaring. This wine showed considerably more flesh than the vintage bottling, which was totally shut down, and yet it largely avoids the roasted character of this very hot vintage.
RP9494 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 1st Oct 2005
The dense 2003 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port displays an impenetrable black robe. Its profound aromatics exude notes of Damson plums, blackberries, fresh herbs, flowers, and hints of vanilla. Built for the long-haul, this refined wine reveals massive thickness, concentration, and depth. Its plummy character is redolent with black cherries, violets, pepper, and figs. Even after 4 days of air this intense effort was firmly backward (possibly even more so than immediately after opening!). Projected maturity: 2035–2055.

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Quinta do Noval

Critical Acclaim

SP99 99 pts. / Wine Spectator (Apr 30, 2006)

Fantastic aromas of blackberries, licorice and cherries follow through to a full-bodied palate, with well-integrated tannins and a long finish. A classy young Port. Could be a remake of the 1947. Best after 2015.

WS98 98 pts. / Wine & Spirits (December 1, 2005)

This wine, from a small plot of old, ungrafted vines at Noval, simply outclasses all the other wines of the vintage. It's reserved and classical, offering its elegance on a grand scale without any of the heat that radiates from many other great ’03s. The wine feels casual and effortless as it grabs you by the throat; if its intensity grabs you too hard, don’t cry to me that you opened it 30 years too soon. I’ll plead the insanity defense, driven to it by how completely seductive this vintage of Nacional feels: a voluptuous, layered, idealized Vale de Mendiz wine. Another taster described it as “completely complete” before she realized she’d need her own insanity defense to explain that one.

SP97 97 pts. / Wine Spectator (Dec 11, 2023)

Exotic, with a flash of mint giving way quickly to vivid blueberry paste, açaí berry reduction and blackberry pâte de fruit notes that are still quite youthful in profile. Shows both silky and brambly elements, as well as muscle and finesse as this extends with salted licorice, dark chocolate, cinnamon and alder accents through the mineral-tinged finish, where the minty note returns as a seductive echo. Unique and gorgeous. Best from 2025 through 2050. 240 cases made, 20 cases imported. (James Molesworth)

RP97 97 pts. / Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (29th Apr 2014)

The Quinta do Noval Nacional 2003 is more backward on the nose than the Vintage Noval ’03, with perfumed black plum, incense, lavender and spice. The aromatics here are pure and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins matched by a killer line of acidity that comes wholly unexpected given the growing season. Thus, it is extremely focused and vigorous, with superb precision and tension. This is a modern-day legend in the making, superior to the 2000 and 1997. Drink 2018–2045. Tasted January 2014.

SP96 96 pts. / Wine Spectator (Web only – 2011)

Sauve and silky, with peppery overtones to the intense plum confit, dark currant, cherry and chocolate flavors, with hints of licorice. Vibrant, with plenty of youthful grip. The powerful finish is long and well-spiced. — Non-blind Quinta do Noval Nacional retrospective (February 2011). Best from 2015 through 2040.

ST94+ 94+? pts. / Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar (Nov/Dec 2012)

Full medium ruby. Deeply pitched aromas of cassis, black cherry and mocha. Sweet and fine-grained, combining a powerful structure with surprisingly harmonious, chewy black fruit flavors. Much thicker and denser than the basic 2003 vintage port served alongside it, and a level beyond that wine in fruit intensity. Finishes very long and suave, with tongue-coating tannins that will require at least another decade of cellaring. This wine showed considerably more flesh than the vintage bottling, which was totally shut down, and yet it largely avoids the roasted character of this very hot vintage.

RP94 94 pts. / Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (1st Oct 2005)

The dense 2003 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port displays an impenetrable black robe. Its profound aromatics exude notes of Damson plums, blackberries, fresh herbs, flowers, and hints of vanilla. Built for the long-haul, this refined wine reveals massive thickness, concentration, and depth. Its plummy character is redolent with black cherries, violets, pepper, and figs. Even after 4 days of air this intense effort was firmly backward (possibly even more so than immediately after opening!). Projected maturity: 2035–2055.

Where It's From

Appellation / Douro

View more wines from Douro

Located in northwest Portugal, The Douro region follows the path of the Douro river. It's home to Portugal's most prized export, port wines, as well as a blossoming selection of world-class table wines. Typical red grapes used in Douro are Touriga Nacional (which produces tannic, dark red wines) and Tempranillo (under the name Tinta Roriz). The steep slopes of the Douro River Valley make it difficult to farm, but the resulting wines are worth all the effort.

Country / Portugal

View more wines from Portugal

Portugal is most famous (and justifiably so) for its Port wines, fortified wines that are typically sweet and often served with dessert. Port wines come in many styles such as Tawny, Late Bottled Vintage, etc, and are classified by how they were produced.

Besides Port, however, Portugal is also one of the fastest-rising wine countries in the world (as far as quality and production) when it comes to table wines. You'll find some unbelievable values in Portuguese table wines, with grapes like Touriga Nacional at the forefront.

More Information

SKU 77961
Product Type Wine
Alternate Name Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
Country Portugal
Product Location - Location-Appellation Douro
Package Size 750 ml.
Wine/Spirit Brand Quinta do Noval
Bottles per Case 12
Spirit/Port Style Vintage Port
Vintage 2003
Can it Be Shipped Yes
Premier Pick No
Wine Type Fortified Wine
Dollar Sale (Y/N) No

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JS9393 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Aromas of dried fruits and lots of blackberries. Some wet earth with, of course, alcohol. It’s full-bodied, medium sweet with slightly chewy tannins. Shows tension and focus. Really solid and delicious. Drink now, but will improve with age. (James Suckling)
SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Feb 28, 2023
Juicy, open and inviting, with a solid core of blackberry and mulberry preserves judiciously laced with cocoa, fruitcake and black licorice notes. Fresh, bramble-tinted finish. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cao. Drink now through 2027. 3,554 cases made. (James Molesworth)
JD9191 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 2/6/2023
A more heady, intense effort, the 2016 Late Bottled Vintage Port offers up a deep ruby/purple hue to go with classic Port notes of candied plums, cigar box, incense, orange liqueur, and exotic spices on the nose. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Port with solid underlying structure and solid length on the finish. While there’s tons to love here, the alcohol slightly overwhelms this more mid-weight effort and a touch more density and concentration would go a long way toward balancing this beauty out, but this is nitpicking. This is a spicy, complex, elegant LBV to drink over the coming decade. (Jeb Dunnuck)
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JS9393 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Aromas of dried fruits and lots of blackberries. Some wet earth with, of course, alcohol. It’s full-bodied, medium sweet with slightly chewy tannins. Shows tension and focus. Really solid and delicious. Drink now, but will improve with age. (James Suckling)
SP9292 pts. - Wine Spectator - Feb 28, 2023
Juicy, open and inviting, with a solid core of blackberry and mulberry preserves judiciously laced with cocoa, fruitcake and black licorice notes. Fresh, bramble-tinted finish. Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cao. Drink now through 2027. 3,554 cases made. (James Molesworth)
JD9191 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 2/6/2023
A more heady, intense effort, the 2016 Late Bottled Vintage Port offers up a deep ruby/purple hue to go with classic Port notes of candied plums, cigar box, incense, orange liqueur, and exotic spices on the nose. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Port with solid underlying structure and solid length on the finish. While there’s tons to love here, the alcohol slightly overwhelms this more mid-weight effort and a touch more density and concentration would go a long way toward balancing this beauty out, but this is nitpicking. This is a spicy, complex, elegant LBV to drink over the coming decade. (Jeb Dunnuck)
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Portugal | Douro | Porto

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JD9191 pts. - Jeb Dunnuck - 2/6/2023
I always love this cuvée, which offers tons of character for a great price. Classic Noval notes of spicy red and blue fruits, orange blossom, cigar, tobacco, and candied mint emerge from the NV Black, and It’s round, supple, and full-bodied on the palate, with nicely balanced sugar, a layered yet elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. Delivering richness as well as freshness, you could certainly do a lot worse for the price. It also holds up nicely with air, and I was able to follow this bottle for multiple days. It’s great today and will be great in 7–8 years as well, if not over a decade, although this is not something you need to hide in the cellar. (Jeb Dunnuck)
WS9090 pts. - Wine & Spirits - December 1, 2017
Sour cherry flavors and nutmeg spice fill this supple, fruit-driven Porto. The tannins feel integrated into the fruit, darkening it to plum-skin flavors and enriching the texture, making this easy to drink on its own.
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SP9898 pts. - Wine Spectator - Dec 31, 2018
This is distinctive from the start, with a youthfully rambunctious display of dark currant, fig and blackberry fruit paste flavors liberally spiked with bramble, Turkish coffee and ganache notes. As the fruit pumps through the finish, a tarry spine adds a bristling, mouthwatering edge. Sports more obvious grip and is a touch drier in style than most of its peers. Best from 2035 through 2055. 6,000 cases made, 535 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
RP9797 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 19th Jul 2018
The 2016 Vintage Port is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for 18 months in old wood. It comes in with 82 grams of residual sugar. This was in bottle for only about seven weeks when seen, but I made sure at least some of it had a lot of air. It looks super, with plenty of room to grow in the cellar. Christian Seely likes to say that this regular Noval and the Nacional are not better than one another, just different. In fact, I usually prefer Nacional, but in this vintage I make a case for equality and endorse that view.
VN9494 pts. - Vinous - Jun 2018
The 2016 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is a blend of Touriga Naçional, Touriga Franc, Tinta Cão and Sousão, all foot-trodden and aged in wooden casks for 18 months. It has a voluminous, warm and inviting bouquet that positively “bulges” with damson, bilberry, crushed violets and blackcurrants, all beautifully defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with a feisty, spicy opening: black fruit laced with cracked black pepper, clove, cardamom and a pinch of sea salt. Whilst the aromatics have all the “fun”, the palate is more “serious”, as if compensating for the nose with a sense of reserve and restraint. Together they make for a fascinating, quite mercurial Quinta do Noval that should age gloriously over the next 30 years.
WE9292 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 12/1/2018
Very ripe fruit give this wine a surprisingly soft texture. It has generous tannins to go with this opulent fruitiness. The wine is going to age relatively quickly, so drink from 2026.
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Portugal | Douro | Porto

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WE9595 pts. - 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.
RP9494 pts. - 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.
SP9494 pts. - Wine Spectator - Sep 27, 2018
A grippy style, with lots of tobacco and charcoal notes coursing along the edges of the core of plum, black currant and fig paste flavors. Slightly chunky in feel, but the power and depth is there, revealing a swath of warm ganache on the finish.—Non-blind Quinta do Noval vertical (May 2018). Best from 2025 through 2040. 1,000 cases made, 250 cases imported. (James Molesworth)
RP9494 pts. - 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.
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RP9797 pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 29th Apr 2014
The 2004 Quinta do Noval Nacional has a show-stopping bouquet that is cut from a completely different cloth than the 2004 Vintage. This is far more extravagant and decadent, with kirsch, camphor, incense and crushed violets exploding from the glass. You might think it was some super Barossa Syrah if you nosed it blind. The palate is intense with penetrating, citrus-fresh black currant and dark-plum fruit. It is has lovely caressing, slightly grainy textured, well-judged acidity and a composed, elegant finish. This is pure class, a hedonistic Nacional surfeit with swagger and style. Drink 2020–2050. Tasted January 2014.
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