Characteristics: Quinta do Noval has made great wine since 1715 but it was the 1931 declaration that put the house’s illustrious name on the map and their Port on every clamoring aficionados lips. Known as one of the most beautiful estates for the grounds’ massive cedar trees and the stunning views that frame the heart of the Douro, Quinta do Noval deserves the hallowed reputation that sets it apart. Christian Seely, who has looked after Noval since 1993, was on hand in Chicago to share the quinta’s latest vintage. Asking after the Noval’s loftiest bottling, the Nacional, we were told by Seely that the 2007 Quinta do Noval is as great a Port from 2007 and that he actually preferred it to the eminent Nacional.

Quinta do Noval 2007 stood out among the other titans in the room (at a 2007 preview tasting) for its deep, dark fruit, cocoa tannins, fresh mulberry and thistle come clover top notes and yet, despite a round and balanced attack, it seemed to swell to a saturating force through the end. For all its feminine balance it insists on showing you how the Douro can ripen its fruit so thoroughly even during a more elegant vintage. Even though a wine so rich will no doubt last decades, it presented heaps of flavors already calling “come hither” without decanting. Perhaps patience is sometimes overrated.