Noval Black

Quinta do Noval "Noval Black" Reserve Port (750ML)

Noval Black is a highly innovative, non-vintage Ruby Reserve Port designed to completely break the mold of old-fashioned, heavy dessert wines. Produced by the legendary Quinta do Noval—an elite estate established in 1715 in the heart of Portugal's Douro Valley—the property is globally revered for its single-vineyard Vintage Ports and its pioneering history, which includes inventing Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port in 1958.

Under the direction of Managing Director Christian Seely, Noval Black was engineered to appeal to a new generation of drinkers by trading out the oxidized, heavily oaked, and sediment-heavy traits of traditional Ports for vibrant, hyper-clean primary fruit. The liquid is crafted using estate-grown, premium grapes sourced from high-altitude schist terraces overlooking the Pinhão River. A significant portion of the fruit is still processed traditionally via manual foot-treading in granite lagares (stone treading vats) to maximize color and soft tannin extraction. Unlike traditional reserve rubies that undergo multi-year wood degradation, Noval Black is aged in a combination of stainless steel vats and neutral oak for roughly two years, maintaining intense freshness. Bottled at 19.5% ABV, it requires zero cellaring or decanting.

Technical Product Specs

• Size: 750ML Custom-Designed, Sleek Black Glass Bottle

• ABV/Proof: 19.5% (39 Proof)

• Port Class: Ruby Reserve Porto (Multi-vintage blend)

• Grape Architecture: Dominated by indigenous Douro varieties: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, and Tinto Cão.

• Production Integrity: Foot-trodden in stone lagares, cold-stabilized, and light-filtered. No decanting is necessary, as it forms no heavy bottle sediment.

• Residual Sugar Core: ~100 g/L (Rich but masterfully balanced by acidity)

• Origin: Douro Valley (Oporto), Portugal

• Critical Pedigree: Consistently captures top marks for its tier, securing 91 Points from Wine & Spirits and 90 Points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

Tasting Notes: Flavor and Aroma Profile

By keeping the young spirit shielded from heavy wood oxidation, Noval Black exhibits an incredibly juicy, bright, and wine-like structure that avoids an aggressive ethanol vapor burn.

• Aroma (Nose): Radiant, deeply concentrated, and highly perfumed. The bouquet lifts with an upfront wave of ripe blackberry sauce, cassis, and black cherry compote, beautifully supported by secondary top notes of fresh orange blossom, sweet mint, lavender, and a distinct hint of dark cocoa.

• Palate (Taste): Medium-to-full-bodied, satiny, and remarkably sleek. The entry treats the tongue to an explosion of lush dark fruit, fresh plum skin, and boysenberries. Across the mid-palate, its structural balance shines; a line of rocky minerality and natural acidity prevents the 100 g/L sugar from tasting syrupy, introducing cleaner layers of white pepper, sweet tobacco, and licorice.

• Finish: Exceptionally long, focused, and refreshing. The intense dark fruit sugars taper off cleanly, closing with a trailing signature of bittersweet chocolate, fine-grained fruit-skin tannins, and a crisp, dry citrus-pith snap.

Service and Contemporary Mixology

• The Perfect Chill (The Signature Serve): Completely reject the old rule of serving Port at warm room temperature. To lock in the fine fruit balance and mitigate alcohol heat, serve Noval Black slightly chilled, ideally between 55°F and 60°F (12°C to 15°C) straight out of a cellar or refrigerator.

• The New-Age Highball: Fill a tall chimney glass with ice, pour in 2 oz of Noval Black, and top completely with premium dry tonic water or ginger beer. Garnish with a fresh orange twist. The carbonation and citrus peel cut through the natural grape sugars, creating a highly refreshing aperitif.

• The Modern Digestif: Pour a 3 oz neat serving into a standard white wine glass rather than a tiny, pinched cordial glass. The wider bowl allows the exotic orchid, mint, and black cherry terpenes to expand.

Food Pairings

Noval Black’s unique combination of rich black-fruit concentration, bright structural acidity, and fruit-skin tannins makes it an absolute powerhouse engine for matching up against dark cacao, blue veins, and rich game.

• High-Percentage Dark Chocolates: An absolute, textbook match. Pair a glass next to cacao-dusted truffles, a rich flourless chocolate torte, or molten lava cakes. The Port’s dark cherry profile cuts through chocolate fats seamlessly.

• Pungent Blue Cheeses: The ultimate sweet-and-salty contrast pairing. Serve a pour next to blocks of Stilton, Gorgonzola, or Roquefort cheese topped with toasted walnuts.

• Rich Savory Glazes: It behaves beautifully as a companion to pan-seared duck breast with a cherry reduction sauce or venison steaks, where the sweet berry fruit mirrors the iron-rich game.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does Noval Black need to be decanted?

No. Unlike a Vintage Port—which finishes its maturation inside the bottle over decades and creates a thick crust of sandy sediment that must be strained—Noval Black is fully matured, cold-stabilized, and lightly filtered at the winery before bottling. It is 100% ready to drink the exact moment you pull the T-stopper cork, displaying pristine clarity from the first glass to the last.

How long will the bottle stay fresh after opening?

Thanks to its robust 19.5% ABV fortification matrix and clean ruby style, an opened bottle of Noval Black holds its integrity significantly longer than a standard table wine. Simply press the resealable T-stopper back into the neck and store the bottle upright inside your refrigerator. It will retain its signature black cherry aromatics, freshness, and bright acidity for 3 to 4 weeks before the profile begins to flattening out.

Is this a sweet Port or a dry Port?

It is a sweet, fortified dessert wine containing roughly 100 grams of residual sugar per liter. However, because Quinta do Noval selects high-altitude grapes with excellent natural acidities and retains structural fruit-skin tannins, the liquid drinks with a "dryish" texture, meaning the sugars feel tightly integrated and crisp rather than syrupy, heavy, or cloying.