Quinta do Noval Nacional 2022 Re-tasted

Quinta do Noval Nacional 2022 *****

I received a bottle of the legendary Nacional 2022 which was very sadly tainted by cork – a real tragedy for a wine of this calibre (not to mention the tiny production)! So I was delighted to receive a substitute bottle. Just to remind you that 2022 was a year of extremes in the Douro; it was both very hot and very dry. There were recurrent heatwaves, in early July and in early August, with prolonged periods of temperatures over 40°C and a peak of 45,5°C in mid-July. Such extremes are not entirely unprecedented: similar conditions were experienced in the great vintages of 2017 and 1945. The vines at Noval remained extremely healthy throughout the year, with very little disease. Remarkably, the Nacional vines remained surprisingly green and free from water stress. These extremes do not show up in this wine, my notes on which are as follows: deep, youthful crimson but not quite opaque in intensity of colour (Nacional is not the deepest of wines); already open and a masterpiece on the nose with beautiful, fragrant purity of fruit already emerging from the glass, a hint of dark chocolate intensity and a contrasting touch on brambly leafiness too; pure, lithe sweet berry fruit (cassis with ripe blackberry and bramble) on the palate, backed by firm linear tannins, not that big or broad, a hint of black cherry ripeness but overall beautifully defined with a long, firm linear finish. Rather amazingly I could enjoy drinking this now but, perfectly balanced as this is, it will develop and last over a lifetime. 19.5