The Quinta do Noval Nacional 2011 is one of the most breathtaking, nascent Vintage Ports that I have ever met. The label should state a health warning: – “Sensory Overload” – since the bouquet is endowed with copious dark berry fruit, minerals, bay leaf and cloves that manifests like a slow-motion explosion from the glass. The palate is velvety-smooth on the entry, but do not let that kid you. Wave after wave of intense ripe black fruit lap along your sensory shoreline – indescribably harmonious with extremely well-judged acidity. There is a crescendo of flavors that build towards a sensual, date and raisin-tinged, magisterial finish that I can only analogize to the dramatic E-major chord that concludes The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life.” In fact, Lennon & McCartney’s magnum opus probably sums up the 2011 Nacional better than any descriptor I can think of. Tasted May 2013. Importer: Vintus Wines, Pleasantville, NY; tel. (914) 769-3000

The 2011 Vintage Port "Nacional" is a field blend aged for 18 months in wood before release. It comes in with 94.6 grams per liter of residual sugar and, if anything, tastes drier. This is a monumental Nacional that justifies its cult reputation. Still showing rather primary, young fruit, it is laced with herbs and a hint of resin. It is just plain delicious, even while showing some austerity. Fresh, clean and lively, its tension on the finish serves it in good stead, enlivening the wine along the way. The balance is perfect. Elegant but still very concentrated, more than the 2004 also reviewed, it expands in the glass as it airs out, coats the palate nicely and then becomes ever more intense. If the first tastes were all about the fruit, this wound up being about its backbone and firmness, what I typically expect. The tannins are not searing, in a sense--they are hard, not harsh--but make no mistake: it shuts down with a bang and does a fine job of seizing the tongue. It's built for the long haul, of course. Some five days later, it had not changed a lot, but the fruit was fighting back a little harder. After another five days, the fruit became pretty darned delicious. It will eventually win, but you need patience for this Port to come into balance--and show complexity, equally important. Even after ten days open, it still tightened on the finish and showed pure power. It's a beauty.