Quinta do Noval : Vintage Port 2003

The inky, purple-colored, opaque 2003 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port soars from the glass, revealing dates, black cherries, copious flowers, and plums. Full-bodied, broad, and lush, this top-flight wine is harmonious and exhibits stupendous purity of fruit. Blueberries, cherries, and candied strawberries can be found in its nuanced, lengthy, plum-laced core as well as in its immensely long, dried berry-tinged finish. Drink this beauty between 2020 and 2045+. Importer: William Grant & Sons, Edison, NJ; tel. (732) 225-9000

Extremely dark purple with black highlights. Fascinating bouquet of cassis, black cherries, Black Currant, along with playful violet notes that add freshness, conveying a dry sweetness, wonderful spice interplay. Firm, ample palate, perfect astringency, firm tannins radiating sweetness, Vanille-Bourbon notes, perfumed mid-palate, long and majestic, plenty of finesse, ranking among the Top Vintage Ports of this vintage.

I have never tasted it as good as with this unsweetened dessert served at the opening dinner of the Outsiders fair at the Shangri-La (Papua cocoa bean raw/iced/smoked).