Wine Searcher recently highlighted the renowned port producer Quinta do Noval in a story titled, “Last Chance to See: A Nacional Treasure.” The feature, as the clever title suggests, details the winery’s famous Nacional 1963 vintage. For those unfamiliar with this vineyard, Nacional is a small 1.7-hectare plot with a mere 6,000 vines that are all ungrafted vines on native rootstocks…Author Don Kavanagh explains that “Given the devastation wrought in the Douro Valley by phylloxera, these vines give a sample of what the wines would have tasted like back in the mists of an earlier golden age… The grapes are, naturally, treated differently from the rest of the vineyard. Foot-trodden and vinified apart, the plot is seen as a separate part of the wider vineyard.” This extreme dedication to the Nacional plot provides astonishing results; 1963 Vintage in particular, is often regarded by critics as the best Port in the past 75 years. Although it is now quite pricey to acquire this particular vintage, Quinta do Noval produces exceptional ports for any budget.
To read more about Quinta do Noval, Nacional and its’ many phenomenal vintages, read the full article HERE.
Related Wines
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Vintage Port
Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterised by its purity of fruit and a fine, delicate quality that is typical of the wines of the property in general, but which finds its most remarkable and enduring expression in the Vintage Ports.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Tawny 20 Year Old Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
Noval 20 year old Tawny is a blend of old Ports from different vintages that have matured in oak casks, with an average age of 20 years. Irresistible freshness with all the complexity of age. Harmonious and balanced, fine, elegant and long, with all the aromatic complexity typical of Noval Tawny Ports.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Tawny 10 Year Old Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
Noval 10 year old Tawny is a blend of old Ports from different vintages that have matured in oak casks, with an average age of 10 years. It's a perfect expression of the Noval Tawny style. It has acquired the classical attributes of an old Tawny Port, while at the same time retaining much of the freshness and fruit of its youth.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Noval BLACK Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
The style of Noval BLACK is entirely about emphasizing the quality of this fruit, through use of estate fruit, gentle handling (including foot treading), and vinification aiming for transparency. You could say it is the most wine-like of ruby reserve ports, and that is the secret to its flexibility, in cocktails, chilled, and even on ice.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
The legend. A small area at the heart of the Quinta do Noval vineyard planted with ungrafted vines and untouched by phylloxera.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Cedro do Noval
Douro Valley, Portugal
Charm and accessibility in an authentically Douro style. Named after the emblematic cedar tree that dominates the terrace of Quinta do Noval, Cedro do Noval is an authentic expression of the Douro.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2016
Douro Valley, Portugal
The word "Nacional" refers to the fact that the vines are Portuguese vines growing in Portuguese soil with no foreign root stock and are therefore "attached to the soil of the Nation." The survival of the tiny parcel (6 acres) of legendary ungrafted vines is a mystery and the National is a unique and extraordinary phenomenon that does not necessarily follow the same rhythm as the rest of the Quinta do Noval. Nacional is every port lover's fantasy and this great wine is a source of pride to the people of Portugal and at its best the finest expression of the extraordinary terroir of Quinta do Noval.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2017
Douro Valley, Portugal
The word "Nacional" refers to the fact that the vines are Portuguese vines growing in Portuguese soil with no foreign root stock and are therefore "attached to the soil of the Nation." The survival of the tiny parcel (6 acres) of legendary ungrafted vines is a mystery and the National is a unique and extraordinary phenomenon that does not necessarily follow the same rhythm as the rest of the Quinta do Noval. Nacional is every port lover's fantasy and this great wine is a source of pride to the people of Portugal and at its best the finest expression of the extraordinary terroir of Quinta do Noval.
Related Producers
Quinta do Noval
Douro Valley, Portugal
One of the oldest port houses, Quinta do Noval is also arguably the greatest. It is unique among top port houses in that most of the ports are made from estate-grown fruit and, notably, all of the vintage Noval wines are from the single Quinta do Noval vineyard.