Quinta
do Noval Nacional and Vintage Ports, back to 1962
Part 4 of a report on visiting this leading producer from Portugal's
Douro region
Quinta
do Noval Ports have been through quite a ride over the last 40
years, the period covered in this incredible tasting, which included
15 vintages of Nacional. They went through a distinctly tricky patch
during the late 1970s and 1980s, only pulling out of it when Noval
was acquired by French insurance company AXA and Christian Seely was
appointed with the task of reviving things. The transformation has
been remarkable, with the quality now putting Noval among the very
best of all Port producers.
Noval
is particularly famous for its Nacional, a Port produced in some
years only from a 2 hectare parcel at the heart of the Noval
vineyard where ungrafted vines survive. This is remarkable, because
phylloxera, the root munching aphid that necessitates grafting vines
onto resistant American rootstock, is endemic in the Douro, and even
the rest of the vineyard.
‘There
are a few misconceptions about Nacional which might be worth
dispelling,’ says Christian Seely. ‘First, Nacional has nothing
to do with Touriga Nacional: the parcel and the wine are so-called
because Portuguese vines grow in Portuguese soil without any
American rootstock in between. The grape varieties used are a
mixture of Touriga Nacional, Francesa (or Franca), Tinto Cão, Tinta
Roriz, Barroca, Amarela and Sousão. Second, the vines are not
‘pre-phylloxera’: that would mean they were very old indeed.
There are some very old vines in the parcel, but I would say the
average age is about 40 years: when a vine dies we replant, but
without grafting to any American rootstock.’
He
adds, ‘It is perhap's Noval's fault that there is a confusion
about this as older labels said either "made from pre-phyloxera
vines" or even more confusingly "made from pre-phyloxera
grapes" (they would have been rather dried out by the end of
the 20th century...). I changed this to "Made from ungrafted
vines".’
The
Nacional block was first planted in 1925, and the first wine to be
made and sold from these young vines was the 1931, which has gone on
to be one of the legendary Ports of all time.
‘Nacional
is special to me principally because it illustrates something I
believe about wine, which is that a great wine takes its character
and personality from the unique conditions of the place it comes
from rather than from something that we do,’ says Christian. ‘We
vinify the Nacional in the same way as all the other grapes from
Quinta do Noval: foot treading in stone lagares - it would be
difficult to imagine less technological winemaking - and yet every
year the Nacional has a personality all of its own, because of the
grapes it is made of and because of the place it comes from.’
Harvesting Nacional
Interestingly,
Nacional seems to excel in some years when the Noval Vintage Port
isn’t declared. ‘It is sometimes great when the Quinta wine is
not,’ says Christian. ‘For example, Nacional 96, which we
declared when there was no Vintage wine from the rest of the Quinta;
it is sometimes great when the Quinta wine is also for example 1997,
2000, or 2003, when there is essentially a big difference of style
and personality rather than a great difference in quality, in my
opinion; and there are years when the Quinta wine is lovely and the
Nacional just does not sing, as in 2007 when we declared Quinta do
Noval but not the Nacional.’
Since
1999 a second-label Vintage Port, Silval, has been made. This is
invariably really good and represents superb value for money.
Vintage
Port/Nacional tasting
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1962 Cherry red with a hint of brown. Warm, complex, spicy, fudgey
nose with hints of tar and mint. The palate is dense and sweet with
complex tar, herb, spice and cedar notes as well as a hint of
toffee, and a long finish. Mature but beautiful. 93/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1963 Cherry red with brown hints. Wonderful warm, complex nose
showing spice, tar and herbs. The palate is dense and complex with
warm, powerful, rich spicy fruit. Fantastic mouthfeel. Dense and
broad. Minerally, spicy finish with a hint of mint. This is a
magical wine. 97/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1966 Warm, complex nose with a hint of herb and medicine, as well as
some floral notes. Soft, mellow palate with liquorice and old
furniture. Beautifully complex: warm, soft and intense. 93/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1966 Deep coloured with hints of mint, tar and herbs on the nose.
Lovely sweet fruit. The palate is amazingly vibrant showing fresh
mint, pepper and herbs notes. Sweet. 96/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1967 The nose shows leather, herbs and a hint of meat on the nose.
The palate is smooth and elegant with lovely freshness, hints of
mint and nice elegance. Nice fruit still. With time in glass this
evolved and is really delicious. 91/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1967 Just wonderful: concentrated, sweet and intense with lovely
wild, vivid aromatics showing complex spices and dark fruits. Still
has firm tannins and wonderful freshness. Amazing breadth and
wildness here. A lovely wine. 95/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1970 Pale cherry red. Lovely focused, savoury, minty spicy nose is
quite fresh, with some church incense notes. The palate has
appealing mintiness and complex spicy notes. Fresh and focused.
94/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1975 Pale cherry/orange-red colour. Spicy and quite complex on the
nose with notes of herb and tea. The palate is warm, spicy and
complex. Like a colheita in style. Sweet and rounded with lovely
spiciness. 91/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1982 Cherry red colour. Quite pale. Dusty, herby spicy nose leads to
a soft, evolved palate that is now quite mature, with appealing
warmth. Like a tawny port in style. 88/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1982 Pale cherry colour. Evolved spicy, earthy nose with dusty, herby
notes. The palate has freshness and a hint of mint. More focus than
the vintage Port with some nice spicy, earthy complexity. Tawny-ish
in style. 90/100
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1983 Very pale red with a brown edge. Not very nice. Smoky, dusty,
earthy nose leads to a dirty, earthy palate. 70/100 Second bottle
opened is worse: tired and unpleasant with some stinkiness and spicy
notes. 68/100 Third bottle is a bit better: pale orange/red. Warm
faded nose with some spicy notes and hints of orange. The palate is
not totally clean with notes of earth and spice, as well as light
citrus fruit. Very mature but quite agreeable. 82/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1985 Cherry red colour. Fresh, herby edge to the spicy nose. Not well
defined. The palate has some cherry fruit and spice. Quite light but
with some freshness. Disappointing. 86/100
Tasting under the famous cedar (cedro) at Noval
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1987 Earthy, herby, spicy nose is a bit dirty and awkward. The palate
is earthy and unfocused. Not very nice. 81/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1987 A bit fresher than the Vintage Port. Fresh minty notes as well
as some earth and spice on the nose. The palate is earthy without
much charm. Not ageing well. 83/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1994 Just 900 cases made of this: the previous regime was producing
5000. Beautifully focused dark fruits with lovely intensity and
fruit expression. Excellent balance. This is still young, beginning
to develop complexity, with cherries, blackcurrants and herbs.
94/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1994 Very deep colour. Amazingly fresh, focused nose with lovely
clarity and precision. Notes of blackberry, plum and raspberry. The
palate has great freshness and good acidity with incredible fruit
and good structure. Still very youthful and spicy, this is evolving
very nicely. 96/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1995 (half bottle) Earthy, spicy and focused, this is quite savoury with lovely
complexity and depth. Really like the savoury complexity, which
integrates well with the spicy fruit. Superbly elegant with great
complexity. 93/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1995 Slightly reduced earthy, spicy nose. Strongly savoury. The
palate shows lovely concentration of earthy fruit with layered spicy
complexity and good focus. Finishes long and spicy. 93/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1996 Deep coloured and concentrated, this has an amazingly vivid,
plummy, spicy nose. There are some dark, earthy, savoury notes, as
well as firm tannins and amazing intensity. Quite savoury with
lovely structure. Just brilliant. 97/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 1997 Very pure, sweet, focused nose of blackcurrant and blackberry
fruit, as well as cherry sweetness. The palate is beautifully
structured with pure dark fruits and amazing balance and power.
Super-elegant style. 98/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1997 There’s an earthy, spicy savouriness to the dark fruits nose,
which makes it seem a bit backward. The palate has a minty edge to
the fruit. Very focused and fresh with good structure. Not as
alluring or elegant as the Vintage Port, but quite different with
tight structure. 97/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 1998 None of this has been sold yet. Deep coloured and concentrated,
with a warm, cherryish, spicy nose. Sweet, intense, focused palate
with lovely taut, elegant structure and a spicy finish. Some
freshness. Good intensity: this is a little bit closed but has nice
structure. 93/100
Quinta
do Noval Silval Vintage Port 1999 Focused cherry and herb nose with spicy notes and some elegance.
The palate is fresh and dense with lovely fruit expression. Cherry
and plum fruit dominate. Quite an elegant with good acidity and
purity. 94/100
Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Port 2000 Earthy, rubbery, spicy edge to the nose, which is savoury and
perhaps a little reduced. The palate shows attractive fresh, bright,
sweet berry fruits with lovely warm spicy structure. Vibrant and
fresh. 92/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 2000 Wonderful nose: fantastic, dark, focused sweet blackberry fruit
is multilayered and complex with some olive notes. The palate is
superconcentrated with dense, pure, really sweet blackberry fruit.
Amazing intensity and depth here. Still just an infant. Brilliant
effort. 98/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 2000 Incredible nose. Sweet dark fruits but with stern, savoury,
spicy earthy notes too. Fresh and bright with a hint of mint. Palate
is dense and elegant with lovely sweet fruit. Amazing minty
freshness here. Beautifully pure and focused with great fruit purity
abd structure. 97/100
Quinta
do Noval Silval Vintage Port 2002 Sweet, ripe cherry fruit nose with a hint of spiciness. A light,
elegant style with some freshness and lovely fruit expression. Quite
wine like with nice elegance, for earlier drinking. 92/100
Quinta
do Noval Silval Vintage Port 2003 This is the first year when the new plantings came on stream.
Very deep colour. Beautifully fresh, well defined, sweet fruity
nose. Very pure and elegant. The palate is sweet, dense and focused
with lovely intensity, purity and structure. Fantastic stuff. 94/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 2003 Very deep coloured. Incredibly elegant, fresh nose with
wonderful raspberry, blackberry and cherry fruit purity.
Astonishingly aromatic and floral. The palate has concentrated,
smooth, elegant fruit with lovely structure and poise, as well as a
hint of mint freshness. 97/100
Quinta
do Noval Nacional 2003 Superconcentrated. Dark colour. Brooding nose with savoury,
spicy notes alongside taut dark fruits – plum and blackberry. Very
fine and elegant. A little reticent. The palate has a freshness and
focus to the precise concentrated dark fruits. Amazing structure and
some earthy, spicy notes. Just fantastic. 98/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 2004 Fresh, pure vivid blackberry and blackcurrant nose. The palate
shows sweet pure fruit, which is the dominant theme. Almost
wine-like in its fruitiness. Tastes a bit like fermenting must.
93/100
Quinta
do Noval Silval Vintage Port 2005 Brooding dark spicy nose, showing blackberries, olives,
raspberries and plums. The palate is sweet and dense with lovely
concentration and structure. Tannic and spicy with great density and
focus. A lovely wine. 95/100
Quinta
do Noval Silval Vintage Port 2007 Brooding, intense and focused with floral dark fruits nose.
Brilliant focus here. The palate is concentrated and fresh with some
spicy structure. Superb. 95/100
Quinta
do Noval Vintage Port 2007 Superconcentrated and deep coloured. Multilayered, complex nose
of rich, sweet, pure dark fruit with spicy depth. The palate has
lushness and purity to the dark fruit. Amazing concentration and
depth. Vividly spicy with focus and purity. A near-perfect young
Vintage Port. 98/100
Tawny
Tawny
is made in 640 litre barrels, and they evaporate 1–2% of content
each year. One barrel, the ‘houillage’ barrel, is sacrificed for
topping up. Colheitas are vintage dated Tawnies.
Quinta
do Noval Colheita 1968 Very old, aromatic and volatile with notes of spice and cedar.
The palate is concentrated and spicy with nuts and herbs. Quite
sweet. Lively acidity. Just brilliant. 94/100
Quinta
do Noval Colheita 1971 Amazingly rich and spicy with real complexity. Spicy cherry
fruit with hints of raisins and dried fruits, with citrus freshness.
Lovely presence and great acidity. A remarkable wine. 96/100
Quinta
do Noval Colheita 1995 Wonderfully complex with elegant bright red fruits and lovely
lively spciness. Lively and fresh with real complexity, this is
expressive and precise. 95/100
See
this short film of the Nacional vineyard block: