Tasting Notes
A limited release, single estate wine drawn from finest vineyard parcels that excelled in 2014. It’s the traditional Noval blend of Touriga Nacional (roughly 50%), Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca and Sousão, from Noval’s hillside vineyard on the slopes of the Douro’s Cavadinha tributary. The vines at Noval always give Ports of tremendous finesse and purity. Ports that can be treated as ‘wines’. The vines at Noval always gift Ports of tremendous elegance and purity: traits that fit the widely declared 2019 vintage like a glove. Bottled in May 2021 with 100 grams of residual sugar, this is a Noval of exceptional clarity and controlled power. - Importer Note
The most important thing to understand about Quinta do Noval is that, unlike the other famous names of the Port world, Noval is a single estate, a single vineyard. This immediately changes everything when it comes to the declaration of a vintage. The much larger Port houses need the region as a whole to have enjoyed superb vintage conditions in order to declare a harvest. This is firstly because they buy the vast majority of their fruit and therefore cannot control the viticulture (except at any Quintas that they own). Only with a grower's attention to detail in the vineyard and a strict selection, can a producer hope to outperform a vintage. Secondly, the large houses need to produce a minimum quantity if they declare a vintage under their main brand - in order to supply their significant markets. These two factors make it very difficult for a traditional Port shipper to declare a vintage in anything but an exceptional and even year. Things are different at Quinta do Noval. Firstly, controlling every aspect of their viticulture is an obvious advantage in challenging years and secondly, they have no issues in making a declaration even when the quantities are tiny, when only a small part of the vineyard, or even a few barrels, stand out as 'vintage quality'. Noval's philosophy is as refreshing as it is admirable and perfectly logical. If the quality is there, then it should be bottled! In 2014 there was some beautiful fruit harvested across the region early on, then the rain hit making things much more tricky. Novalmade a strict selection and has produced a small release of a magnificent wine. - Importer Note
| Product Type | Wine Fortified |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | Portugal |
| Region | Douro River |
| Sub Region | Porto |
| Winemaking Practices | Conventional |
| Vineyard Practices | Conventional |