2011 Quinta do Noval, Port, Portugal

2011 Quinta do Noval, Port, Portugal

Product: 20118117018
Prices start from £450.00 per case Buying options
2011 Quinta do Noval, Port, Portugal

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

The 2011 Noval displays the hall-mark purity of this House, challenged teasingly by an incredible blue fruit ripeness and rich, peppery finish. Notes of eucalypt, forest floor and violets provide a perfect counterpoint to the sweetness and the tannins, which are firm and resolute, if not yet completely resolved. They will be by, say, 2024 and the wine will continue to evolve gracefully until 2040 and beyond.

The blend is 60% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Francesa and 10% Tinto Cão and, as always, comes from a homogenous plot around the Quinta. Uniform brilliance is the livery here; this is a spectacular Vintage Port.
Simon Field MW, Port Wine Buyer You arrive at the Quinta do Noval by means of a long, sweeping, white-walled, vine-trellised drive that finishes atop the hill where the handsome villa and farm buildings sit very much in the middle of the estate with wonderful views all around.   Here, unlike most Port houses, the wines are from a single 145 hectare ‘Quinta’ and this helps impart a consistency of style to the wines each vintage. Noval’s Vintage Ports, certainly in recent declarations, have a purity and almost lithe-like feel to them, and a polished and cultured charm prevails.  The 2011 starts dense and cool with a plump ripeness preceding firm, discreet tannins – there is some real power here, with aromatic hints joining in to add lift and intrigue.   This is a very refined 2011 that will age gracefully for decades.
Tom Cave, Cellar Plan Manager

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate97/100
The 2011 Vintage Port is a blend of 60& Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Francesa and 10% Tinto Co, all aged for 18 months in wood. It comes in at 101.2 grams per liter of residual sugar. It opens with understatement, but that doesn't last long. Showing pure power on the finish, this otherwise elegant Noval (especially refined in the mid-palate) shows itself to be in fine form as it airs out. Pointed, graceful and a bit drying, this is built for the long haul. It's a Port you need to cellar. It will one day gain complexity, open more fully and become more interesting. That day is not today, although if you air it out long enough, the fine fruit and flavor eventually come through. By the end of the week, this was actually possible to drink, although even then, as it sat in the glass, it became tighter and slightly astringent--showing off its power and intensity. Its firmness and underlying concentration are beautifully matched by the fruit, though. The balance is impeccable. If you have some old school patience, snap this up by the case. It may be accessible younger than I suggest, but this is a Port that should be put away for a couple of decades, or more, for best results.
Mark Squires - 04/03/2016 Read more

About this WINE

Quinta do Noval

Quinta do Noval

Quinta do Noval was first owned, for more than a century, by the Rebello Valente family who were given it by the Marquês do Pombal, Portugal’s Prime Minister. It was later owned by the Van Zeller family who had to rebuild following a catastrophic fire in 1981. Finally Quinta do Noval was sold to AXA insurance group in May 1993.

Quinta do Noval is one of the most evocative of names and the maker of the most famous of all Vintage Ports - Naçional.

The scourge of European vineyards in the late 19th century, the phylloxera aphid was thwarted at Noval's best vineyard by intense fumigation and, rather than grafting the vines on to American root-stocks, which was the usual practice, they managed to survive using Portuguese stock - hence "Naçional".

Noval made its reputation with the declaration of 1931. Due to world recession and vast shipment of 27’s, it was one of only three shippers declared in 1931. Noval introduced the first stenciled bottles and in 1958 the first house to introduce a Late Bottled Vintage.

The Quinta do Noval itself lies perfectly situated along a steep hillside in the heart of the Douro Valley where the vines flourish and produce the highest-grade fruit.

Noval today appears to be thriving under the ownership of insurance group AXA with Managing Director Christian Seely, ensuring that their Vintage Port remains one of the most sought-after wines. AXA is a group which already includes a string of leading Bordeaux châteaux.

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Vintage Port

Vintage Port

Vintage Port accounts for only a small percentage of the total Port production - which includes Tawny, Ruby, Late Bottled Vintage, Single Quinta Vintage styles, among others - but is the finest, longest-lived and most expensive style that is produced. The best are as good as any wine in existence.

With the exception of legendary vineyards like Quinta do Noval Nacional and Quinta do Vesuvio, Vintage Port is made from a blend of wines from a producer's finest plots. It is aged for around 18 months in wooden casks before bottling; from then on the watch-word is patience. At least 15 years ageing – and for the top wines it will be significantly longer – is required before the tannins, spirit and fruit are fully integrated. Indeed, the finest examples can last well over 50 years. 

Vintage Port is only made in exceptional years (normally around three times per decade) with considerable stylistic variation between different years and shippers. However, they all share a sweet, warming, spicy richness, power and complexity. In other good but not great vintages, many shippers produce a  Single Quinta Vintage Port from their finest vineyard. These are made in the same way and have the same style as Vintage Port but tend to mature faster and are less profound. All Vintage Port throws a sediment as it matures, and thus requires decanting.

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Port Blend

Port Blend

There are around 40 different grape varieties permitted in the production of Port - however the vast majority of Ports are produced from a blend of 5 grapes - Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Cão.

Touriga Nacional produces small, dark-skinned grapes that produce opaque black wines of great extract and high tannins - it gives grip, body, and structure to the blend.

Touriga Franca has a thinner skin and consequently produces wines lighter in colour and tannins than Touriga Nacional. It contributes fruit, aroma, suppleness and roundness.

Tinta Roriz is the Portuguese name for Tempranillo and its high sugar content and low acidity contribute colour and fruit.

Tinta Barroca which is normally grown at highish altitudes and on north-facing slopes, is prized for producing wines of delicacy, finesse and with smooth, velvety fruit. It brings elegance and sweet, ripe fruit to the final blend.

Finally Tinto Cão produces fine and complex wines, though it is probably the least important of the 5 grapes as its painfully small yields have reduced plantings to almost insignificant levels.

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