2020 Quinta do Noval, Port, Portugal

2020 Quinta do Noval, Port, Portugal

Product: 20208117018
 
2020 Quinta do Noval, Port, Portugal

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Description

The 2020 Vintage Port from Noval, which was picked from 1 to 22 September, has a residual sugar of 115g/l. It is forward and lively on the nose with macerated black cherries, cassis, raisin and pressed iris flower. Fine delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with an attractive peppery entry. Lively, good depth and density, this is very focused with impressive structure behind it. Yet there is no heaviness and there is just the right amount of salinity to keep it on its toes on the finish. Exquisite. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London.

Drink 2034-2075

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (June 2022)

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Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous97/100

The 2020 Vintage Port from Noval, which was picked from 1 to 22 September, has a residual sugar of 115g/l. It is forward and lively on the nose with macerated black cherries, cassis, raisin and pressed iris flower. Fine delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with an attractive peppery entry. Lively, good depth and density, this is very focused with impressive structure behind it. Yet there is no heaviness and there is just the right amount of salinity to keep it on its toes on the finish. Exquisite. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London.

Drink 2034-2075

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (June 2022)

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Wine Advocate92/100

The 2020 Vintage Port is a field blend aged for 18 months in old wood vats. It was bottled April 2, 2022, and has 115 grams of residual sugar. There is almost no Touriga Franca in the blend this year, the winery saying the heat in 2020 damaged the grapes. The rest works well, but it's a bit different. This is sexier and softer than the typical Noval, utterly delicious, sweeter and ripe. The tannic backbone is far less impressive, but there is some. As always, the color is dramatic, a dark purple. This probably won't be the Noval with the highest upside or the longest life, but it will certainly be one of the ones that is hardest to resist on the younger side. For the moment, let's start here. You can dive in early on this. If it has more potential, it will need to show that in the cellar.

Drink 2026-2060

Mark Squires, Wine Advocate (Augut 2022)

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James Suckling95/100

Lots of pure fruit with blackberries and violets. Full-bodied with firm and creamy tannins, yet plenty of grip. Long and intense. Lovely balance. Stone and crushed fruit at the end. Small production.

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (June 2022)

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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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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.