Noval launches ‘exceptional’ vintage Ports from 2020 harvest

Quinta do Noval has launched a set of ‘exceptional’ vintage Ports from the 2020 harvest – the property’s tenth consecutive declaration since the much-celebrated 2011 release.

During a conversion with the drinks business on Tuesday, Quinta do Noval managing director Christian Seely described the 2020 harvest as “wonderful” and “a great vintage year”, adding that “there was no thought of hesitation” when it came to declaring a classic vintage from the estate.

Confirming that the property would be releasing a 2020 from Quinta do Noval and its prized plot called Nacional – which is planted with a mix of native, ungrafted vines – he also said that both expressions were “really lovely”, with “a particular character”, before recalling that there were “unusual” aspects to the vintage.

This resulted from the hot and dry summertime conditions; a fast and early harvest, as well as the lack of Touriga Francesa in the blends – a grape that’s normally resistant to heat, but suffered in 2020, and was therefore almost entirely excluded from the Ports.

This was not to the detriment to the quality of the wines, however, with Seely stressing that it was a “fantastic year” for other key Port grapes, above all Touriga Nacional, and commented that all the aforementioned factors led to a vintage expression that was “extremely rich and powerful, voluminous, sensual, with great density,” along with a tannic structure that is “immense, but with remarkable finesse”.

In short, he said that the Noval vintage Port was “unusually powerful”, and remarked that he knew “from the beginning that the Nacional was outstanding”.

With the 2020s marking the tenth vintage in a row from Quinta do Noval, this latest release is in keeping with the property’s strategy of declaring a ‘classic’ vintage Port from every harvest, but vary the quantities produced – in contrast to other producers who tend to release this top expression of Port on average three times a decade in more consistent quantities.

Commenting on this approach to db this week, Seely said, “If in any given year, we have a wine of sufficient quality to be bottled as Quinta do Noval vintage port, even if the quantity is extremely small, which sometimes it is, then it is desirable thing to do, because if we don’t, it will never exist.”

Continuing he said, “Since 2011 we have made a declaration every single year, because there has been a small or considerable quantity of wine that not only deserves to be bottled as Quinta do Noval, but is irresistible – and when I taste them, I’ve very glad they exist.”

In terms of how much the volumes made vary, he said in some years the property will make less than a thousand cases of vintage Port – with the 2014 release comprising just 741 cases, which was the smallest ever – when in others it is possible to make close to 5,000 cases.

Importantly, Seely also told db that his policy of making a vintage Port as often as possible had paid off.

“Every single one of these declarations has sold out immediately on release; aside from what we keep back, the Ports sell out to distributors who sell them on – every single one has been a solid commercial success,” he said.