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Bonhams to offer ‘last case’ of highly prized Port
Bonhams auction house is to offer what is thought to be one of the last remaining complete cases of Quinta do Noval Nacional 1963 – one of the world’s most highly prized Ports.
The case is a highlight of the auction houses’s Fine & Rare Wine auction which will run online from 26 September to 5 October. It has a pre-sale estimate of £25,000-35,000.
The Nacional Vintage is sold in very small quantities and only made in exceptional years “when the greatness of the wine is indisputable”, Bonhams said. As a result, only 200-300 cases are ever produced in a declared vintage, with the exclusivity boosting the drops as some of the most sought after bottles by collectors and enthusiasts.
Richard Mayson, author of Port and the Douro and a leading authority on fortified wines and the wines of Portugal said it was not not often anyone got to taste, let alone drink, Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port.
“This 1963 vintage is the epitome of vintage Port and even more remarkable due to its stature and rarity,” he said.
He described it as having a “glorious colour, still fresh and with classic floral aromas, it has a bitter-sweet, dark chocolate intensity at its core” and a finish that was “long and lithe.”
“This vintage is still youthful with a wonderful wild side to its personality,” he concluded.
Bonhams senior international director of wine, Richard Harvey MW said he was delighted to be offering such an incredibly rare and sought-after Port, noting it came with “excellent provenance”.
“Our vendor has a background in the wine trade and has exceptional judgement and experience. The Quinta do Noval Nacional 1963 is legendary and a very special wine indeed,” he said.
The sale includes a selection of Vintage Ports from the same year, including complete cases (a dozen bottles) of Taylor and Graham, along with some very rare champagnes from a Cambridge College cellar dating from the 1950s and 1960s, along with more recent vintages of Bollinger, Louis Roederer, Krug and Dom Perignon.