Quinta do Noval Vintage 2019 Port

€ 88.00

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterized by its purity of fruit and a fine and delicate quality that is typical of the wines of the property in general but which finds its most remarkable and enduring expression in the Vintage Ports. Equilibrium, harmony, finesse and elegance characterize our great Vintage Ports, which are declared only in great years and only when the wines come up to Noval’s exacting standards.

Noval follows its own path in its approach to Vintage Port. If we believe that we have wines of the quality and personality to join the ranks of the Quinta do Noval Vintage Ports of previous years, we will bottle it and declare it, even if this means declaring several years in a row, and even if it means, as is often the case, bottling only a few hundred cases of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, representing a tiny percentage of the total production of the Quinta.

Of course, in very great years, when there is unanimity among Port producers, and a General Declaration results, Quinta do Noval will declare its wine also, and perhaps with a little more wine than usual. But whatever the year, the standards of selection in the Noval tasting room are extremely rigorous, and even in the more generous years volumes of our Vintage Ports are always extremely small: at the very most, up to 15% of the production of our great vineyard terroir. In the case of 2019, the selection of 2780 cases represents 14% of our production.

2019 was marked by a mild winter and generally dry conditions, with almost no rain from May to the end of August. While in many parts of Europe producers faced heatwaves, and although we enjoyed prolonged sunny weather, summer temperatures in the Douro were fortunately lower than usual this year, making the absence of rain easier to bear for the vines. Moreover, low humidity led to low disease pressure in the vineyards and beautiful healthy grapes.

Harvest started on September 9th for the red varieties. Harvesting conditions were ideal, with moderate temperatures and overall dry weather. A small amount of helpful rain fell on September 21st/22nd and later between October 14th and 17th. Yields were slightly higher than our 10-year average and musts showed great natural acidity and freshness. We finished harvesting on October 18th after 6 weeks of picking. This was a long harvest, but this is not unusual in the Douro, where the diversity of grape varieties, aspects and altitudes results in different picking times for each specific plot. This diversity represents a challenge for the technical team but also an incredible richness, adding complexity and character to our wines at Quinta do Noval. Early tastings revealed some marvelous wines. They display pronounced aromatic intensity of ripe red fruit and remarkable vivacity. The fine quality of the tannins contributes to well-structured Ports with long ageing potential.

The wine is wonderfully ripe, full and exuberant, spicy on the nose, with very fine long tannins and a classic Noval purity and elegance.

Food-Pairing

A delicious digestive, but can also be accompanied by rich old cheeses, dark chocolate or chocolate mousse.

Grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão & Sousão

Grapes are trodden by foot to obtain the must, then during fermentation macerate to obtain the best possible extraction in the lagares, the traditional stone vats from the Quinta. It is matured for 18 months in wooden casks in the air conditioned cellars of the Quinta, at the demarcated region of the Douro Valley before bottling.

Alcoholcontent

19,5%

pH: 3,63