Quinta do Noval Vintage Port Nacional 2011
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Vintage Port "Nacional" is a field blend aged for 18 months in wood before release. It comes in with 94.6 grams per liter of residual sugar and, if anything, tastes drier. This is a monumental Nacional that justifies its cult reputation. Still showing rather primary, young fruit, it is laced with herbs and a hint of resin. It is just plain delicious, even while showing some austerity. Fresh, clean and lively, its tension on the finish serves it in good stead, enlivening the wine along the way. The balance is perfect. Elegant but still very concentrated, more than the 2004 also reviewed, it expands in the glass as it airs out, coats the palate nicely and then becomes ever more intense. If the first tastes were all about the fruit, this wound up being about its backbone and firmness, what I typically expect. The tannins are not searing, in a sense--they are hard, not harsh--but make no mistake: it shuts down with a bang and does a fine job of seizing the tongue. It's built for the long haul, of course. Some five days later, it had not changed a lot, but the fruit was fighting back a little harder. After another five days, the fruit became pretty darned delicious. It will eventually win, but you need patience for this Port to come into balance--and show complexity, equally important. Even after ten days open, it still tightened on the finish and showed pure power. It's a beauty.
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James Suckling
This is an amazing young Port: deep and powerful, subtle and refined. Full body, lightly sweet with big chewy tannins that are polished and sexy. Amazingly well-crafted. Lasts for minutes on the finish. Fantastic. The legend lives. Could be better than the perfect 1994 and equal to the 1963. 220 cases produced of this foot-trodden wine from ungrafted vines. Try in 2024.
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Wine & Spirits
The 2011 tastes like the entire Duoro compressed into one mouthful of wine. The tannins seek out every space in the mouth, yammering all the while about schist and sun beeries while the wine itself goes silent, or the brain's attempt to codify the scents of cassis, black cherries, figs and earth shuts down in the face of a perfect beauty, as if listening for the sound at the peak of a meteor shower in the night sky.
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Wine Spectator
Offers powerfully spicy aromas and flavors, with notes of dark chocolate, plum pudding and dark cherry, accented by a firm minerality. The endless finish of bittersweet chocolate and mincemeat shows loads of grip. Best from 2035 through 2055.
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One of the oldest port houses, Quinta do Noval is also arguably the greatest. It is unique among top port houses in that most of the ports are made from estate-grown fruit and, notably, all of the vintage Noval wines are from the single Quinta do Noval vineyard. In addition, it is difficult to elaborate on Quinta do Noval without mentioning Nacional, the legendary port made from a 6 acre parcel of ungrafted vines. When declared, only 200-300 cases of Nacional will be made, and instantly become the most sought after port in the world. Many vintages of Nacional are considered as the finest ports, and some of the finest wines, ever made.
Noval is mentioned in land registries going back to 1715, and has been sold just twice in that time, once in the late 19th century, and to its present owners in 1993. Noval has, however, a reputation for being an innovative, independent producer. Noval’s focus on its vineyard and estate ports distinguishes it, but there are numerous other areas in which it has been a pioneer:
- Noval was the first to introduce stencilled bottles in the 1920s.
- Noval pioneered the concept of Old Tawnies with an indication of age.
- In 1958, Noval was the first to introduce a late-bottled vintage (LBV).
The astonishing terraced vineyards of Noval, perched above the Douro and Pinhao rivers, are an infertile schist, and not soil as much as sheer rock. The elevation of the vineyards goes from just above river level to 1,200 feet, with density at about 2,000 vines per acre, and vines producing on average 30-35 hectoliters per hectare. The tremendous rewards of the work done at the estate over the last fifteen years are visible across the range of Noval ports, and have placed Noval a step ahead of everyone in the Douro.
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F.
The home of Port—perhaps the most internationally acclaimed beverage—the Douro region of Portugal is one of the world’s oldest delimited wine regions, established in 1756. The vineyards of the Douro, set on the slopes surrounding the Douro River (known as the Duero in Spain), are incredibly steep, necessitating the use of terracing and thus, manual vineyard management as well as harvesting. The Douro's best sites, rare outcroppings of Cambrian schist, are reserved for vineyards that yield high quality Port.
While more than 100 indigenous varieties are approved for wine production in the Douro, there are five primary grapes that make up most Port and the region's excellent, though less known, red table wines. Touriga Nacional is the finest of these, prized for its deep color, tannins and floral aromatics. Tinta Roriz (Spain's Tempranillo) adds bright acidity and red fruit flavors. Touriga Franca shows great persistence of fruit and Tinta Barroca helps round out the blend with its supple texture. Tinta Cão, a fine but low-yielding variety, is now rarely planted but still highly valued for its ability to produce excellent, complex wines.
White wines, generally crisp, mineral-driven blends of Arinto, Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina and an assortment of other rare but local varieties, are produced in small quantities but worth noting.
With hot summers and cool, wet winters, the Duoro has a maritime climate.