2016 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port

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. Noval has 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: 1st to introduce blended tawnies with an indication of average age, introduced the first late-bottled vintage port, first major port house to age, blend and store all its wines at its Quinta. This is one of the most historic and ground breaking estates in Portugal.

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. Even then, the wines selected for the Quinta do Noval Vintage Port blend represent only a small proportion of our total production.

Tasting notes: In spite of the unusual and extreme climatic conditions of the year, the end result is of outstanding quality. The wines are balanced and fresh, with excellent structure, very intense bright fruit and aromatically very expressive.