Quinta do Noval Vintage Port Nacional 2019 (100 JD)
“Pure perfection in Port, the 2019 Vintage Port Nacional is riveting stuff in every sense, and I certainly can’t imagine it being any better. Coming from a single parcel of older vines and a field blend (it’s primarily Touriga Nacional) brought up in older wood, it’s one of those ports that brings incredible intensity, richness, and power while somehow staying perfectly balanced, pure, and light on its feet, with its fruit, alcohol, and structure just flawlessly integrated. It’s also incredibly complex, even at this young stage, offering red, blue, and black fruits as well as sandalwood, Asian spice, dried flowers, iron, black olive, and graphite on the nose. […] While the 2020 is all about power and richness, this is an utterly complex, compelling, insanely good Port that I wish I could pour for every reader. While it offers ample pleasure today (count me in the group that enjoys young Port), I would hide any bottles I might have for at least 7-8 years, and it should have 50, 60, 70 years of longevity? This beauty will unquestionably outlive most of us today.” J.D 2/23
Related Wines
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2019
Douro Valley, Portugal
The word “Nacional” refers to the fact that the vines are Portuguese vines growing in Portuguese soil with no foreign root stock and are therefore “attached to the soil of the Nation.” The survival of the tiny parcel (6 acres) of legendary ungrafted vines is a mystery and the National is a unique and extraordinary phenomenon that does not necessarily follow the same rhythm as the rest of the Quinta do Noval. Nacional is every port lover’s fantasy and this great wine is a source of pride to the people of Portugal and at its best the finest expression of the extraordinary terroir of Quinta do Noval.
Related Producers
Quinta do Noval
Douro Valley, Portugal
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.
