Quinta do Noval: a decade of declarations

The 2020 vintage marks the 10th Port declaration in a row for Quinta do Noval. This emblematic and highly visible estate in the Pinhão Valley has always taken a somewhat idiosyncratic approach to vintage Port.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a decade of Quinta do Noval releases

For example, it was one very few houses to declare the 1931 vintage at a time when there seemed to be no market for the wine. The Noval 1931 has subsequently gained legendary status. Indeed I can vouch for this, having tasted the wine last year and been taken aback by its enduring tannic grip, extraordinary length and pizazz.

Noval continued to do its own thing through the 1970s and 1980s when the quality of the wines from this magnificent property sadly fell somewhat below par. It was rescued by AXA Millésimes in 1993 when Christian Seely took charge and spent the next decade ‘putting things right’ to use his own words.

With money to invest, the vineyard was largely replanted and the winemaking thoroughly overhauled. Continuity was maintained by the technical director, António Agrellos, who retired after 24 years at the end of 2017 to be succeeded by his nephew Carlos.

Estates and terroir

Noval now extends to over 180ha and spills over from the Pinhão Valley to neighbouring Roncão, both tributaries of the Douro. Nicknamed ‘roasted Roncão’ because of the intense heat, Seely points out that these two very different terroirs now contribute to the vintage blend with Roncão having ‘harder schist’ than Pinhão (‘just in case you thought all schist was the same’).

In 2018 Noval bought up Quinta do Passadouro, a contiguous estate in the Pinhão Valley which will continue to produce its own Ports and red wines.

The altitude of the estate now extends from 100m above sea level to 500m. The diversity of grape varieties (mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Sousão and Tinto Cão), exposures and altitudes means that in most years picking will take place over six weeks or more, starting in late August for the white grapes.

In 2020 however the harvest was compressed into just over three weeks as all the different varieties seemed to ripen together which tested the capacity of the winery, mid-pandemic.

Quality and quantity

Looking back over the decade, the 2010s have been remarkable for Port. Shippers were spoilt for choice and some declared an unprecedented three years in a row. Noval has done it differently, declaring a wine every year from the outstanding (and universally declared) 2011 vintage onwards. When challenged, Seely says the wines speak for themselves.

‘Which of these do you think is not worthy of declaration? I wouldn’t have declared if I didn’t think the wine justified it,’ he says. He adds that ‘vintage Port is a maximum of 15% of the total production of Noval’ with quantities varying over the last decade from 6,000 9-litre cases in 2016 to just 700 in 2014. In that year the strictest selection was vital to maintain quality.

The Nacional vineyard

Literally at the heart of the estate is the 1.6ha Nacional vineyard, an extraordinary patch of ungrafted vines that has survived on its own roots, post-phylloxera. The name derives from the fact that the vines are directly rooted in ‘the soil of the nation’. The Nacional vineyard is much less vigorous than the surrounding vineyard with yields about half of that elsewhere on the estate. This makes for wines with extraordinary power and concentration, but also finesse.

The plot has been certified organic since 2013 and is worked manually and ploughed by mule. Production is usually 200-300 cases in a declared year (the 1931 Nacional is now so rare that it is unobtainable).

Noval makes a Nacional wine every year but it only sees light of day if it is truly up to scratch. For example Seeley reports that the 2015 Nacional is ‘very, very tannic and closed’ and may never be released. He calls these bottlings the ‘secret Nacionals’.

So far five Nacional wines have been released in the last decade including 2020. Seely says: ‘There are years when we know straight after treading in lagar that we will be declaring a Nacional Vintage Port – and 2020 was one of these’. He describes it as ‘outstanding from the beginning’ and looking at my note on the wine (below) it is hard to disagree. Half the production is being released now with the rest kept back for future release.

Colheitas

Seely is a convert to colheita Port, wines from a single harvest that are kept in pipe (barrel) to soften and age like a tawny Port prior to bottling. Noval has been laying down colheitas since the 1990s – ‘I wish I had laid down more’ comments Seely. There is speculation that a Nacional Colheita may be among the so-called ‘secret Nacionals’.

The most recent Noval Colheita to be released is the 2009, about a quarter of which was bottled earlier this year with the rest kept back to bottle later.

The decade of wines listed below are a fitting tribute to two generations of the Argellos family who look after the estate and the winemaking. They are also testament to the work done by Seely, who has spent nearly 20 years re-capturing the soul of Noval, steering it back to its rightful place as one of the great terroirs of the Douro. Never one to run with the herd, Quinta do Noval retains its idiosyncratic and individualistic spirit.

See tasting notes and scores for a decade of Quinta do Noval releases

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