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Wine Description
The Story
As always this 100% single-quinta wine is drawn from Noval’s own vines. There are three core parcels, all near the winery—the terraces directly surrounding the winery in Pinhão, the vines in the Roncão Valley and a parcel overlooking the Douro River. Each year, the blending proportions for the Vintage Port will vary depending on the vagaries of the vineyard.
THE SUPREME EXPRESSION OF THE TERROIR OF QUINTA DO NOVAL
Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is characterised by its purity of fruit and a fine, 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 characterise our great Vintage Ports, which are declared only when we are certain that the year has produced a blend, however small, that is worthy of bearing the name of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port.
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, less than 20% of the production of our great vineyard terroir.
Wine Information
QUINTA DO NOVAL VINTAGE 2004
At Noval the bud burst occurred mid-March followed by a quick flowering in the end of May due to high temperatures and lack of precipitation. The beginning of maturation occurred early July, still without any precipitation and with high temperatures.
The maturation was marked by an initial of very hot and dry weather that preceded August 15th. It was then slowed by cooler temperatures and rain in the second half of August. After this period, with a very hot September and again with the help of two days of rain, maturation exploded in the second half of the month to reach very high degrees in sugar content well above 20º!
The harvest took place on September 20th until October 20th in glorious sun, with the exception of two days of rain towards the end. In general terms, the health conditions of the vintage were excellent which helped the essential sorting of the grapes.
“Powerful and still tannic. Eucalyptus and cedar on the nose, resinous, very attractive. Powerful but fresh en bouche, energetic. Spicy, black pepper and liquorice, violets. Great promise for the future.”
António Agrellos, Technical Director - May 2013
