Quinta do Noval
Late Bottled Vintage Single Vineyard Port 2016
Douro Valley, Portugal
This wine is a remarkable example of the Noval style. Treated exactly like a Vintage Port with only noble grape varieties that sourced exclusively from estate vineyards, trodden by foot and unfiltered. This expression differs in its extended aging, seeing five years in casks instead of the typical two years for Vintage Ports. Definitely an LBV with a difference, this wine has fine structured tannins, great freshness and purity of fruit. It is delicious to drink today, but will age beautifully in its bottle.
Vineyard
All the grapes come from the Quinta do Noval vineyard, in Pinhão – the heart of the Douro Valley. A blend of these higher quality varieties are planted throughout the vineyard due to the major re-planting project of the early 1990s. At this age, the fruit at the estate is entering the prime of quality.
Farming: These vineyards are farmed sustainably.
Grape Varietes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz.
Winemaking
Grapes were trodden by foot to obtain the must, then during fermentation macerate to obtain the best possible extraction in the “lagares”, the traditional stone vats from the Quinta. The wine matures 5 years in oak casks instead of 2 years for a Classic Vintage. This explains its name, “Late Bottled Vintage”. Longer maturing in casks helps provide a smoother wine and gives it its very approachable style, ready to drink as soon as it is bottled.
Vintage Note
2016 was a year of extremes: a warm winter with high rainfall, at 618 mm twice as much as in an average year. After a wet spring, summer was very hot and dry, with some peaks of heat in August and September. By the end of August, the harvest looked extremely good, in excellent sanitary condition, but ripening began to slow down due to the very hot and dry conditions. Fortunately 17 mm of much needed rain fell on 13th September, and maturation continued in ideal conditions from this point onwards. The main part of the harvest began on 19th September in dry and sunny weather, and the fruit continued to ripen throughout the harvest period. We were able to harvest each plot in ideal conditions as ripening continued. In spite of the unusual and extreme climatic conditions of the year, the end result is of an excellent quality. The Port wines are exceptional, with excellent structure, very intense bright fruit, and aromatically very expressive.
Color
Red
Appellation
Douro Valley, Portugal
Alcohol
19.5%
Suggested Retail Price
$30
Reviews
"Strawberries and herbs"
Wine Advocate - August 15, 2022
"The 2016 Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port is a field blend from typical grapes like Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão and Sousão, aged for five years in casks. This traditional LBV comes with a long cork and 92 grams of sugar. (There was no 2015 released.) Another super LBV from one of the region's best producers of it, this is bursting with flavors leaning to strawberries and herbs. It adds fine concentration and reasonable tannic support. [...] This should age well (they always do) and acquire complexity along the way...." M.S 8/22
"Solid and Delicious"
James Suckling - November 2, 2022
"Aromas of dried fruits and lots of blackberries. Some wet earth with, of course, alcohol. It’s full-bodied, medium sweet with slightly chewy tannins. Shows tension and focus. Really solid and delicious." J.S 9/22
"Spicy, complex, elegant"
Jeb Dunnuck - February 10, 2023
"A more heady, intense effort, the 2016 Late Bottled Vintage Port offers up a deep ruby/purple hue to go with classic Port notes of candied plums, cigar box, incense, orange liqueur, and exotic spices on the nose. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Port with solid underlying structure and solid length on the finish. [...] This is a spicy, complex, elegant LBV to drink over the coming decade." J.D 2/23
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
Douro Reserva
Douro Valley, Portugal
Very powerful and structured, it is outstanding for its finesse, a delicate character typical of the Quinta do Noval style. It is derived from a strict selection of the best batches of the Quinta's various indigenous grape varieties. This wine is delicious when young and ages well in the cellar.
Fine White Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
A white port made with traditional white grape varietals from the Douro Valley. It is a blend of wines aged between 2 and 3 years to create a wine that is fruity, fine, sweet, unctuous, with a good aromatic persistence.
Branco Reserva
Douro Valley, Portugal
An authentic white wine with the ambitious to represent the best white wine produced in the Douro Valley. It is derived from a strict selection of the best batches of the Quinta's various indigenous grape varieties. Rich and structured, it is outstanding for its finesse and intensity
Vinhas da Marka
Douro Valley
Vinhas da Marka is the very first edition of a new exciting project called ‘Terroir Series’. Every edition will focus on one specific terroir that was identified that year as exceptional. A few years ago, Quinta do Noval concluded an agreement with the Agrellos family for the long term lease of the vineyard of Quinta da Marka, which we had identified as having terroir of exceptional potential. This potential was revealed by the outstanding red wines produced in the 2019 vintage. It was so remarkable, that the Noval team has decided to release a very limited volume of that wine. Only 200 bottles was brought into the US.
Fine Ruby Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
This is a deep-colored lively, peppery wine full of fresh fruit flavors it is bottled after three years in cask. An ideal Port for informal drinking.
Tawny 40 Year Old Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
Noval was the first port house to introduce blended tawnies with an indication of average age. Their eldest offering, the Noval Tawny 40 Year Old Port, is a remarkable representation of the quintessence of the Noval Tawny style: a profoundly concentrated and complex old wine, the memory of the house.
Cedro do Noval Branco
Douro Valley, Portugal
Named after the emblematic cedar tree that dominates Quinta do Noval's terrace, Cedro do Noval is an authentic expression of the Douro. It is made at Quinta do Noval using carefully selected grapes 100 % grown on the highest steeply terraced vineyards of Quinta do Noval, in the heart of the Douro Valley, in Northern Portugal.
Touriga Nacional
Douro DOC
Intense and concentrated, with fine tannic structure, Touriga Nacional is distinguished by its delicacy, a characteristic of the Quinta do Noval style. It is the product of a strict selection from the best lots produced by our Quinta in any given year.
Colheita
Douro Valley
Colheita is a Vintage Tawny Port. Wheras Tawnies with an indication of age show the house style, Vintage Tawnies show the personality of the vintage year. Colheita spends its entire life in barrel until the moment of bottling. On the nose they are fresh, powerful and fruit-forward, with balanced acidity. On the palate they have a nutty, oxidized character with a seductively smooth finish.