Quinta do Noval
Tawny 20 Year Old Port NV
Douro Valley, Portugal
Noval 20 year old Tawny is a blend of old Ports from different vintages that have matured in oak casks, with an average age of 20 years. Irresistible freshness with all the complexity of age. Harmonious and balanced, fine, elegant and long, with all the aromatic complexity typical of Noval Tawny Ports.
A few important points to make up front that set Noval apart: the wine is 100% estate, and 100% trodden by foot. There are other critical points to making the Noval 20 Year Old so exceptional, but the fact the fruit is of the highest possible quality and handled so gently is at the very core.
VINEYARD
The 20 Year Old Tawny comes 100% from estate-grown grapes, again a vineyard-based approach that is rare in the region. Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Tinta Barroca are the major grape varieties in the blend because these higher quality varieties are what is 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.
WINEMAKING
The grapes are all trodden by foot in the lagares at Quinta do Noval, a traditional, costly and rare approach. The wines used for the blends have an average age of 20 years and were aged in old oak barrels of 640 liters.
TASTING NOTE
The wine displays classic Tawny color, with golden highlights, and an ethereal bouquet, typical of Noval Tawny ports. Elegant, velvety and concentrated on the palate, it has an attractive, complex, and lingering finish.
After the 10 Year Old, it shows increasing characteristics of nuts, dried fruits and spices, as well as increasing complexity.
Color
Red
Appellation
Douro Valley, Portugal
Alcohol
21%
Suggested Retail Price
$100
Reviews
"An exotic tawny"
Wine Spectator - August 8, 2018 "This is a shade darker and richer than its peers, with warm toffee, hazelnut cream, roasted vanilla, cinnamon and walnut husk leading the way, backed by halva, pistachio oil and dried fig details. Lush through the finish, with the walnut hint lingering long enough for all the elements to fall in line. An exotic tawny.” - Wine Spectator
"Excellent structure and drive"
Decanter - January 19, 2021 "A chip off the (40-year-old) block, Quinta do Noval’s 20-year-old has excellent structure and drive. Together with the fresh acidity, heady yet controlled Cognac-like spirit harmoniously buoys its orange peel, dried apricot, honey and marzipan flavours. Saline, café crème notes and a woody walnut timbre lend a balancing savouriness to the long and precise finish."
Reviews
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.
Late Bottled Vintage Single Vineyard Port
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.
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.