James Suckling reports on the 2017 Vintage Port, which producers are quickly comparing to the legendary 1945 Vintage. Suckling agrees with the producers, but notes that perhaps the more impressive feat is that the 2017 vintage is the first back-to-back vintage declaration for most houses. Various family owned estates have joked that producing two consecutive vintages went against the traditional production standards.
Suckling recently had the privilege of tasting through some of the 2017 Vintage Ports, which included Quinta do Noval… “Their quality is impressive. My top rated ones show incredibly bright and vivid aromas like freshly fermenting grape musts in open fermentation vats before fortification begins. They also have excellent tannin intensity.” Following the tasting, the Quinta do Noval Vintage Port Nacional 2017 received an impressive 99 points.
To read more about the 2017 Vintage and Quinta do Noval, read the full report HERE.
Related Wines
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port
Douro Valley, Portugal
The legend. A small area at the heart of the Quinta do Noval vineyard planted with ungrafted vines and untouched by phylloxera.
Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2017
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.
