Quinta do Noval
Douro Reserva 2020
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.
Vintage
2020 was marked by two distinct periods. First during winter and up to the end of May, the high rainfall replenished the soil’s water reserves. However, the humidity led to some downy mildew attacks that we successfully controlled. Then from June onwards, very hot and dry conditions resulted in low volumes of wines that show great quality and character.
The red wine harvest started on September 1st and ended on September 22nd. Despite the challenging circumstances and a smaller crop than forecasted, both reds and Ports are incredibly concentrated, well-structured and attractive.
As a consequence of the viticultural year, the red wines have high alcohol levels, balanced by the lovely intensity of the ripe fruit. Touriga Nacional stood out in 2020, making excellent wines that are velvety and floral. Tinto Cão is another variety that excelled: delicate yet drought resistant, it played an important role in the blends.
In the end, the resilience and effort of our team during vintage 2020 were rewarded by wonderful wines with great potential, among the best ever made at the Quinta.
Tasting Notes
This wine is the result of the most rigorous selection of grapes from different premium oldest vines plots throughout the property. The wine is characterised by its intense fruit, remarkable volume and structure followed by a long and fruity finish. It is recognisable by the extraordinary complexity that the Touriga Nacional and field blend old vines provide when together. This wine will improve greatly after some years in the cellar but it can also be enjoyed young where it presents all its exuberance.
Carlos Agrellos, Technical Director
Vinification
60% Touriga Nacional, 40% field blend from Quinta do Noval’s vineyard. This wine is fermented in stainless steel vats for a period of 8 days, where it then undergoes malolactic fermentation, and some malolactic fermentation is also completed in oak barrels. The wine is aged in French oak barrels of 225 liters for 12 months, with 40% in new barrels and 60% from barrels of one vintage.
Reviews
"Earl grey tea"
Wine Spectator - November 3, 2023
"Showing an up-front sense of restraint, this elegant red also has a generous core of grilled black plum, warm fig, Earl Grey tea leaf and sandalwood aromas and flavors that reveal themselves slowly on the palate. Fine, chalky tannins lend definition and focus to the rich flavor range, while hints of char-tinged smoke linger on the finish. Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca." -A.N 10/23
Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
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.