Quinta do Noval
Nacional Vintage Port 2023
Porto
The Nacional parcel at Quinta do Noval is a rare treasure, with ungrafted vines untouched by phylloxera. The word “Nacional” refers to the fact that the vines are Portuguese growing in Portuguese soil with no foreign root stock, and are therefore “attached to the soil of the Nation.” The Nacional often follows its own path, sometimes being made in years when Noval does not declare a Vintage Port, or vice versa. When both are produced, the wines remain profoundly distinct from one another, each a unique expression of the vineyard. This is a powerful, structured wine with remarkable purity. It offers aromas of sweet dark fruits, savory spices, mint, and licorice. The palate is rich, opulent, and fresh, with concentrated blackberry fruit, intense tannins, and impressive depth and clarity.
VINEYARD
The grapes for this wine come ungrafted vines on schist-based vineyards planted between 300-1,600 feet above sea level in the heart of the Douro Valley. Following a major re-planting in the early 1990s, the estate's vineyards now produce fruit at their prime. This field blend includes Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Tinta Roriz.
WINEMAKING
The grapes are trodden by foot and fermented in the traditional lagares of the Quinta. After primary fermentation in stainless steel, halted by the addition of brandy around 85 g/L residual sugar, the port is aged for 18 months in old, 25 hL wooden casks until the moment of bottling.
VINTAGE
The 2023 Douro vintage benefited from abundant rainfall and moderate temperatures, leading to good soil moisture and ideal ripening conditions. While some regions experienced weather instability during harvest, the overall vintage was of high quality, with good ripeness, acidity, and phenolic development. Despite rain during the harvest, producers were pleased with the quality. Volumes varied across regions, with some experiencing lower yields due to harvest challenges.
TASTING NOTE
This is a powerful, structured wine with remarkable purity. It offers aromas of sweet dark fruits, savory spices, mint, and licorice. The palate is rich and fresh, with concentrated blackberry fruit, intense tannins, and impressive depth and clarity.
FOOD PAIRING
Foie gras, chocolate truffles
Color
Red
Blend %
0% Touriga Nacional, 0% Touriga Franca, 0% Tinta Roriz, 0% Tinta Cao, 0% Sousão
Appellation
Porto
Alcohol
19.5%
Suggested Retail Price
$1493
Reviews
Vinous - July 1, 2025 "It has a very intense bouquet with black fruit, a light hint of liquorice (less so than in other vintages), camphor and a brush of peony. The palate shows exquisite balance and poise, remaining fresh with a fine bead of acidity. Elegant in style like the regular Noval, it is lightly spiced with bouquet garni, fennel and white pepper that lingers in the mouth. Very persistent, there is something audacious yet calm about this latest iteration of Naçional."
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.
