Wine Advisor
Quinta do Noval, Vintage Port 2013
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Mark Squires
The 2013 Vintage Port is a blend of 20% Touriga Nacional; 10% Tinta Roriz and 70% old vines (of which Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz predominated, the winery noted), and it was aged for 18 months in wood. It comes in at 94 grams per liter of residual sugar. This 2013 completes Noval's unusual trilogy of declared Vintage Ports in 2011-2013. The quality justifies the declarations. Showing more concentration than the fresh 2012, also reviewed, this is pointed, powerful and intense, with serious grip on the finish. The initial impression of lushness fades quickly, because this is all about the power just now. You shouldn't even think of approaching it now. This will need a consumer with a cellar and some patience. That patience should be rewarded in time. All that said, by the end of the week, after some six days open, it actually started becoming more approachable. It wasn't quite as intense as the 2011 or as open as the 2012. Falling in the middle, it will certainly need time to come into full balance and become more expressive. It will reward your patience.
Reviewed by: Mark Squires
The 2013 Vintage Port is part of our mini-vertical this issue. Still tight, intense and showing plenty of power to go with its finesse, this evolves beautifully with air. The firmness on the finish here is impressive, giving this a chance to continue developing beautifully. It is not as expressive as the 2012—it is a bit more backward—but it is a more serious wine in many ways. I'm still a believer in this, although it certainly seems a step behind the biggest winners in the mini-vertical. This has some questions to answer in the cellar, but I think they will be answered to the satisfaction of most.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2013 Vintage Port from Noval is a little more seductive on the nose compared to the 2014, blackberry and raspberry, very floral and still not unlike a fortified Margaux, which is no bad thing. The palate is really wonderful with fine but firm tannins, plenty of freshness, notes of allspice and white pepper filtering through the layers of black fruit yet with a sense of weightlessness on the finish. This 2013 maybe pulls ahead of the succeeding two vintages in time. Tasted at the Quinta do Noval tasting at Spring restaurant in London.
About the Producer
Quinta do Noval is one of the oldest and leading wineries producing Port wine. Among the top port producers, Bird Park is even more distinguished by the fact that its grapes are picked from a single vineyard. Notably, the winery is known for producing Portugal’s best port wine, “Nacional”, a blend from a single vineyard of old vines in the domestic Touriga Nacional. Likewise, the winery also produces high-quality dry red wines from Portugal, the most anticipated wines from the Douro region, showing unparalleled depth and concentration, as well as rich fruit and spice. trait. "Douro" means gold and gold in Portuguese, so the Douro River is also called the Golden River Valley. The Bird Park is located in Pinhao Village, the most central part of the Douro River region. The winery now has about 247 acres of vineyards. The Bird Park was created in 1715, originally owned and operated by the Rebello Valente family for over a century, and passed on to Viscount Vilar D'Allen by marriage in the early 19th century , a man with a passion for wild dances. In the 1880s, due to phylloxera damage, like other local wineries, Bird Garden was also for sale. In 1894, it was sold to Antonio Jose da Silva, a famous local businessman, who replanted the grape The estate was reborn, and his son-in-law, Luiz Vasconcelos Porto, took over the management and has been managing the winery for nearly 30 years. Louis vigorously carried out reforms, widening the width of the terraces, increasing the light and the convenience of field operations, which is a great reform even by today's technical standards, and promoted the winery with the help of Cambridge, Oxford and other clubs to enhance the reputation of the winery. Bird Garden's reputation continued to improve, and the 1931 vintage was an iconic one. Due to the world economic downturn at the time, orders for Port wine fell sharply. During the year, only three wine merchants continued to operate. Bird Garden was the The only Portuguese producer at the time with continuous exports to the Anglo-American market.
