Nacional 2019 Quinta do Noval

Professionele reviews

Robert Parker (99)

The 2019 Vintage Port Nacional is a field blend, mostly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Sousão and Tinta Roriz, aged for 18 months in old wood. It was bottled May 4, 2021, with 100 grams of residual sugar and 19.4% alcohol. This opened rather differently than the regular Noval Port this report, showing more open and expressive fruit, more cherries and even more power as they both aired out. The aromatics are excellent here too, but more fruit driven. When I came back to both some two days later, this brilliant and graceful Nacional made the wonderful regular Noval seem clumsy. It's the difference in styles, really, and reasonable minds might differ in preference, but this Nacional has more precision and more finesse. It is brighter and laser-like focused with an expression of fruit that seems so pure that you can almost think they used a spoon to fill the bottle after just crushing the grapes. The regular Noval, by contrast, seems rounder, more full-bodied and richer, albeit less defined.

BOW (9)

Jancis Robinson (19.50)

Full bottle 1,354 g. Small vineyard of ungrafted vines within the Noval estate. A blend of Touriga Francesa, Tinto Cão, Touriga Nacional, Sousão and Tinta Roriz. Grapes are trodden by foot to obtain the must, then during fermentation macerate to obtain the best possible extraction in the lagares. Aged 18 months in wood. RS 100 g/l.
Black to the rim – there is virtually no rim! Aroma is completely different from the Quinta do Noval 2019. This is more open, with blueberry and vanilla. On the palate, the tannins are firmer and offer more resistance but still smoothed in texture. There's a dark, savoury, almost charry quality on the palate but it's more texture than flavour. Outstanding length like a long plateau of deep consistency which will need time to take on a more specific shape. Sip slowly. (JH)