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Quinta do Noval - Vintage Nacional 2004
Estate
One of the oldest port houses, Quinta do Noval is also arguably the greates. It is unique among top port houses in that most of its ports are made from estate-grown fruit and, notably, all of the vintage Noval wines are from the single Quinta do Noval vineyard. And it is difficult to discuss Noval with mentioning Nacional, the legendary vintage port made from a 6 acre parcel of ungrafted vines, and the most collectible and sought after port in the world. In the early 1990s, Noval changed ownership for only the second time in its three-hundred year history and began a massive program of improvements while re-committing to the traditional, and best, methods of port production.
Vintage
The 2004 vintage was not generally declared in the Douro Valley yet Noval, always independent minded, produced and released a small amount of Vintage Port 2004 because of the exceptional quality. Quinta do Noval also produced, but did not released, a Nacional 2004. From the start Noval believed that their Nacional 2004 lives up to the extraordinary standard required to release a Nacional. Given the general vintage circumstances, they chose to hold back this Nacional. Now, after 10 years in the cellar, they are releasing "the secret Nacional"
Wine
Noval's vineyards were devastaded by phylloxera in the 1880s and 1890s. The owner replanted over many years, and decided in 1925 to replant a tiny parcel of the vineyard with ungrafted vines. The Nacional name comes from this direct connection of the ungrafted vines to the soil of Portugal.
Vinification
Following harvest, the grapes were trodden by foot and fermented in the traditional stone "lagares" of the Quinta, with temperature control at 28 degrees fahrenheit, where a disciplined and intense treading is fundamental for a good final result. The wine is aged for 18 months in old oak barrels of 640 liters or larger.
