2013 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port

Quinta do Noval Breaks Ranks: Spectator’s Top 12 of the Century

If the legendary Port house, Quinta do Noval, hadn’t had the courage to march to the beat of its own drum, one of the greatest wines of the 20th century might never have been made. While the majority of Port producers didn’t declare the 1931 vintage, Quinta do Noval released what would become one of the most legendary Vintage Ports of all time.

Faced with a worldwide Depression and an abundant 1927 vintage stuck in the cellars of the Douro Valley’s Port houses, most producers couldn’t bring themselves to declare 1931 as a vintage Port year. Quinta do Noval, focused solely on the superb quality of the wine in cask, forged ahead. Those of us lucky enough to have tasted the monumental Quinta do Noval 1931 — one of Wine Spectator’s 12 greatest wines of the century — we’ve learned never to doubt a vintage declaration from Noval.

In 2013, Quinta do Noval once again broke ranks with its neighbors … rolling back the clock 80 years to the release of the 1931.

Managing Director Christian Seely explained the decision: “If we consider that a year has produced a great wine, if the quality is there, then we declare — regardless of whether or not there are significant stocks in cellars or whether the market is hot or cold. We learned from the 1931. As a result, we have an almost eccentric compulsion, driven by history and conviction — and simply doing what the wine tells us to do.”

In 2013, Seely, recognizing the challenges of the harvest to come, made one of the most unorthodox decisions in the history of Oporto’s most revered house. Just 3% of the harvest was earmarked for the 2013 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port. Not surprisingly, one more time, Noval set the bar by which all other 2013 Ports would be measured.

Jet black. Big, voluptuous, and ultra-plush aromatically, tinged with tobacco and graphite. Fabulously concentrated and filled with a lavish mix of black cherry preserves, plum, and dried red fruits, splashed with sweetest crème de cassis, finishing with superb length and cool-vintage cut.

95 points from Wine Spectator. $110 per bottle on release. Just $75 today — the best price in America — ONLY on WineAccess.

• ABV 19.50%
• Enjoy right away
• % Port Blend