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Quinta do Noval, with Christian Seely

There are many examples of vintage port which excite and enthuse, and their presence will always draw a crowd, whether they be classics such as Taylor's or Fonseca, new kids on the block like Quinta do Vesuvio (OK, not that new, but certainly recently revitalised) or vinous rarities like the Nacional from Quinta do Noval. There are, however, perhaps only a few examples of the Late Bottled Vintage style which could accomplish the same feat. Without a doubt - and I can say that with confidence as I have seen the assembled crowd, albeit a small one, with my own eyes - one such wine that can pull them in is the Noval Late Bottled Vintage. Unfiltered and made from high quality fruit, it is perhaps more of a 'mini-vintage' than a 'late-bottled vintage' in style, and it has long been an insiders' favourite amongst those with a passion for the fortified wines of the Douro. And so when in late 2010 I was invited to a tasting of Noval LBV Ports in the company of AXA's man in Portugal, Christian Seely, I was quick to confirm my attendance. And the reason for this gathering? The release of a brand new wine by the estate, not a Noval but rather a Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Port, a wine of which Christian Seely is quite rightly very proud.

Christian Arrives at Noval

As Christian Seely (pictured right) told us over lunch, he arrived at Quinta do Noval in 1993, and what he found there was certainly less than ideal; the buildings were in a state of dilapidation, and it was clear that he had much work to do, both in the vineyard and also with regard to the winemaking facilities. While he set about doing this he also had his first vintage to deal with, this being 1994, a year which yielded wines which have garnered much praise since their release. One of his first projects was the Late Bottled Vintage cuvée which, up until then, had been a blend of fruit - both bought-in and from Noval's own vineyards - which saw foot-treading but not filtering. Christian clearly had a vision for the Noval LBV, and he set about putting it in place. Although for economic reasons he was forced to continue buying in fruit, as there simply weren't enough vines at Quinta do Noval to operate in complete independence, he paid great attention to fruit quality and bottled the wine unfiltered. The result - perhaps aided by a very favourable vintage - was very well received, and the wine - in Christian's own words - "almost flew out of Noval's cellar doors". As he recounted over lunch, even his own mother purchased 25 cases, and today she remains a reliable source of bottles for tastings, long after Noval's stocks have all been sold. Christian confessed that his slightly tardy arrival at the tasting was a consequence of an emergency rendezvous with his mother on London's Edgware Road, the two having met up so he could receive two bottles of the 1994 Noval LBV from her for the event.

During the ensuing years the quinta saw some necessary restoration and refurbishment as would be expected, and although in subsequent vintages the LBV continued to be sourced from a mix of purchased and home-grown fruit, Quinta do Noval saw extensive replanting which would eventually put an end to this assemblage. Christian unsurprisingly maintains that the bought-in fruit was of good quality, but diplomatically admits that when comparing purchased fruit with Noval's own, "there was a difference in personality between these two sources". So replanting got underway during the 1990s, adding many hectares of Touriga Nacional and other traditional Port varieties to the Noval estate. And by 2004 these vineyard plantings were bearing fruit of sufficient quantity and quality for a Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage cuvée all of its own, without the addition of purchased grapes. And so Christian has a new wine on his hands, the Noval LBV now yielding to the subtly renamed and relabelled Quinta do Noval LBV.

Tasting the Wines

To put this new cuvée in context we tasted through a selection of the Noval LBV wines, beginning with the now increasingly rare Noval LBV 1994 - that's two fewer bottles in Christian's inheritance - through to the 2003, followed up by the Quinta do Noval LBV 2004. The 1994 showed all the sweet floral elegance you might expect from this cuvée; I am certain the great vintage bottlings from this year still have decades before they reach their apogee, but this 'mini-vintage' wine is drinking beautifully now - although there is no rush, I suspect this will hold up well for at least a decade. On a par with this wine was the 2000, which although much more youthful and compact still showed a wealth of potential. The 2003 was perhaps not on the level I expected considering that this was a well-received declared vintage (see my tasting notes on 2003 Vintage Port), as it didn't show the finer definition of earlier vintages, but there was still plenty of richness and substance here. As for the 1996 and 2001 these showed well, although not quite on a par with the 1994 and 2000. Most important of all though, was naturally the 2004 Quinta do Noval LBV, the very focus of this meeting; elegant, poised, defined yet still approachable, this was clearly a step up from the preceding Noval cuvées.

Then over lunch we tasted a few more wines, including a rosé made by Christian's wife at Quinta da Romaneira in 2003, which had a solid, structured style still with a surprising freshness and punch considering first the age of the wine, and secondly the heatwave vintage in question. According to Christian this was achieved by very early picking, both in terms of time of the day (the pickers started out in the cool morning air at 5am) and time of year (this was an early harvest, in August). And in addition this was fruit destined specifically for the rosé in question, whereas many Portuguese rosés are in fact saignée wines, and Christian feels they end up with too much alcohol and too little acidity. Thereafter we moved on to taste a couple of admirable Douro table wines also from Quinta do Noval; it was no surprise that the 2007 Quinta do Noval showed well, as had the 2005 vintage in Jamie Goode's 50 Great Portuguese Wines selection. The Noval table wines are establishing a handsome track record.

It's clear that Christian runs a tight ship at Quinta do Noval, and doesn't suffer any insubordination or dissenting opinion. The Noval way is the Seely way it seems, hence - as Christian joked over lunch - his wife works at Romaneira and not at Noval. Putting such chuckles to one side though, Christian's methods should perhaps be judged on the results obtained, and on the basis of this tasting, both table wines and LBV Port, those results are very admirable indeed. (4/1/11)

Quinta do Noval - Tasting Notes

The following wines were tasted in London in October 2010. I tasted the Ports first, followed by lunch. Nevertheless I have started here with the lunch-time table wines, followed by the array of Late Bottled Vintage Ports. All my notes on the wines of Quinta do Noval, including those below, are collated under my Quinta do Noval profile. Click to locate stockists.

Three table wines tasted with lunch.

Quinta da Romaneira Rosé 2003: A deeply coloured but still fairly vibrant pink here. This has a sweet fruit nose, with rich creamed-candied pink fruit. There is also a little note of coffee bean coming through it. A thankfully dry palate, moderate substance, and a little grip. Decent stuff, certainly drinkable, but rather full-on in style. 14/20 (October 2010)

Cedro do Noval (Vinho Regional Duriense) 2007: Named for the cedar on the property, which appears on the label too. The blend is 30% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca, 10% Tinta Roriz and 30% Syrah. Attractive, with a dark but vibrant rim. Lovely perfumed fruit nose, very fresh style, charcoaly, really appealing dark and crunchy fruit. Good depth and substance on the palate, plenty of nice structure, although rather soft at the edges. Dark and perfumed, crunchy, elegant. Rather soft palate, plentiful layer of fruit, dry backbone of tannin, pillowy substance with a tannic backbone and a little drop of acidity at the very front. An appealing flavour profile here. Overall this is attractive and modern, the main issues being that it finishes a little soft and short. It's also a little warm. Lots of appeal though. 15.5/20 (October 2010)

Quinta do Noval (Douro) 2007: A blend of 50% Touriga Nacional, 40% Touriga Franca and 10% Tinto Cão, this wine is sourced from some of the same vineyards as Quinta do Noval Vintage Ports. This is dark, spicy and intense, although it has some tightly reined in and reserved fruit. Alongside there are notes of charcoal, bonfire and smouldering wood. It is sweet, slightly nutty, and certainly ripe, with a dried-fruit character. A good, supple but fleshy character to it. There is rather more substance here than in Cedro, and better definition too, the suppleness coming with a firm, central backbone too. A fine effort, but with plenty of nutty fruit substance too. And in the finish, a rolling presence of fruit with a grippy, tannic layer. Very good. 16.5+/20 (October 2010)

A selection of past vintages of the Noval Unfiltered LBV, from 1994 to 2003.

Noval Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered Port 1994: An elegant, maturing hue here. Fine spiced sandalwood on the nose, perfumed, delicately appealing, rather floral too. There is certainly enough here to keep you coming back for more. Sweet, open, certainly ripe and yet there is great freshness here too, giving it a crunchy feel. And also a warm, honeyed layer to it. Finely textured on entry, rather polished in fact, with an attractive seam of soft tannin underneath the gently honed fruit. There is even still a little bite to it especially in the finish. For an LBV I find this expressive, exotically complex, and overall very good. 16.5/20 (October 2010)

Noval Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered Port 1996: This vintage seems so much more dense and compact on the nose than the 1994, and it has a hint of smoky, slightly burnt rubber to it as well. Supple, sweet, slightly crunchy and perfumed in a lightly sugary way. Rather more viscous than the previous wine on entry. The tannins come through in the midpalate though, where there is still a little spirity kick too. Good, sappy-supple style in the finish, but lots of structure, including a good acid backbone. Whereas the 1994 is just about ready, this really needs more time yet. 16+/20 (October 2010)

Noval Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered Port 2000: A fresh yet still slightly glossy hue here. This has a compact, animalistic, gamey core on the nose, and it shows a painfully youthful presence of spirit as well. Rather supple and nicely composed on entry though, sweet and still showing a little dry woodiness at the edges, but with no shortage of substance. Rich, compact, more than that supple opening suggests, with texture and grip aplenty. And reassuringly still with a lifted suggestion, the nascent perfume of future maturity perhaps. Lovely potential but this needs another 5-10 years I think. 16.5+/20 (October 2010)

Noval Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered Port 2001: Finely defined and linear fruit character on the nose, fresh and yet dense too, with concentrated black fruits still with a little sweet, pureed suggestion of youth. Alongside there is a nicely spiced wood character, with touches of tobacco leaf here and there. Nicely polished at the start, with a rather charming, accessible, soft and pillowy start to it which hides the tannins beneath rather well, until the midpalate at least. Bright and a little violetty. There is a darkness brooding beneath but on the palate the lifted and perfumed side wins out, and overall this is very pleasant now and will drink well before the 2000 I am sure. It does need another 5 or so years yet though. 16+/20 (October 2010)

Noval Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered Port 2003: A dark and glossy wine, and one that is still awkwardly adolescent on the nose. We have sweet and heady roasted meats, cloves and cinnamon swirled with honey. A fine sweetness on entry, then it broadens out considerably through the middle, with plenty of spirity and tannic bite underneath but perhaps less acidity than some other wines. But not an absence of acidity, not at all. I think from the texture on the palate at present this will soften into a sweet, slightly more chewy style than some other vintages, but it will still have backbone and give pleasure. 15.5+/20 (October 2010)

The newest Noval release, an LBV purely from Quinta do Noval fruit.

Quinta do Noval Late Bottled Vintage Unfiltered Port 2004: A hugely appealing nose here, very open and elegantly perfumed, although there is still a layer of sandalwood beneath the fruit which has a dark and seasoned character, with elements of bonfire, charred wood, but over it all sweet perfumed fruit. For such a young port it has a very appealing, compact, linear definition on the palate, holding up its skirt sides through into the midpalate where it then relaxes showing some tannin and spirit. But it is very well composed, showing good kick but lots of well-judged fruit as well. Delicious; wait for those oak characteristics to resolve, by which time I hope this will be ready to drink. Polished. Certainly some breed here. Very fine. 17+/20 (October 2010)