Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 1966

Quinta do Noval Vintage Port is a single-quinta declaration drawn entirely from the estate's own vineyards in the Douro.

Vintage port is declared only in the years a shipper judges worthy of it, bottled after about two years in cask and then left to mature in glass; unlike a tawny it does not age oxidatively, so almost all of the work happens slowly in bottle. Quinta do Noval is among the small number of houses whose vintage wine is a single-quinta bottling, taken entirely from its own terraced vineyards on the slopes above the Cavadinha, a tributary of the Douro. The grapes pass a strict selection before they reach the lagares, and the blending proportions shift from year to year according to which of the Douro varieties performed best, so there is no fixed recipe. Fermentation is arrested by the addition of grape spirit while a good deal of sugar remains, which fixes both the sweetness and the tannin that carries a vintage port through a very long life.

A long-matured bottle: stand it upright for a day, decant gently off what will be a substantial crust, and drink it the same evening at 16-18°C, with walnuts, a mild blue cheese or nothing at all.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.