226 Port anD the Douro
Quinta do noval nacional
Ungrafted vines are a rarity in europe, having succumbed to phylloxera in the nineteenth
century. although the odd survivor is occasionally found, there is nothing like noval’s
nacional vineyard. it comprises around six thousand vines planted on traditional terraces
either side of the main drive to the house at noval. the name is derived from the fact that the
vines are planted on their own roots (‘attached to the soil of the nation’) without recourse to
american rootstock. Vines are generally replanted on an individual basis when they become
weak from age or disease. the age of the vineyard therefore averages around thirty-five
years, although there are individual vines up to eighty years old. it is therefore a complete
misnomer to describe them as ‘pre-phylloxera vines’, a phrase that appeared on the label
of nacional Port as recently as 1994. the nacional vines are much less vigorous than the
surrounding vineyard and berries tend to be small, yielding around 15 hectolitres per hectare
(compared to an average of 30 to 35 hectolitres per hectare elsewhere on the estate). there
is a relatively high percentage of sousão, which contributes colour to the blend. the grapes
are worked hard with five men treading for five days in a small lagar (capacity no more
than five pipes). the must is fortified when the sugar levels decline to about 8 degrees
Baumé and run off into stainless steel where it spends the winter before being racked into
well-used pipes. over a two-year period, the wine is regularly re-tasted, and if it is not of
a sufficiently high standard it is not declared. christian seely declares that there are some
‘secret nacionals’ that may be released in twenty years, and there is speculation about a
future nacional colheita.
Quinta do noval nacional is one of the most powerfully concentrated of all vintage
Ports with a deep opaque colour when young and an almost overpowering intensity
of liquorice and bitter chocolate fruit. it is not merely confined to generally declared
vintages, a trait established in 1931 when just three shippers had the temerity to declare.
the wine is all the more remarkable for the fact that the vines were only around five
years old at the time. the 1931 nacional is legendary for being the most expensive
bottle of Port ever sold, fetching Us$5,900 (c. £4,000) at the Graycliffe Restaurant in
the Bahamas in 1988. it is such a rarity that christian seely who manages the noval
estate has never tasted it; neither have i!
the 1962, 1963, 1966 and 1970 nacional belong to the days when the estate was
still being well managed and count among the finest vintage Ports that i have tasted:
tight-knit and intensely ripe, with flavours of dark chocolate liquorice and allspice
shrouded in tannin. there was a dip in quality in the 1970s and 1980s. since 1994,
recent vintages have been outstanding with 2003, 2001, 2000, 1997, 1996 and 1994
all declared. noval’s nacional is only available on a strict allocation basis and bottles
rarely come to auction where they always fetch more than any other vintage Port. the
entire declaration amounts to an average of around 250 cases, of which 80 cases are
sold at the time of declaration.
croft tried to emulate nacional in the 1980s by planting an ungrafted vineyard at
Quinta da Roêda, but the vines were attacked by phylloxera and died.