Vintage Port, Douro ***95 Points- Wine Enthusiast*** ***18.5/20- JancisRobinson.com***

2015 Vintage Port Wine from Quinta do Noval

“I am delighted to announce the declaration of the Quinta do Noval 2015 Vintage Port. As is well known, a Quinta do Noval declaration cannot be categorised according to the traditional distinction between a full declaration and a single quinta declaration, for the simple reason that all our greatest wines are wines from a single quinta, the great vineyard of Quinta do Noval. Whenever we decide to declare a Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, we are clearly saying that this is a great wine that deserves to bear the Quinta do Noval label.

Noval follows its own path in its approach to Vintage Port. If we believe that we have wines of the quality and personality to join the ranks of the Quinta do Noval Ports of previous years, we will bottle it and declare it, even if this means declaring several years in a row, and even if it means, as is often the case, bottling only a few hundred cases of Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, representing a tiny percentage of the total production of the Quinta, in some years less than 3% of our production. In the case of the 2015 where wines of great quality were relatively abundant, the 2,600 cases produced nevertheless represent just 9% of the total production of the legendary vineyard of Quinta do Noval in the heart of the Douro Valley.” (Managing Director of Quinta do Noval, Christian Seely)

NOTES ON THE 2015 HARVEST
The winter was cold and dry. Spring very hot, with five heat waves and heavy rainfall that replenished the water levels in the soil, allowing a good development of the vines and grapes. The summer was very hot and dry. The vines responded well to this hot and dry period thanks to the reserves of water in the soil, and at the end of an August that was cooler than average, the harvest presented itself beautifully.