2011 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port

[Gerard Portlover]

Hello Fellow Port Lovers. Looking for some info on what is turning out to be one of the most highly rated and expensive bottles of Vintage Port that I have noticed. I took the jump some 18 months ago, and purchased 2 bottles of this highly recommended Vintage Ports and would love to hear from members if they had the opportunity to taste this, what they thought of it, such as comparing it to other Vintage Ports, keeping it for a special occasion or just holding onto it for an investment. I paid around $900 per bottle and now there are only 2 bottles available on Winesearch and they are asking $2000 per bottle, retail. Is this liquid gold??? A sort of Fountain of Youth?? I've seen it written that the 2011 Vintage Ports are considered the best year for Vintage Port in the last 20 years. I picked up 23 bottles of various 2011 Vintage Ports and would also welcome your input as to what your suggestions would be for years stored before opening and enjoying. I've tasted Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, Quinta do Vesuvio, Dow and love them all. Their color, viscosity, sweetness, strength and length of flavor on your tastebuds. I would also recommend the 2009 Pocas Vintage Port as it tastes delicious and doesn't dent your wallet as some others here do. I am not a hard liquor drinker, but I am completely over the hill when it comes to Vintage Port. Not a fan of Tawnys though. Thank You and Cheers, Gerard

[Jasper A.]

Hello and welcome.
I have tasted a great number of 2011 vintage port, but not the Noval Nacional. You bought the best 2011 out there.
2011 was a great year, so buying various 2011 vintage port is a great choise. The Fonseca 2011 is my personal favorite.
Cellar them well and don't open them for the next 15-20 years would be my suggestion.

Hello Fellow Port Lovers. Looking for some info on what is turning out to be one of the most highly rated and expensive bottles of Vintage Port that I have noticed. I took the jump some 18 months ago, and purchased 2 bottles of this highly recommended Vintage Ports and would love to hear from members if they had the opportunity to taste this, what they thought of it, such as comparing it to other Vintage Ports, keeping it for a special occasion or just holding onto it for an investment. I paid around $900 per bottle and now there are only 2 bottles available on Winesearch and they are asking $2000 per bottle, retail. Is this liquid gold??? A sort of Fountain of Youth?? I've seen it written that the 2011 Vintage Ports are considered the best year for Vintage Port in the last 20 years. I picked up 23 bottles of various 2011 Vintage Ports and would also welcome your input as to what your suggestions would be for years stored before opening and enjoying. I've tasted Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, Quinta do Vesuvio, Dow and love them all. Their color, viscosity, sweetness, strength and length of flavor on your tastebuds. I would also recommend the 2009 Pocas Vintage Port as it tastes delicious and doesn't dent your wallet as some others here do. I am not a hard liquor drinker, but I am completely over the hill when it comes to Vintage Port. Not a fan of Tawnys though. Thank You and Cheers, Gerard

[Gerard Portlover]

WOW. That was a Super Fast reply. Thank You Jasper. I'd love to hear some of your favorite vintages, as I am just familiar with what has been written from Roy and Robert Parker, the ratings etc. Vintage Port is expensive, yet there are many lesser expensive bottled vintages that are wonderful also. Such as the Pocas 2009 I spoke of. About $60-$70 a bottle. I also started a thread concerning a suggestion of additionally sealing bottles that are intended to be stored for a few years. I just read about a member who had a 77 Taylor become spoiled because of a cork failure. I thought of dipping the bottle tops in a product of liquid plastic/rubber as a means to additionally protect the wine. Home Depot sells it and it's called Plastic Dip. Just lower the bottle into it and remove and a protective seal would additionally encapsulate the cork, thus preventing seepage and spoilage. I'm going to try it out today and post my opinion of the results here. A cheap way to protect expensive wine. Thank You for your reply and look forward to your suggestions, Gerard

[Andy Velebil]

Nacional has a lot of legend behind it. Normally, it's a stellar VP and thus the price is quite a bit higher than most other VP's. Is it the best, not always, but it's got legend. I've had the 2011 several times and it's in the top of the class, along with a couple others. As for the high price, it was around $500 on release and has gone up a little since. Keep in mind $2,000 is WAY out of line and just some retailer trying to make a buck. Most likely it will sit there for years as no one in their right mind, unless really desperate, will pay that.

[Gerard Portlover]

Hi Andy, On Winesearch, there is a NYC retailer I was going to originally buy it from, and I did. The next day, I called and asked if the Beautiful Box was with it, and he said no. His distributor never sent him it. PS, I cancelled the order. I just looked at what I paid for the 2 bottles. 1 bottle from The Wine Country cost $559 and I can't find the other receipt. Can you suggest some of your favorite VP's, as I am always interested in VP that is more sanely priced. Thanks for your reply, Gerard

[Andy Velebil]

Hi Andy, On Winesearch, there is a NYC retailer I was going to originally buy it from, and I did. The next day, I called and asked if the Beautiful Box was with it, and he said no. His distributor never sent him it. PS, I cancelled the order. I just looked at what I paid for the 2 bottles. 1 bottle from The Wine Country cost $559 and I can't find the other receipt. Can you suggest some of your favorite VP's, as I am always interested in VP that is more sanely priced. Thanks for your reply, Gerard

I've sent you an email.

There are plenty of 2011 to chose from, as it was quite a stellar year for VP. Dow's, Graham's, the regular Noval, Taylor's, Fonseca, Taylor's Vargella Vinha Velha to name a handful.

[Moses Botbol]

I could've sworn that a local retailer had '11 Nacional on pre-buy @ $400 and they sold all they got (wasn't many). I was unable to get in fast enough and they were unable to get more.

[Bradley Bogdan]

I could've sworn that a local retailer had '11 Nacional on pre-buy @ $400 and they sold all they got (wasn't many). I was unable to get in fast enough and they were unable to get more.

Wow


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalkz. U

[Al B.]

In the UK the Nacional was being sold on release by Berry Brothers for just under £400 before tax and duty - around £485 delivered. At the exchange rate at the time (June 2013) that converts to about $725. Any purchases below that price were pretty sharp and a decent bargain for what I believe will be the best wine from the vintage in 50 years time.

If you're looking for something to drink today that will give you a good idea of what the Nacional 2011 will taste like when it is mature, try to find a bottle of Fonseca 1970. This is a great wine that is really firing on all cylinders at the moment and is a wonderful example of classic mature vintage port. You might find that you don't enjoy it as much as you do the 2011s, in which case what you are looking for is that huge dose of fruit and sweetness that makes young vintage port so drinkable. Once we know which you prefer we can offer you some tailored suggestions as to what we like and would suggest you might want to try.

[Tom Archer]

At the official blind tasting of the 2011 vintage, with over 50 vintage ports presented, Graham's stone terraces was offered, and was very well received, but neither VVV nor Nacional was present, although the regular Taylor and Noval were.

The lack of confidence to present their wares by these 'super cuvees' did not give me the confidence to buy..

[Roy Hersh]

Tom,

I was there too, but that is clearly not the reason these two VP's were not presented at that big tasting. Come on, you know better.

[Roy Hersh]

Alex,

Why do you feel the 2011 will best the 1994 Nacional in years to come?

[Al B.]

Alex,

Why do you feel the 2011 will best the 1994 Nacional in years to come?

I'm not sure that I do, that's a question I'd like to come back to in 20 years. I certainly think the 2011 Nacional is the best port from the 2011 vintage. It has perfect balance, huge amounts of fruit, punishing tannins and a powerful but ripe acidic core. And the finish lasts for minutes. I was very, very impressed by this port.

Sadly, I didn't get the chance to taste the 1994 Nacional on release so I can't compare the two. I do like the 1994 Nacional but right now I feel that it is only showing its potential and not drinking as well as it will in another 30 years.

[Roy Hersh]

Great answer. I left for PT two days after your response and this is my first time seeing it. While I thought the 2011 Nacional was incredible, I did prefer a handful of Ports over it upon release. That's what is always great about having so many varied opinions here. The new guys reading have a plethora of choice when it comes to seeing how their own palates align. I bet our own top 10 list is likely nearly identical with the producers, even if the order is skewed a bit.

It will be interesting to see how the 1994 Nacional stacks up against the 2011 version. Both are wonderful. The 1994 has been the most consistent performer of all Nacional's for me. Then again only one bad bottle of 1967 and maybe two from 1963. I have seen 1994 Nacional under-perform and badly, last year at our 1994 tasting here in WA. Half a year later in an even larger 1994 horizontal, the "group" rated it tops in the class. In that "group" I was one of the few dissenters. While excellent, it also was not a GREAT showing and I believe that since it was in the very last flight, after 30 other bottles the same day, (Richard Mayson) went around telling others that the Nacional had to be in this final flight, so while it stood leagues above the others in it, it was because the flight was only "good" overall and it really shine comparatively. However, while a huge fan of the wine, I did not find it showing as well as I've seen in some past renditions and do think it was a bit "reticent" if not in a bit of a closed phase. Will be interesting keeping an eye on these two. I absolutely do believe that one of these two will eventually become the modern day version with a rep of the 1931.

[Andy Velebil]

Great answer. I left for PT two days after your response and this is my first time seeing it. While I thought the 2011 Nacional was incredible, I did prefer a handful of Ports over it upon release. That's what is always great about having so many varied opinions here. The new guys reading have a plethora of choice when it comes to seeing how their own palates align. I bet our own top 10 list is likely nearly identical with the producers, even if the order is skewed a bit.

It will be interesting to see how the 1994 Nacional stacks up against the 2011 version. Both are wonderful. The 1994 has been the most consistent performer of all Nacional's for me. Then again only one bad bottle of 1967 and maybe two from 1963. I have seen 1994 Nacional under-perform and badly, last year at our 1994 tasting here in WA. Half a year later in an even larger 1994 horizontal, the "group" rated it tops in the class. In that "group" I was one of the few dissenters. While excellent, it also was not a GREAT showing and I believe that since it was in the very last flight, after 30 other bottles the same day, (Richard Mayson) went around telling others that the Nacional had to be in this final flight, so while it stood leagues above the others in it, it was because the flight was only "good" overall and it really shine comparatively. However, while a huge fan of the wine, I did not find it showing as well as I've seen in some past renditions and do think it was a bit "reticent" if not in a bit of a closed phase. Will be interesting keeping an eye on these two. I absolutely do believe that one of these two will eventually become the modern day version with a rep of the 1931.

The 1994 Nacional has been in a bit of a phase over the past few years and isn't showing it's best. I have theorized that it is now just starting to morph out of it's infant stage and thus has closed up. That comes from tasting it double blind and also sighted on several occasions both at the Quinta and at other gatherings. I tell people to give it a few more years to come out of the phase and then I suspect it will be back to being the top of the block. Right now though, leave it alone. Funny part is when I first started saying that some people disagreed....