Quinta do Noval - Cedro Do Noval2015

RED WINE

Estate

One of the oldest port houses, Quinta do Noval is also arguably the greatest. It is unique among top port houses in that most of its ports are made from estate-grown fruit and, notably, all of the vintage Noval wines are from the single Quinta do Noval vineyard. And it is difficult to discuss Noval with mentioning Nacional, the legendary vintage port made from a 6 acre parcel of ungrafted vines, and the most collectible and sought after port in the world. In the early 1990s, Noval changed ownership for only the second time in its three-hundred year history and began a massive program of improvements while re-committing to the traditional, and best, methods of port production.

Vineyard

The 2012 vintage is made up of 30% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca and 40% Syrah. This Syrah component means the wine is not classified as Douro DOC, but Vinho Regional Duriense; all the fruit, however, comes from the Noval vineyards. Cedro is a reference to the famous 100 year old cedar tree that sits next to the Quinta, overlooking the Pinhao and Douro rivers.

Vinification

The wine is vinified through pump overs in stainless steel vats, with temperatures held at 26 degrees Celcius. Aging is in French oak casks for approximately 14 months.

Wine

Noval's dry table wines are from specially selected parcels of new and mature vines around the spectacular estate, and blended from four classic port varities: Touriga Nacional, Tintao Cio, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz. True to its long history of continuous innovation, Noval has also been among the first to experiment with Rhone varieties in the Douro, with Syrah from estate plantings being blended into the Cedro do Noval. Cedro do Noval is more fruit-forward than its big brother, Noval Tinto, but it stands as a serious wine on its own and a representation of the deep, floral and mineral wines that can be made in the Douro.