For The Love Of Port

Yes, you read this correctly. Given there was a 2000 Noval and Nacional too, we can be sure that Noval did not want to confuse consumers. So they held back this 2001 Nacional for a later release ... 15 years.

Managing Director Christian Seely comments:

“Although we declared Quinta do Noval Nacional 2001 officially in 2003, we did not release the wine for sale at the time.
Nacional is always a powerful concentrated wine, but in its youth the 2001 was extremely backward and quite closed up, dense and very tannic. Since we had just declared and released the 2000 Nacional, we decided to lay down the 250 cases of Nacional 2001 that were produced and keep them back for release at a later date.

All great Vintage Port retains its youthfulness for a long time, but with Nacional this characteristic is exaggerated, so we have waited some years before releasing the 2001, which is still immensely youthful structured and powerful, but is now just beginning to reveal its enormous future potential. At this stage the nose has begun to open up, revealing magical floral and spicy notes which are a precursor of how the wine will taste in future years when it is fully mature. The tannins are harmonious, powerful and reserved, and there is complex concentrated fruit, with great freshness, thrilling to drink now, but with huge potential to develop by ageing in bottle in years to come.”

Very cool!

Sent price request to my local B&M on this.

Nice! I am also curious about the price. I asked the importer, so have to wait.

There goes my vertical!

If anyone does find pricing, please post. The wine-searcher.com free version has one hit at Garrafeira Nacional for US$ 1,300. Apparently there are two more listings if you have a pro subscription, and at least one is at a lower price since the average is below the GN price.

Eric Menchen wrote:There goes my vertical!

If anyone does find pricing, please post. The wine-searcher.com free version has one hit at Garrafeira Nacional for US$ 1,300. Apparently there are two more listings if you have a pro subscription, and at least one is at a lower price since the average is below the GN price.

Cut that price in about 1/2 and you'll get normal pricing

My local B&M sold all the 2011 Nacional they could get in two heart beats... I don't have one single bottle of Nacional in my cellar. Need at least one.

Anyone found a EU retailer that is selling this?

Anyone with a Wine-searcher PRO that can help out here.

I also send a mail to the Danish importer. No response yet

Moses Botbol wrote:My local B&M sold all the 2011 Nacional they could get in two heart beats... I don't have one single bottle of Nacional in my cellar. Need at least one.

I have no pro subscription to wine searcher, but sometimes if you click the "show nearest location" you can get another hit. This time, Park Ave Liquors, $675.

Thomas V wrote:Anyone found a EU retailer that is selling this?

Anyone with a Wine-searcher PRO that can help out here.

I also send a mail to the Danish importer. No response yet

We will sell it for €399,- We have it online within a week.

Jasper A. wrote:We will sell it for €399,- We have it online within a week.

That's a great price. I wish shipping to the U.S. wasn't such an issue.

On the PRO version of Wine Searcher, Park Avenue Liquor has the lowest price in the USA @ $675.

However, the lowest price in the UK is @ the equivalent of $637 at Millesima; a shop in Switzerland by the identical name is selling it for $613.60 and the lowest price shown globally is in Germany where it sells for the US equivalent of $594.14 @ Weinhandelshaus Scholzen.

From Quinta do Noval Facebook
Quinta do Noval Vintage Nacional 2001 received 99 points by James Molesworth from Wine Spectator!
« This sports a serious heft, with a core of brooding fig jam, ganache, Christmas pudding and pastis-soaked black currant notes… »

Awsome score if you ask me.

Christian Seely of Quinta do Noval etc visited The Vintage Port Club in Odense, Denmark last week for winemakers dinner.
It was a very nice event which amongst others included three Nacionals; 1999, 2001 and 2003.
In my opinion the 2003 was clearly the best on that day (95 pts), while 2001 was a step lower (91 pts).

2001 is not yet for sale in Norway, but two other vintages of Nacional are (based on todays exchange rates):
2003 Nacional: NOK 5145 = € 570 = $ 615
2004 Nacional: NOK 4999 = € 555 = $ 600