Fine Wine Experience - Unique tasting opportunity
Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:47 am
I'm not sure where to post this, but I thought that since its a "sales notice" that the market place would be as good a forum as any.
Some of you will know Linden Wilkie, who runs the Fine Wine Experince company and specialises in organising really outstanding tastings of extraordinary wines. Linden has put together a port tasting to really tempt the port freak - to the extent that at least one person is flying from the other side of the Atlantic to take part!
At 7pm on Thursday 15th March, at the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London, Linden and Christian Seely will be hosting a comparative tasting of the Naçional and Quinta do Noval bottlings of the wines from the vintages of 2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1963 and 1931. Yes, that's right. 1931 Naçional against 1931 regular Noval.
I've pasted below the email that Linden sent me. I will certainly be there and know at least one other Forumite who will also attend. If anyone else would like to be there then give Linden a call with your credit card handy. He has only just released the tickets for the tasting so has plenty left, but don't leave it too long.
Alex
(PS - I have no affiliation with Linden's company, just wanted other members of the Forum to know of this tasting and have the chance to be there if possible.)
Linden's Email
Dear Fellow Wine Enthusiasts,
It gives me great pleasure to announce the kind of vintage port tasting to leave any serious port fan drooling, and to seriously perk the interest of any explorer of fine wine.
Quinta do Noval Vintage & Quinta do Noval Nacional
The idea for this tasting began for me in 1999 while reading Wine Spectator’s “Wines of the Century”. I was fascinated by their selection, and equally determined to taste them all myself some day. Included were such classics as Chx Petrus 1961, Cheval Blanc 1947, Mouton-Rothschild 1945, Yquem 1921, Margaux 1900 (which we will taste in June), DRC La Romanee Conti 1937, Biondi Santi 1955, Grange 1955, Inglenook 1941, Martha’s Vineyard 1974, La Chapelle 1961, and Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931. In the introduction to the article, James Suckling recounted the story of his experience in 1989 of a bottle of the Nacional 1931…
“When the decanter of '31 Nacional began to make its way around the table, the group of tasters became as silent as a church congregation in the middle of a prayer. No one spoke, they simply smelled and tasted, then tasted and smelled. The small room filled with an intense odor of chocolate, plums and cherries, much like the atmosphere in a shop that sells exquisite handmade chocolates. The Port was medium-bodied and filled the mouth with sweet fruit flavors and caressing tannins. Its flavor lingered for minutes. I looked around the room to see smiles above the rims of the participants' Port glasses. A few noises of elation and joy followed. But still no one spoke. We were all concentrating on the pleasure in our glasses. Finally, the owner of Noval couldn't hold himself back--he said that it was the most remarkable Port he had ever tasted. We all agreed and then raised a toast to the owner of the bottle ... and then to the Queen ... and then to the President of the United States ... and then .... We obviously got carried away, but that's what happens when you drink great wines.”
Richard Mayson in Port and the Douro refers to its “legendary” reputation, holding at the time of publication (2004) the highest price ever paid for a bottle of port. We broke that by some margin paying £5,028.75 for our bottle! The Nacional 1931 is fine wine’s needle in the haystack. Only around 250 cases are produced each year from ungrafted vines (hence ‘Nacional’ – no American rootstock between vine and national soil), and this vintage has been famous for decades. Even Noval’s managing director, Christian Seely (who will join this tasting), has had it only once, and from a poor bottle. Ours is of impeccable provenance, so fingers crossed!
Almost as legendary is the £1200-per-bottle ‘regular’ 1931 Quinta do Noval, which we shall pair with the Nacional of the same vintage.
Our 12 wine tasting will pair the regular Quinta do Noval Vintage Port with the Quinta do Noval Nacional across 6 classic vintages. For those unfamiliar with the stellar reputation of these wines, I have taken the liberty of appending a few abridged tasting notes here…
Quinta do Noval Vintage 2003
“What a nose. Ripe fruit, with chocolate, blackberries and raisins… Finish goes on and on. Layered and wonderful” – 96/100, Wine Spectator
“soars from the glass… this top-flight wine is harmonious and exhibits stupendous purity of fruit…immensely long” – 94/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 2003
“Fantastic aromas of blackberries, licorice and cherries follow through to a full-bodied palate… and a long finish.” – 99/100, Wine Spectator
“profound aromatics… Built for the long-haul, this refined wine reveals massive thickness, concentration, and depth.” – 94/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 2000
“Fascinating aromas of crushed fruit, tar and wet earth. Turns floral... A balanced and caressing Noval” – 96/100, Wine Spectator
“a distinctive bouquet of graphite, creme de cassis liqueur, licorice, and spice… outstanding concentration… lush, precocious effort” – 92/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 2000
“Very concentrated, yet elegant and smooth.” – 97/100, Wine Spectator
“Structured, muscular, and tannic” – 93/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1997
“Loads of ripe berry, mineral and wet earth character, with a hint of green tobacco... Long, long finish” – 97/100, Wine Spectator
“The 1997 vintage port is the greatest Quinta do Noval I have ever tasted” – 100/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1997
“Full-bodied and very sweet, with layers of big, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Truly impressive.” – 99/100, Wine Spectator
“floral scents intermixed with coffee, blackberries, tar, cassis, licorice, and chocolate. Extremely full-bodied…” – 100/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1994
“Muscular and ripe, showing fabulous potential” – 95/100, Wine Spectator
“…the finest regular vintage port I have tasted from this house in decades…” – 95/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1994
“This is what class is all about in vintage Port” – 100/100, Wine Spectator
“…incredibly rich, massive wine, yet at the same time, well-balanced and amazingly well-delineated…” – 99/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1963
“nice on the palate for those who want a mature vintage.” – 84/100, Wine Spectator
(Writing in 1989): “…recent vintages of Quinta do Noval have not been nearly as impressive as they should be…” – 82/100, Wine Advocate
“Good but not great… fragrant, elegant, lean, and lightish in style.. *** Drink up.” – Michael Broadbent
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1963
“ so incredibly youthful… inky black… fresh grapy, earthy aromas, extremely full-bodied…” – 100/100, Wine Spectator
“This port is so concentrated it defies belief, with extraordinary balance…” – 99/100, Wine Advocate
“…immense, expansive fig-like nose of great depth… An enormous spicy wine of great depth…” - ****(*) 2010-2040, Michael Broadbent
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1931
English-bottled by Fearon, Block, Bridges and Routh. Provenance: via auction from an Oxford college cellar.
“Deep ruby, with ripe chocolate, berry and cherry aromas, full-bodied, with very round, sweet fruit flavors and silky tannins” – 99/100, Wine Spectator
“…Perhaps the most superlatively typical, by Fearon, Block, Bridges and Routh…assertive prune-like flavour, hit, peppery, mouthfilling, still plump, with marvellous acidity… ***** The best will continue to impress.” – Michael Broadbent
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931
English-bottled by Justerini & Brooks. Provenance: via auction from a notable collector.
“Perhaps one of the greatest wines ever produced… still incredibly rich and youthful… Will continue to improve” – 100/100, Wine Spectator
“This, of course, is the supreme ’31… a sort of ultra-refined liquorice… incredibly full-bodied, rich, bitter sweet wine, spicy, of great length.” ***** - Michael Broadbent
Event: Quinta do Noval Nacional, with Christian Seely
Event Type: Classic Series Wine Tasting
Time: 7-00pm – 8-30pm
Date: Thursday 15th March 2007
Location: I.O.D. building, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED
Tickets: £695
I look forward to sharing these amazing ports with you!
Kind Regards,
Linden Wilkie
The Fine Wine Experience
No.105, 8 Shepherd Market
Mayfair, London W1J 7QE
http://www.finewineexperience.com <http://www.finewineexperience.com/>
Ph. +44 20 7692 0602
Fax +44 20 7692 0603
Some of you will know Linden Wilkie, who runs the Fine Wine Experince company and specialises in organising really outstanding tastings of extraordinary wines. Linden has put together a port tasting to really tempt the port freak - to the extent that at least one person is flying from the other side of the Atlantic to take part!
At 7pm on Thursday 15th March, at the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London, Linden and Christian Seely will be hosting a comparative tasting of the Naçional and Quinta do Noval bottlings of the wines from the vintages of 2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1963 and 1931. Yes, that's right. 1931 Naçional against 1931 regular Noval.
I've pasted below the email that Linden sent me. I will certainly be there and know at least one other Forumite who will also attend. If anyone else would like to be there then give Linden a call with your credit card handy. He has only just released the tickets for the tasting so has plenty left, but don't leave it too long.
Alex
(PS - I have no affiliation with Linden's company, just wanted other members of the Forum to know of this tasting and have the chance to be there if possible.)
Linden's Email
Dear Fellow Wine Enthusiasts,
It gives me great pleasure to announce the kind of vintage port tasting to leave any serious port fan drooling, and to seriously perk the interest of any explorer of fine wine.
Quinta do Noval Vintage & Quinta do Noval Nacional
The idea for this tasting began for me in 1999 while reading Wine Spectator’s “Wines of the Century”. I was fascinated by their selection, and equally determined to taste them all myself some day. Included were such classics as Chx Petrus 1961, Cheval Blanc 1947, Mouton-Rothschild 1945, Yquem 1921, Margaux 1900 (which we will taste in June), DRC La Romanee Conti 1937, Biondi Santi 1955, Grange 1955, Inglenook 1941, Martha’s Vineyard 1974, La Chapelle 1961, and Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931. In the introduction to the article, James Suckling recounted the story of his experience in 1989 of a bottle of the Nacional 1931…
“When the decanter of '31 Nacional began to make its way around the table, the group of tasters became as silent as a church congregation in the middle of a prayer. No one spoke, they simply smelled and tasted, then tasted and smelled. The small room filled with an intense odor of chocolate, plums and cherries, much like the atmosphere in a shop that sells exquisite handmade chocolates. The Port was medium-bodied and filled the mouth with sweet fruit flavors and caressing tannins. Its flavor lingered for minutes. I looked around the room to see smiles above the rims of the participants' Port glasses. A few noises of elation and joy followed. But still no one spoke. We were all concentrating on the pleasure in our glasses. Finally, the owner of Noval couldn't hold himself back--he said that it was the most remarkable Port he had ever tasted. We all agreed and then raised a toast to the owner of the bottle ... and then to the Queen ... and then to the President of the United States ... and then .... We obviously got carried away, but that's what happens when you drink great wines.”
Richard Mayson in Port and the Douro refers to its “legendary” reputation, holding at the time of publication (2004) the highest price ever paid for a bottle of port. We broke that by some margin paying £5,028.75 for our bottle! The Nacional 1931 is fine wine’s needle in the haystack. Only around 250 cases are produced each year from ungrafted vines (hence ‘Nacional’ – no American rootstock between vine and national soil), and this vintage has been famous for decades. Even Noval’s managing director, Christian Seely (who will join this tasting), has had it only once, and from a poor bottle. Ours is of impeccable provenance, so fingers crossed!
Almost as legendary is the £1200-per-bottle ‘regular’ 1931 Quinta do Noval, which we shall pair with the Nacional of the same vintage.
Our 12 wine tasting will pair the regular Quinta do Noval Vintage Port with the Quinta do Noval Nacional across 6 classic vintages. For those unfamiliar with the stellar reputation of these wines, I have taken the liberty of appending a few abridged tasting notes here…
Quinta do Noval Vintage 2003
“What a nose. Ripe fruit, with chocolate, blackberries and raisins… Finish goes on and on. Layered and wonderful” – 96/100, Wine Spectator
“soars from the glass… this top-flight wine is harmonious and exhibits stupendous purity of fruit…immensely long” – 94/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 2003
“Fantastic aromas of blackberries, licorice and cherries follow through to a full-bodied palate… and a long finish.” – 99/100, Wine Spectator
“profound aromatics… Built for the long-haul, this refined wine reveals massive thickness, concentration, and depth.” – 94/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 2000
“Fascinating aromas of crushed fruit, tar and wet earth. Turns floral... A balanced and caressing Noval” – 96/100, Wine Spectator
“a distinctive bouquet of graphite, creme de cassis liqueur, licorice, and spice… outstanding concentration… lush, precocious effort” – 92/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 2000
“Very concentrated, yet elegant and smooth.” – 97/100, Wine Spectator
“Structured, muscular, and tannic” – 93/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1997
“Loads of ripe berry, mineral and wet earth character, with a hint of green tobacco... Long, long finish” – 97/100, Wine Spectator
“The 1997 vintage port is the greatest Quinta do Noval I have ever tasted” – 100/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1997
“Full-bodied and very sweet, with layers of big, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. Truly impressive.” – 99/100, Wine Spectator
“floral scents intermixed with coffee, blackberries, tar, cassis, licorice, and chocolate. Extremely full-bodied…” – 100/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1994
“Muscular and ripe, showing fabulous potential” – 95/100, Wine Spectator
“…the finest regular vintage port I have tasted from this house in decades…” – 95/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1994
“This is what class is all about in vintage Port” – 100/100, Wine Spectator
“…incredibly rich, massive wine, yet at the same time, well-balanced and amazingly well-delineated…” – 99/100, Wine Advocate
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1963
“nice on the palate for those who want a mature vintage.” – 84/100, Wine Spectator
(Writing in 1989): “…recent vintages of Quinta do Noval have not been nearly as impressive as they should be…” – 82/100, Wine Advocate
“Good but not great… fragrant, elegant, lean, and lightish in style.. *** Drink up.” – Michael Broadbent
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1963
“ so incredibly youthful… inky black… fresh grapy, earthy aromas, extremely full-bodied…” – 100/100, Wine Spectator
“This port is so concentrated it defies belief, with extraordinary balance…” – 99/100, Wine Advocate
“…immense, expansive fig-like nose of great depth… An enormous spicy wine of great depth…” - ****(*) 2010-2040, Michael Broadbent
Quinta do Noval Vintage 1931
English-bottled by Fearon, Block, Bridges and Routh. Provenance: via auction from an Oxford college cellar.
“Deep ruby, with ripe chocolate, berry and cherry aromas, full-bodied, with very round, sweet fruit flavors and silky tannins” – 99/100, Wine Spectator
“…Perhaps the most superlatively typical, by Fearon, Block, Bridges and Routh…assertive prune-like flavour, hit, peppery, mouthfilling, still plump, with marvellous acidity… ***** The best will continue to impress.” – Michael Broadbent
Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931
English-bottled by Justerini & Brooks. Provenance: via auction from a notable collector.
“Perhaps one of the greatest wines ever produced… still incredibly rich and youthful… Will continue to improve” – 100/100, Wine Spectator
“This, of course, is the supreme ’31… a sort of ultra-refined liquorice… incredibly full-bodied, rich, bitter sweet wine, spicy, of great length.” ***** - Michael Broadbent
Event: Quinta do Noval Nacional, with Christian Seely
Event Type: Classic Series Wine Tasting
Time: 7-00pm – 8-30pm
Date: Thursday 15th March 2007
Location: I.O.D. building, 116 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ED
Tickets: £695
I look forward to sharing these amazing ports with you!
Kind Regards,
Linden Wilkie
The Fine Wine Experience
No.105, 8 Shepherd Market
Mayfair, London W1J 7QE
http://www.finewineexperience.com <http://www.finewineexperience.com/>
Ph. +44 20 7692 0602
Fax +44 20 7692 0603