The managing director of Quinta do Noval, Christian Seely, said he was happy to announce the declaration of "two exceptional Vintage Ports" from the 2020 vintage: Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port 2020 and Quinta do Noval Vintage Port 2020.

2020 was a hot and dry year, with a prolonged ripening period during the summer that led to an early harvest, he said. "The resulting wines are extremely rich and powerful, voluminous, sensual, with great density. Tannic structure is immense, but with remarkable finesse."

A vintage declaration is a formal announcement by a Port producer that the wines produced in a harvest year have the characteristics of a Vintage Port. It is ratified by the Port regulator.

Outstanding from the start

Seely said the Nacional was outstanding from the beginning:  "There are years when we know straight after the treading in lagar that we will be declaring a Nacional Vintage Port, and 2020 was one of these. The wine displays the complexity and many layered profundity that are typical of a great Nacional."

The Quinta do Noval Vintage is described as an unusually powerful and rich style for Quinta do Noval. "As usual, we made a strict selection of the best lots of wine from different parcels throughout the estate, with this year three different lots of wine from the Pinhão Valley and one from the Roncão valley making up the blend."

Elegance & structure

Taylor's has also announced it will bottle Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 2020. “We are delighted with the Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas Vintage 2020 which shows the elegance and structure that we associate with this excellent property,” Taylor’s managing director, Adrian Bridge said.

David Guimaraens, Taylor's head winemaker, noted that February 2020 was dry and very warm while July was the hottest in living memory, with temperatures 3.5°C above the average.

“The variability of locations in the mountain viticulture of the Douro Valley plays a key role in extreme years like this, allowing the production of excellent Port wines as is the case of this Quinta de Vargellas 2020,” Guimaraens said.