The word “Nacional” refers to the fact that the vines are Portuguese vines growing in Portuguese soil with no foreign root stock and are therefore “attached to the soil of the Nation.” When Noval’s vineyards were devastated by phylloxera in the late 19th century, the owner decided to replant a tiny parcel of the vineyard with ungrafted vines. These 6 acres of Nacional vines lie in an area indistinguishable from and surrounded by the other Noval vines.
Studied thoroughly by agronomists and scientists, the survival of the tiny parcel of legendary ungrafted vines is a mystery and the National is a unique and extraordinary phenomenon that does not necessarily follow the same rhythm as the rest of the Quinta do Noval. In some years a great Nacional is produced when Noval does not even declare the Quinta do Noval Vintage. In others, Quinta do Noval makes a great Vintage Port but the Nacional does not perform.
Tasting a bottle from the minute production of Nacional is every port lover’s fantasy and Nacional is every port lover’s fantasy and this great wine is a source of pride to the people of Portugal and at its best the finest expression of the extraordinary terroir of Quinta do Noval.
Up close, it becomes apparent that the Nacional vines are slightly less vigorous, with smaller trunks and less foliage, and with leaves that are slightly less vibrant green. The berries are smaller, giving a higher ratio of skin to juice. The grapes are picked in one day and trodden in only the smallest lagares but otherwise are treated with the same meticulous care as the other Quinta do Noval wines.
“This wine is a mysterious phenomenon, a magical wine produced in extremely limited quantities and only in a few years each decade. It is the expression of a terroir and confirms something that is for me a deeply held belief. The Nacional is great because of the grapes and where they come from, not because of anything particular that we do. It has a unique personality, an extraordinary intensity and, even after many years of ageing, retains an astonishing youthfulness.” Christian Seely