Our history

VISIONARY MEN

Luiz Vasconcelos Porto
He was the author of a vast programme of innovations.Notably he transformed many of the narrow older terraces into the broader terraces that are such a distinctive feature of Noval with their whitewashed staircases.These terraces permit a more efficient use of the land and a better exposition to the sun, and were considered revolutionary at the time.

António José da Silva
A Port shipper from Gaia, father-in-law of Luiz Valsconcelos Porto, he acquired Quinta do Noval in 1894 after its devastation by phylloxera. He restored the property by replanting its vineyards.

AUDACIOUS

The Vintage declaration of 1931


Quinta do Noval made its name with the declaration of the 1931 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, and the 1931 Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage Port, probably the most sensational Vintage Ports of the 20th century.
Because of the global depression and the enormous production and shipment of the 1927 Vintage, most shippers did not declare the 1931.
This success established Quinta do Noval among the great names of Vintage Port in the English and American markets, a leading position in terms of reputation which is maintained today.

QUINTA DO NOVAL VINTAGE
QUINTA DO NOVAL NACIONAL VINTAGE

CREATOR

Noval has created a totally new category of Port: the Late Bottled Vintage.

In 1958 Quinta do Noval was the first house to launch a 'Late Bottled Vintage' Port, with its 1954 LBV. This implied the creation of a whole new category of Port wine which was at the heart of discussions in the region for many years.

Always a pioneer, Quinta do Noval continues to show the way today with its exclusive unfiltered Single Quinta LBV, made entirely from grapes from our Quinta, foot trodden in lagares, as for our Vintage Ports.

QUINTA DO NOVAL LBV U.F. SINGLE VINEYARD

AXA MILLESIMES

Belonging to the prestigious wine-growing group “AXA Millésimes”

Belonging to AXA Millésimes since 1993, Quinta do Noval is part of the prestigious viticultural patrimony made up of great names such as Disznókő in Tokaj, Hungary, and in France Château Pichon Baron in Pauillac, Château Suduiraut in Sauternes, Château Petit-Village in Pomerol and Domaine de l'Arlot in Burgundy.

OUR VINEYARDS

LEADER

A cultivation of the vine perfectly adapted to the vineyard


Since 1994, Quinta do Noval has replanted 100 hectares of the property with the noble grape varieties of the Douro, adapting plantation and pruning methods according to the needs of each parcel. 

Each plot has been planted with individual grape varieties suited to the terroir according to three principal criteria: altitude, exposition, and the type of planting required.
Today the field blends, parcels with several mixed varieties, are progressively disappearing from the Douro Valley. 

Noval was a pioneer of this trend, and the first vineyard to replant and mechanise the old terraces on a large scale while retaining the magnificent stone walled terraces.

PIONEER

The first of the great historic Port Houses to be entirely based in the Douro Valley

A new bottling line and warehouse was completed in 1997 in Alijo, near to Pinhão.

This project made Quinta do Noval the first of the traditional Port shippers to centralise all its activities in the Douro Valley rather than in Vila Nova de Gaia near Porto.

THE OTHER EXPRESSION OF THE NOVAL SOIL

“Since I first started at Noval, I have always believed that the Douro had the potential to express itself in an unfortified wine. A dry wine made from the grapes of our vineyard that would express the terroir of Quinta do Noval as the Vintage and old Tawny Ports succeed in doing so well, but of course in a different fashion.' Christian Seely

We began in 1994 a major programme of renovation of the existing vineyard and of new plantations up until 2007. 

Today, we can call on top quality grapes, which on the one hand assure the excellence of Quinta do Noval Ports, and on the other the production of Douro wines.

After a successful first trial in 2003, we launched our Douro red wines with the 2004 vintage, the first year we considered worthy to carry the name of Quinta do Noval.

OUR DOURO WINES

BREAKING NEW GROUND

A new style of Porto: fresh, fruity and light

A simple elegant black bottle, evocative of the night and all its mysteries.

A new generation of Port: one that encourages the mind to set free the creative instinct, that invents an entirely new way to drink Port.

Enjoy the cocktails based on Noval Black concocted by the famous American mixologist Jim Meehan.

Noval Black

AN HISTORIC PORT HOUSE
AN HISTORIC VINEYARD

The name Quinta do Noval first appeared in land registers in the year 1715.