Selfridges selling Noval tawny Port for £1k

Upmarket London department store Selfridges has taken on a range of Quinta do Noval ports in time for Christmas, including a bottle of single harvest tawny costing £999.

Noval’s Colheita 1937 can be yours for £999. Picture source: selfridges.com

Hailing from the 1937 vintage, the Port, known as a Colheita, is now 81 years old, and forms part of the largest collection of Noval single harvest tawnies and classic vintage Ports in a London shop.

Not only is Selfridges’ range of Noval vintage Ports unrivalled in the capital’s retail scene, but the department store is offering a glass-engraving service, allowing buyers of these rare Ports to personalise the bottles – although this specialist service is only possible on Thursday and Friday this week.

Along with the 1937 Colheita – for which Noval has an especially-strong reputation – visitors to Selfridges on London’s Oxford Street can also choose from other single harvest tawnies from five further decades, with 1968, 1976, 1986, 1995 and 1997 all on sale.

The shop is also stocking Noval’s Extra Dry White, Noval Black, Tawny 20 and 40 Year Old, and Colheita 2000, as well as four Quinta do Noval Vintages – 1966, 2000, 2003 and 2008, not forgetting four precious Nacionals: 1997 1999, 2000 and the latest 2016.

Commenting on the extensive selection, head wine buyer at Selfridges, Terry Threlfall said, “We are delighted to bring these very individual Quinta do Noval Ports to a wider public – particularly our fine wine customers who are also keen collectors of rare bottles.

Continuing, he said, “It is a privilege to have assembled such a collection of old Noval vintages – perhaps the largest in London – which we are sure will be recognised by those ‘in the know’.”

News of the extensive listing in Selfridges follows on from a report on thedrinksbusiness.com that London’s Connaught hotel has assembled the largest list of Quinta do Noval ports in the UK on-trade, with vintages going back to 1927.

The luxury west end hotel has taken on an amazing array of Ports from this celebrated estate, including classic vintages such as 1927, 1966, and 2000 together with rare Nacional Ports including 1997, 1994 and the recent 2016 – as well as eight Colheitas, including the 1937.