Quinta do Noval launches £170 Douro red blend as part of new wine range

Port and wine producer Quinta do Noval has unveiled a new wine range called Terroir Series, staring with a £170 Douro red blend featuring over 30 different grape varieties.

The launch wine, which carries the name of its source estate, Vinhas da Marka, has been made from a 1.45 hectare parcel of vines that was planted as a field blend in 1930, incorporating a mix of “traditional varieties”, which Quinta do Noval said number more than 30.

Just 2,752 individually numbered bottles have been produced of the wine from the 2019 harvest, and the red blend comes with a recommended retail price of £170, making it significantly more expensive than other fine reds from the Douro, from Quinta Vale D Maria’s Dona Maria Tinto to Prats & Symington’s Chryseia, which each cost around £50 to £80 respectively, although the new Noval wine is still some way short of Casa Ferreirinha’s Barca Velha, which sells for more than £500 a bottle.

Speaking about the launch wine, managing director of Quinta do Noval, Christian Seely, said the vineyard was “remarkable” and the wines from it “outstanding”, before describing Vinhas da Marka as “one of the finest wines yet produced in the Douro Valley.”

The Vinhas da Marka property is managed by Quinta do Noval under a long term lease from its owners, the Agrellos family – a connection that stems from the fact that Carlos Agrellos works as technical director at Quinta do Noval, a role held by his uncle, Antonio, before him.

Seely said that he had chosen to lease the property specifically with the aim of making fine Douro red wines, rather than Port, expressing his delight at the result from the 2019 harvest, which saw the wines – after a careful selection of the berries – aged in French oak barrels of 225 litres for 12 months, 80% of which were new.

His description of the Terroir Series Vinhas da Marka is below:

“The resulting wine is fine, profound and powerful, with complex aromatics that develop in the glass, but above all harmonious, fresh, balanced and elegant. We consider it to be one of the finest wines yet produced in the Douro Valley, showing the full potential of this historic region to produce wines that can be considered among the great wines of the world.”

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