Visit the Nacional Vineyard of Quinta do Noval with Austin Beeman in Portugal.
The Quinta do Noval Nacional vineyard in Portugal is considered one of the most important vineyards in the world. It survived phylloxera which devastated European vineyards in the late 1800s. The plot is the only survivor of the disease in the Douro Valley, and the reason for its resistance is still unknown.
The vineyard is home to a traditional field blend of Portuguese grape varieties, including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão, and Souzão.
The vineyard is managed organically, and the low quantity of grapes produced results in a rare and valuable wine, with prices reaching beyond 1000 euros per bottle. The Nacional vineyard is considered the treasure of Quinta do Noval.
I hope you enjoy this beautiful 4 minute video.
THIS IS EPISODE 94 OF UNDERSTANDING WINE WITH AUSTIN BEEMAN
SPECIAL THANKS:
Mark Caron and the entire team at VINTUS.
Patricia Bastos and the entire team at Quinta do Noval.
Steve Maher, Eric Faber, and My Former Colleagues at Cutting Edge Selections
TRANSCRIPT:
Note: Transcript was created by a third party service and I’ve endeavored to clean up the spelling of ‘wine words.’ Any persistent errors are mine alone.
Or, watch the video. It is awesome.
AUSTIN BEEMAN:
I'm standing here at Quinta do Noval in one of the most important vineyards in all of Portugal, if not the world, Nacional. In the late 1800s, when phylloxera ravaged Europe and almost put an end to the entire European wine project, for some reason, this place here, the Nacional Vineyard, survived.
QUINTA DO Noval GUIDE:
Everything here has been replanted in the whole Douro. So it was actually a 10-year job to replant everything here. But when they came to this little plot, they saw that it resisted the phylloxera. So they just left i t. They kept everything original. The Nacional plot is actually the only survivor of the phylloxera disease in the whole Douro Valley. Yes.
And they don't even know why this plot resisted and not the plot from the neighbors. They analyze the soil, they did studies, but they don't explain why this plot here resisted, but we good with miracle. We take it. We take miracle.
Everything here is original. We have a traditional field blend. We will find several varieties on this plot, all Portuguese, native Portuguese varieties. So Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Cão ,Souzão, and many more.
On the top, we have Touriga Franca, the middle, Tinta Roriz, and down there we have Touriga Nacional. So really, really important to have different kind of mono variety plots and field blend plots because to create each year the balance that we need. And it's pretty much a playground for a winemaker here. He will choose the altitude. He will choose the sun exposure. It's the fun part here.
Here, everything is organic. We leave the weeds growing. The average age here, it's around 50 years and plus because we have really old vines on the side of babies. The production here, the quantity is really low. In comparison with the American grafted roots, vines, they will produce after only three years, six, eight grapes, bigger grapes. So if we declare a vintage port from this plot, we will produce maybe around 2000 bottles, not more. So obviously, we are on a very rare, unique project, low quantity. The bottle can enter the market easily 1000 euros for a young vintage, and then gain gaining values.
It's the treasure of Quinta do Noval, just here, yes, the only survivor.
FOLLOW THE WINE ADVENTURE
EQUIPMENT:
Main Camera: Canon R8
2nd Camera: DJi Pocket 2
Travel Bag: Peak Design Travel Line Backpack 45L.
Camera Bag: Peak Design Everyday Messenger Bag.
Music Licensed from Epidemic Sound.
FTC Compliance: I worked at Cutting Edge Selections representing Vintus and Quinta do Noval until recently. Relationships with the winery and importer allowed for access to the vineyard, but this is not sponsored by them.