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Now Viewing: Quinta do Noval
Quinta do Noval The history of Quinta do Noval begins, as far as we are aware, in 1715. The estate belonged to the Rebello Valente family, although it did not have the reputation for the production of Port that it has today. The estate passed through several other hands before purchase by António José da Silva in 1894. If there is any moment in time which should be identified as a turning point for Quinta do Noval, this is it. Da Silva, and his son Luis Vasconcelos Porto, replanted vineyards, repaired buildings, widened the terraces - in doing so he made the estate one of the showpieces of the Douro - and generally kick-started a Quinta do Noval revolution. These innovations bore fruit in 1931, a vintage that was declared by only three Port houses, of which Quinta do Noval was one. Many argue that the Quinta do Noval Nacional 1931 is the greatest Port of the twentieth century. And it is not only with top quality that Quinta do Noval leads - there are many other firsts for this estate, including the creation of the late bottled vintage style in 1954 and of aged tawnies in 1958. Although for centuries a family firm, time marches on, and in 1993 Quinta do Noval was purchased by the French insurance group AXA.
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