Everyone who had Quinta Do Noval(Nacional)!!!
Can u please tell me which one u had, and what u think about them?( Tn,best time to drink etc) Some of the Nacional ones i saw avalible in store are like 2000 us dollar. I would assume those are probably very special, yet completely out of my price range. I also found a few non-Nacioal vintage port from 58, 62, 63, 80, 85,95. ( 85, 95 are like less than $50 us and most others are less then 120). Ifound a 85 Nacional around $350. And I wonder how those are like. I want your suggestions before i decide what I should get.

I also read about the 63 for Nacional is very good, but the 63 non-nacional aren't. Anyone want to argue against that?

Another thing i am interesting in knowing is how to serve a port over 100 years old. My father has a bottle of Whitwhams millennium port bottled in 1999. It is supposed to be over 100 years old, and i wonder what is the right way to prepare it before serving.
Thanks

PS.over the weekend, i went throught most of the posting in Tasting Notes and Wine conversations about Geramn wine, port, tokaji and Austria TBAs. I've learned a lot from reading them. Thanks to those of you who has been writing very informative response in the forum:)

leesunhee,

i had
-nacional 1970, 75

-noval 1966, 70, 85, 94, 97

yes, nacional is someting special!
no, i won't spent more than 300$ for it!
the 85' nacional can have volital acidity!

youre father's port i guess it's a tawny!
and should be drunk like a tawny!

i also readed from 1963 nacional, should be fantastic, i can't afford it

noval did made average wines from 1950 - 1990
the 1994 was a real good one, the 1997 is a great one!, the 2000 should be even better or as good as the 1997 (we talk from about 95-97 points)

Check out a couple of vintage port sites, such as portlover.com or The Vintage Port site, or send them an e-mail, for any advice on port, and for advice on how best to enjoy that 100 year old port specifically, which, like Tsunami said, is probably a tawny port. I doubt you should drink it any differently from any other tawny, but I'm more a vintage port guy myself.

Aside from what I said on your last thread...

I have never heard of Whitwhams, but agree that it must be a Tawny--a supposed 100 y.o. Port bottled in 1999 has to be. I wonder if it's Australian. I would not count on it being 100% 100 y.o., either, but probably a much smaller %...

You can probably find '85 Nacional for $250 if you look hard enough. But again, you're paying a steep premium for the name, status, rarity, & can get a better bottle for much less.
I might spend $175-200 for an '87 Nacional (my marriage year) if I had the money at the time.

With all due respect, I'm somewhat puzzled as to why someone who is apparently fairly new to Vintage Port wants to concentrate so much on the Nacional...but it's certainly none of my business.

Hi thanks for the reply again:) I will check out the website and try to read more about it:)

From what I have read, Nacional's status in port is like DRC in burgandy. Why so? How good can it be? What makes it so different? Does it live up to it's reputation? I can read a thousand TN about how great it is, but the only way to find out is to try it.
I know it will take many many years before I can develop my taste to truely appriciate something special like Nacional. But looking for a ready to drink rare wine is very hard and is usually unaffordable to most people. Therefore, I want to get it when it is avalible in a resonable price.

Don't worry:) if i do get a bottle of nacional, I won't be wasteful enough to open it when I don't think I am ready for it:) and of course, when the wine is ready to be consumed:)

I'm not sure why I didn't think of it earlier, but there is also www.quintadonoval.com. You may have already found it, though, since the comment likening it to DRC is mentioned there.
When I found the '83 Nacional but couldn't find any info in any of my sources that even confirmed that there was an '83 Nacional, I sent an e-mail thru their website & got a nice, prompt response. If you're serious about wanting a rarity, sams.wine.com (Chicago, long way from Hong Kong) still lists the '83 for $220. '83 was generally a good vintage.

While I have not tried any of it yet and don't doubt it can be excellent, I think it is overhyped and would not expect a 95 point Nacional to be better than any other 95 point VP (for what the point rating system is worth.)

sorry blobby,
but a 95 point nacional is better than a 95 point
whatever!

nacional are 100% phyloxera-free roots!
about 80 years old vines!
thats the reason why it needs more time to come into his drinking-phase.

leesunhee,

avoid:
-1982
-1980!
-1978!
-1975
-1964
-1962
-1960

these are the "bad" vintages,
"!" these are worse!

Nacional costs so much more for the reasons given by Tsunami, which means that there are only a few hundred, (maybe 200-400?) cases made a year. Don't buy this just because it is so much more expensive, while that may be a rule of thumb in cars or houses, it is not in wine, especially not vintage port. Check out the many threads on the relative value or first growths or the burgundies you mention. Of course, if money is no object.....

BLobby, should you ever visit Amsterdam, I know a store where they have the '87 National for (I believe) $120-150.