I was always under the impression that these bottles are amongst the most rare and best ever!
Yet, it seems someone on CellarTracker managed to purchase 5 only a few days ago: http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?T ... ional+1931
This makes me happy since it does seem they can still be found
Note as well the first bottle on the list. Bin: JDAW - Really nice Julian!
They come up at auction or retail periodically. IMO, the problem is these tend to get bought and sold a number of times before they get opened, so one must be very careful about provence. There were a few up for sale recently that were listed as having signs of seepage, and IIRC, were about $6,000 a bottle still
Andy Velebil wrote:They come up at auction or retail periodically. IMO, the problem is these tend to get bought and sold a number of times before they get opened, so one must be very careful about provence. There were a few up for sale recently that were listed as having signs of seepage, and IIRC, were about $6,000 a bottle still
However, compared to the prices for certain "normal" wines, this is still very reasonable considering that this is supposed to be the best known port.
Not only have I not tried 31 Noval I have far less experience buying at auction than many of you. But after reading "the Billionaire's Vinegar" and following subsequent developments in the counterfeit wine world, I would urge extreme caution in buying this or any other legendary wine.
I believe that the odds are more likely that the wine is fake than real. Not only are old bottles easy to counterfeit, but when someone sticks a 63 Fonseca in the 31 Noval bottle how many people are going to discriminate the difference? Who really knows what a 31 Noval Nacional tastes like, anyway?
As fine wine has become an exclusive commodity in the last 20 years, the criminals have followed like moths to a flame. I would only buy a wine like this if the provenence was impeccable. For many years I have wanted to own a 1945 Mouton Rothschild. Not only is it a legendary wine and vintage, but it has the V for Victory label signifying the end of the war. But after doing some research I honestly felt like the risk was too high, and now the prices are too high as well.
Does anyone here know or suspect they have consumed a counterfeit bottle?
Portman wrote:Does anyone here know or suspect they have consumed a counterfeit bottle?
I (along with Julian, Andy, Alex, and Roy) opened a fake Croft vintage from the 30's that wasn't even a declared vintage for a vertical we held in Boston a couple of years ago. Had a copied Croft looking label and I think a t-cork! The bottle itself looked old, but what was in the bottle was not grape. The bottle was bought at auction and refunded.
I had a 1908 Dow that was not port. It was so metallic and acid, it was a health risk to drink. I do not think the cork was correct either.
That being said, I would not be nearly as worried about counterfeit port as I would be with wine. I know the '31 Noval I had was authentic, or at least authentic to that era and a top port. If it was something; get me a case of that stuff!
Portman wrote:Does anyone here know or suspect they have consumed a counterfeit bottle?
I (along with Julian, Andy, Alex, and Roy) opened a fake Croft vintage from the 30's that wasn't even a declared vintage for a vertical we held in Boston a couple of years ago. Had a copied Croft looking label and I think a t-cork! The bottle itself looked old, but what was in the bottle was not grape. The bottle was bought at auction and refunded.
That bottle of Croft (1933?) was just so obviously fake that none of us really expected it to be real when we opened and tasted it. There was a bit of hope that it might have been an oddity, but it was just plain revolting.
To my knowledge, I have never otherwise had a fake. I know Tom's seen some bottles at auction which he believed were fakes - Taylor 1945 was one of the vintages, I think. I've seen bottles at auction which were not fake, but which really should be accepted by the auction house for sale because you could tell they were not fake as the cork could easily be read as it floated in the top of the wine.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.
2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
Yes, fraudsters do exist, and I have good information regarding the identity of one of them. However, as I do not possess documents that can prove the allegation, this is information that I will only pass on verbally.
In the meantime, buyer beware!
As for NN31; the marking of the original bottles appears to have been somewhat casual, so documented provenance is essential. While it is possible that someone using Cellartracker has recently acquired a stash of these, one cannot wholly discount the possibility that someone is building a fantasy cellar..
The big question is whether or not NN31 really is the holy grail; and if it was, whether it still is.
Its standing is largely down to the adulation of Michael Broadbent, yet the limited supply of TNs from the last 30 years or so are less than convincing, and I don't think I have any account of it being sampled blind and found supreme.
A problem with wines of this standing is that when writers get treated to such a rarity (they never buy their own!), it is very hard to say anything bad about it, unless the bottle was corked or otherwise defective.
Perhaps someone with a better reference library than mine, would like to compile a list of all known TNs for this wine..
Tom
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly - W.S. Churchill
uncle tom wrote:The big question is whether or not NN31 really is the holy grail; and if it was, whether it still is.
My understanding - which comes only from reading, not from tasting - is that the '31 Noval is superior to the '31 Noval Nacional. I've seen that more than once, yet of course the NN31 gets most of the press due to the extra 'N'.
