Niepoort Robustus 2017 Tinto

€ 86.50

Robustus is a tribute to Dirk Niepoort's first wine in 1990 but never released. Robustus is made since 2004 and today according to the traditional customs for making red wine in the Douro. The long aging in the old wooden barrels gives this wine its complexity, soft tannins and its unique precision and balance, while maintaining its liveliness and aromatic freshness

The 2015 Robustus is a wine with a mature character. After a long ageing period in 2000L foudre barrels, tertiary, somewhat earthy aromas and notes of truffle. The tannin is seductive and perfectly balanced, with the tremendous structure that only old vines are able to provide. The palate impresses with its youth, lightness and tension. A wine full of elegance, with a long, persistent finish.

Food pairing

Delicious with game dishes with partridge, venison and duck.

Vegetarian suggestion: sublime with spicy dishes and recipes with mushrooms or truffles

Grapes: Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão

The weather conditions of the 2015 vintage were very good, with enough sunshine, sufficient heat and low humidity which all allowed for even growth.

In winter, the rainfall from the month of March onwards replenished a large part of the soil’s water reserves. Spring began with higher average temperatures and some rain, which topped up the water reserves in the soil and led to even budbreak. After flowering in the month of May, veraison in July also proved to be nicely homogenous, with a delay of about 2 weeks as compared to the previous year. One of the unique characteristics of this vintage was the ability of the vines to stay hydrated even during ripening. Towards end August / beginning September the basal leaves were green and moist, the grapes hydrated and the skins thick and firm. The wonderful balance of the musts, the silky tannins and the intense colour concentration show that we can expect this to turn into an outstanding vintage for the wines of the DOC Douro appellation.

Upon reaching the cellar, the grapes were hand-sorted and gravity-fed into stainless steel tanks. A long alcoholic fermentation and maceration period followed. The wine matured in 2000L barrels for 4 years before being bottled unfined and unfiltered in February 2020, giving a total of 5200 bottles. © Niepoort