Niepoort Voyeur 2018 Tinto

€ 30.18 € 27.16

In the usual creative free spirit of Niepoort, in the past few years we decided to test vinifying some of our wines in clay amphorae. After several experiments, in 2018 we produced a wine which we liked very much indeed – the Voyeur! After many months of ageing, we opened the various amphorae in the Quinta de Nápoles and created the ideal blend offering the right combination of freshness, good acidity and lightness.

The Voyeur offers a light-coloured core with violet and orange hints. On the nose, the fruit is quite pronounced, with light nuances of clay which however do not mask the wine’s bouquet.

Elegance and low alcohol characterise the palate, with well-integrated notes of amphorae which add to the wine’s lingering finish.

Food pairing

Light and simple dishes as well as comfort food

Grapes: Field Blend from vines of 40 to 50 years old

The Voyeur 2018 was fermented and macerated in six 1000L clay amphorae for approximately 8 months. Each amphorae contained a wine from a different site in the Douro Valley, all planted with old vines. In this wine, the individual grape varieties are not the most important factor, it is rather the complexity resulting from the blend of the varieties – including white grapes – that takes centre stage. The vineyards range from 40 to 50 years of age and grow in high-lying areas which provide a very refreshing aromatic profile and enable the wines to age for 8 months in clay amphorae without losing their character.

The 2018 vintage was a cool year up until August, with the coolest July recorded in the 21st century. Compared to 2017, the maturation process showed a delay of 3 weeks. The first days of August brought a sudden increase in temperatures: 4 August was the hottest day of the 21st century to date, causing the ripening process to progress slowly during the month of September. Due to water stress, the vines gave us musts with low alcohols and good phenolic ripeness as well as sufficient complexity and minerality

Store & Serve

Serve at 16-18°C. Can be drunk up to 7 years after harvest

Alcoholcontent

12,6 %vol

pH: 3,72

Critics & Awards

91/100 - Gismondi on Wine Tasted: Aug 2020

Three amphora reds and three amphora whites, all from vines 40-50 years old, from six different sites in the Douro, go into this inaugural Voyeur wine. The initial plan was to release 3 different wines, but the blend worked so well, they blended it all together. Voyeur will remain like this going forward, though it will be taken from different sites, altitudes, etc. each year. In 2018 it’s a 50/50 red and white blend, spending 8 months in 1000L Spanish amphora, lined with beeswax. Pale crimson in hue, this is light, herbal, thorny and finely grippy, with lovely sapid plum and wild blackberry and raspberry. Tannins are whisper fine, and the finish is lingering with schistous minerality. Light, effortless, pure, and alive, as is the Niepoort way. (Treve Ring).

Tags : Niepoort - Douro