Niepoort Vintage 2019 Port
€ 95.85
| Producer | Niepoort |
| Region | Douro |
| Grapes | Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Trincadeira, Sousão, Touriga Nacional |
| Ageing | Vintage Port (a single exceptional year) |
| Alcohol | 19.5%vol | pH: 3.46 |
| Serving | 16-18°C, open 2 hours ahead and decant, drink the same day Store lying down, at a constant temperature and away from direct light |
| Scores | 96/100 Wine & Spirits |
A 2019 Vintage Port, elegant and fresh like the 2008 vintage.
Tasting note
A beautiful dark purple rim and great depth of colour. The aroma is fine and restrained, with a hint of primary dark fruit and some spice. On the palate the potential and style come together, with a beautiful integration of dark fruit and a grainy tannin structure, volume with astonishing balance and elegance, and an impressive finish.
The story
After three small years in a row, 2019 brought more balanced yields. The winter was dry, but an unusually cool summer and timely rain on 26 and 27 August let the fruit ripen well. At Vale de Mendiz the harvest began on 2 September and the last grapes came in during the first week of October. A year of naturally fresh, balanced musts and cool weather, reminiscent of the elegant 2008: perfect for the Niepoort style.
The grapes are foot-trodden in granite lagares with all their stems. The wine spends its first winter in large vats in the Douro and moves to the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia in spring.
At almost every Port house, the Vintage Port is the icing on the cake. Its magic differs at every stage: young, it is all about full, youthful fruit; after twenty years or more, all the elements merge into perfect harmony; and after many decades the ‘spirit’ of the wine takes over. It is already delicious young, as long as you decant it.
Food pairing
Ideal after a meal. Perfect with Queijo da Serra, Stilton, Roquefort, Gorgonzola and other blue cheeses, and delicious with all egg-based desserts.
The producer
Niepoort was founded in 1842 in Vila Nova de Gaia and has belonged to the Dutch Van der Niepoort family for five generations. For more than a century it was a Port shipper without vineyards of its own. That changed when Dirk Niepoort joined his father Rolf in 1987: that year the family bought Quinta de Nápoles on the Tedo, in the Cima Corgo, followed by Quinta do Carril in 1988.
With the first Redoma in 1991 Niepoort became one of the pioneers of unfortified Douro wine, and a new winery was completed at Quinta de Nápoles in 2007. Dirk Niepoort also works in Bairrada, the Dão, Vinho Verde and the Mosel, and his son Daniel joined him at the helm in 2020. The Ports age in the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia.
Critics & Awards
96/100 Wine & Spirits Magazine | Tasted: Oct 2021
