New
Douro 2004 tasting
The wines
of Niepoort
Niepoort
Vihnos SA, Rua Infante Dom Henrique 16-2, 4050-296 Porto, Portugal
Website: www.niepoort-vinhos.com
E-mail: info@niepoort-vinhos.com
I’ve
written widely about Dirk Niepoort and his wines on these pages
over the last four years, so I’ll just give a brief introduction
here. Niepoort was a small, high quality port lodge in Vila Nova,
without any of its own vineyards. Then, in 1987 Dirk joined his
father in the family business, and things changed. They acquired
two Quintas in the Douro, Nápoles and Carril, and in 1990 began
making table wines: Robustus, in 1990 was experimental, and from
1991 it became Redoma. To Redoma Tinto Dirk has gradually added a
stable of wines, including the more affordable Vertente, two
wonderful Redoma whites, two icon reds in Batuta and Charme, and
most recently a Riesling-style white called Tiara. Also made, but
not sold in the UK, are a bargain red called Fabelhaft, a Douro-Dão
blend called Dado, and an Austrian red called Spitzerberg. Then
there experimental batches of Douro Riesling and Pinot Noir.
With
the 2004 wines I think Dirk has excelled, and perhaps these are
truer to the Niepoort vision than the previous few vintages
(although the 2001s stood out as exceptional, too). Batuta and
Charme are both astonishingly good: perhaps Portugal’s best ever
table wines? The only shame is that they are made in such small
quantities.
Redoma
Branco Reserva 2004
Made from three old vineyards at altitude. Predominantly
Rabigato, but with some Viozinho, Donzelinho, Dodega and Arinto,
as well as others, too. Really nice perfumed nose is rich, full,
fruity and lemony with complex waxy notes. Really lovely densely
textured palate is fruity and smooth with a nice herbiness and
long, spicy, mineralic finish. Very good/excellent 94/100
Niepoort
Vertente 2004
Lovely bright fresh red fruits here with good acidity. A nice
wine showing good concentration and freshness. Very good+ 89/100
Niepoort
Redoma 2004
This is the wine that sums up the Douro for me. Lovely bright,
spicy definition to the nose which shows brilliant red and black
fruits. The palate has great acidity and lots of structure. It’s
similar in style to the 2001, just a bit finer and a little
better. Less wild, too—but everything is here. Very
good/excellent 94/100
Niepoort
Batuta 2004
Lovely full, fresh nose showing sweet dark chocolatey, spicy
notes. Great definition. The palate is concentrated with rich,
sweet fruit, but under this the structure is huge. A powerful yet
elegant, intense yet refined wine that is simply thrilling. A
fresh, tight style with lots of potential. Excellent 96/100
Niepoort
Charme 2004
Smooth, sweet, open elegant nose with hints of chocolate and
vanilla. The palate is soft and concentrated with refined tannins
and nice spiciness to the structure. However, the tannins hide
well behind the fruit. Is it a hint of new wood showing, or the
influence of the stems? A serious wine with a great future ahead
of it, and one which may well outperform Batuta in the future,
although the styles are quite different. Excellent 95/100
See
also:
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Wines tasted 05 and 07/06
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