Niepoort Poeirinho, Bairrada

Description

Niepoort Poeirinho is made in the Bairrada wine growing region in the Beira province of Portugal. Wine has been made in the Bairrada region since the 10th century and it is most famous for the Baga grape variety. Indeed, Niepoort Poerinnho is made from 100% Baga and is so-called because Poeirinho is the old name for Baga.

Dirk Niepoort occasionally makes excursions outside of his Douro home which has led to collaborations in the Dao, Jerez in Spain and now Bairrada. The 2012 vintage was the first release of this wine. Dirk has been hunting down small parcels of Baga from very old vines throughout the Cantanhede sub-region that will produce a wine that is light in colour and alcohol that will have huge ageing potential. Today all of the Baga grapes come from Niepoort’s own Quinta de Baixo vineyards. These are grown organically and carry the SATIVA certification.

Grapes for this wine were hand picked from vineyards with an average vine age of 80 to 150 years old. Harvest began in late September and the grapes were picked when a good balance of natural sugar content and good acidity had been reached.

Niepoort Poeirinho is was fermented in open lagares and in closed tanks where it went through carbonic maceration and where it remained for 4 weeks, before completing its fermentation in wooden vats. The wine went through malolactic fermentation in the used 2500L wooden vats, where it also aged for 20 months. It was bottled unfiltered.

Niepoort Poeirinho is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.