Niepoort Robustus, Douro

Description

Niepoort Robustus is a wine that pays tribute to the first Douro table wine that Dirk Niepoort produced in 1990 with the same name which was never released.

The philosophy behind the Niepoort Robustus is to use the tradtional techniques of ageing in old wooden vats to soften the tannins in the wine. The wine is therefore aged for 42 months in 2000 litre wooden vats. This allows a powerful wine to develop, based on aromatic complexity. The balance of well integrated tannins derived from the length of time ageing and its great acidity.

Niepoort Robustus is a Douro field blend of Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cão and other grape varieties sourced from various vineyards including Quinta do Carril with an average vine age of 60 years, with some as old as 100 years. The grapes are harvested by hand and, upon reaching the cellar, the grapes were hand-sorted and gravity-fed into stainless steel tanks. There is long fermentation with a period of 40 days maceration. The wine is then transferred to the 2000 litre oak vats for the extended ageing period. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration.

Niepoort Robustus 2013 was matured in 2000 Litre barrels for almost 4 years before being bottled unfined and unfiltered in July 2017, giving a total of 3 025 bottles.