Niepoort Vertente, Douro

Description

Niepoort Vertente is red wine produced by Dirk Niepoort in the Portugal’s Douro Valley and combines the fruit and concentration typical of Douro red wines with the elegance Niepoort likes to demonstrate in his wines.

Niepoort was founded as a Port House in 1842 and today is run by the 5th generation winemaker Dirk van der Niepoort. Whilst Niepoort is very well known for their superb Port wines, they are now considered to be one of the top Portuguese producers of table wines. Dirk really was at the forefront of the Portuguese wine revolution. He first started experimenting with wines in 1990 and released his first red table wine, Niepoort Redoma Tinto in 1991. Dirk continues to experiment and innovate and produces some fantastic Douro wines as well as from relatively newly acquired vineyards in Bairrada and Dao. All of the red wines, with the exception of the Niepoort Charme, are made at the futuristic winery at Quinta do Napole. Charme is made with the Ports at Vale de Mendiz.

Niepoort Vertente is made from grapes sourced two areas. Frstly they are sourced from from vineyards with an average age of 25 years old from around Niepoort’s Quinta de Napoles winery in the Tedo Valley. The remaining grapes are sourced from old vines (60 years) on the slopes of the Pinhao River in the Vale do Pinhao. The grapes are hand harvested in September with selection at the vineyard and at sorting tables at the winery. The grapes are predominantly Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca with other Douro grape varieties. 70% of the wine is fermented in stainless steel wine presses and 30% in conical shaped stainless steel vats. The wine is then aged for 22 months in French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation.

Niepoort Vertente is a dense, complex and fresh wine, great to drink now but also with great potential for ageing.