"Amazing aromas of orange and lemon peel, with hints of toffee, caramel and honey. Full-bodied and luscious, with lots of sweet fruit and a long, subtle finish that goes on and on. A benchmark for 10-year-old tawnies." 95/100 Wine Spectator

Brilliant red colour with a wonderful aroma of dark fruits and a classy touch of chocolate. On the palate sweet grainy seductive tannins give the wine a superb elegance and interact well with the fruit and fine spirity finish. The wine can be enjoyed now, and will become more complex with further cellaring for a couple of decades from vintage. To fully benefit from its qualities we recommend it be decanted before serving.

Serve with soft cheeses, mild blue cheese, dark chocolate desserts or a pepper steak! 92-93 Points James Suckling.

At the same time that famous English names were establishing themselves in the Douro, the other great Port importing nation - the Netherlands - was sending bright business types to set up Port Houses. One such was Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort. Five generations later and the dynamic Dirk van der Niepoort is at the helm.

Niepoort used to be well-known for their Tawny and Colheita ports, but Dirk has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of their Vintage Ports too. One of the key moves, with this in mind, was for Niepoort to purchase their own vineyards with Quintas de Nápoles, do Carril and do Passadouro coming under the Niepoort wing at the end of the 1990's

Niepoort - one of the very smallest Port Wine shippers, has been owned and managed for five generations by one family with a reputation not just as one of the Douro`s greatest Port producers, but as one of the leading wine dynasties.

The Niepoort Way ~ Making truly great Port requires respect for the complex terroirs of the Douro Valley, and a passion for its ancient vineyards. From these tiny yields produce grapes of outstanding quality, from which Niepoort Ports are made. Dirk Niepoort remains one of the last great enthusiasts, and perhaps the leading practitioner, of treading the grapes and fermenting them on old granite lagares prior to their fortification and ageing.

Niepoort, whose respect for tradition and keen attention to detail produces a series of excellent wines at every level, can boast the most diverse portfolio of any Port shipper. Among these are……

Is a part of the Dirk Niepoort success story playing out in the Douro valley. Set in Vale de Mendiz, the estate was acquired by Dirk Niepoort and financial backer Dieter Bohrmann in 1991 and it continues to expand as its fine ports reach a wider market. Using traditional techniques combined with the attention to detail that marks out Dirk Niepoort as one the major players in Portuguese wine, Quinta do Passadouro produces great port
Niepoort Quinta do Passadouro 2000 92/100 US Wines & Spirits

Vintage Port is the highest on Niepoort`s list, with the Wine Spectator stating : “Niepoort has made some of the best Vintage Ports of the 20th century”

A real eye opener in that it is one of the only Ruby`s around that is genuinely barrel aged. So the flavour is mellow and chocolately, with the added benefit of length and persistance. A worthy “drinking Port” At Niepoort we believe that the colour of the port should be inspired by the "rubi stone" (instead of black dark colour Ruby). Niepoort Ruby is is a fresh, young and fruity (lot's of red cherries and red fruits!).

An expressive port with great character. Ruby keeps well for several years, although the wine will not improve with age. No decanting is necessary since the wine contains no sediment. The wine originates from low yielding old vineyards in the Cima Corgo Region of the Douro Valley. The grapes are predominantly trodden in Lagares, prior to ageing in large wooden vats at our lodges in Gaia and bottled with an average age of 3 years.

Niepoort created a second style of vintage port: “Secundum Vintage”. The Secundum’s intention is the creation of an approachable Vintage that offers immediate satisfaction yet keeping the balance to age for decades. If we compare the Niepoorts Vintage Port with classic music then Secundum would be like Mozart, young, charming, creative and tangible and the Vintage like Bach: intense, profound, complex and less accessible.

Niepoort Secundum 2000 93/100 US Wines & Spirits Niepoort - one of the very smallest Port Wine shippers, has been owned and managed for five generations by one family with a reputation not just as one of the Douro`s greatest Port producers, but as one of the leading wine dynasties. The Niepoort Way ~ Making truly great Port requires respect for the complex terroirs of the Douro Valley, and a passion for its ancient vineyards. From these tiny yields produce grapes of outstanding quality, from which Niepoort Ports are made. Dirk Niepoort remains one of the last great enthusiasts, and perhaps the leading practitioner, of treading the grapes and fermenting them on old granite lagares prior to their fortification and ageing. Niepoort, whose respect for tradition and keen attention to detail produces a series of excellent wines at every level, can boast the most diverse portfolio of any Port shipper. Among these are…… Vintage Port must be bottled within two years of the harvest date and be 100 per cent wine from that harvest. The magic of Vintage port is different in every phase: as a young wine it captures the youthful fruit characters, then after 20 years or more the effects of the slow bottle age integration are revealed and finally after many decades the spirit dominates the wine. Vintage Port is amazing in all the three phases. Maturation in the bottle is more reductive than cask ageing and the wine that results has a fruitiness and power which develops in the traditional ageing vessel, the classic, thick, black port bottle.

A lovely drinking Tawny, produced in the tradtional manner. Very approachable with soft red fruits, spices and hints of wood.

The grapes are hand picked and originate from a single harvest, all vinification is traditional, with grapes being trod by foot in old stone “lagares”. The fermentation occurs with temperature control, being stopped by adding brandy (firewater). This wine as it is made, has very big aging potential. The palate is rich and powerful with mature black fruits, sweet spices and hints of oak, a firm, powerful structure with a mouth coating finish.

A rare style of dry white port, made with lengthy skin maceration and wood ageing. Best served chilled as an aperitif or as a long drink with tonic water, ice and a twist of lemon. The white grapes undergo long skin maceration, occasionally with foot treading in lagares, with fermentation carrying on to near dryness, before the addition of pure grape brandy. Ageing is carried in small old oak casks in our cellars in gaia for at least 3.5 Years before bottling.

"Dirk also makes the best dry white port going, with atypical elegance and freshness" tasting note from the excellent book 'Wine behind the label'. Winemaker's notes

60-year-old Malvasia vines are apparently dominant here, and it is aged for up to 4 years in cask. Very deep yellow/gold colour, with a sweet nutty nose. The soft herb-tinged palate is sweet with a lovely texture. Interesting, soft and intense. Very good+ Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com

To produce a portwine with a fine and balanced flavour, Niepoort Tawny ages in oak casks for 3 years. Freshness, lightness and balance are the key elements of this wine. A Port easy to drink on any occasion. Tawny has a shiny bright colour and soft and sweet tannins.

Tawny Port keeps well for several years, although the wine will not improve with age. It contains no sediment and does not need to be decanted.

Niepoort Tawny, is a great starting point to enter into the magical world of tawny ports. A relatively young wine blended from several years with wonderful freshness and elegance acquired from gentle ageing in small old oak casks. A versatile wine, which can go just as well with chocolate based desserts at the end of a meal, as it can lightly chilled as an aperitif before a meal.

After a partial stripe of the grapes, with light crushing, follows the fermentation with skin maceration. The fermentation occurs with temperature control, being stopped by adding brandy (firewater). All the process of vinification is controlled by the team of oenology, considering the kind of grapes, its level of maturation and the sweetness wanted. Full-bodied, smooth, round, with sweet tannins and with a long finish.