Douro

Region: Portugal
Winemaking process: A rare style of dry white port, made with lengthy skin maceration and wood ageing. 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.

Tasting notes: Golden, with nuts and almonds aroma and a fresh concentrated finish. Great when served chilled as an aperitif or with tonic water, ice and a slice of lemon or lemon peel.

Food pairing: Best served chilled as an aperitif or as a long drink with tonic water, ice and a twist of lemon.

Reviews
"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

Region: Portugal
Tasting notes: 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.

Food pairing: Serve with soft cheeses, mild blue cheese, dark chocolate desserts or a pepper steak.

Region: Portugal
Tasting notes: 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.

Region: Portugal, Douro
Grape variety: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional and others

Background: The 2004 “Batuta” (Batuta means “conductor’s baton” in Portuguese) is aged for 20 months in French oak, and sourced from very old vines. The principal source of grapes is Quinta do Carril, a 70-year-old vineyard. In addition, grapes are sourced from older vines exceeding one hundred years in age. The first vintage of this bottling was 1999.

Tasting notes: Dark intense colour and aroma with great complexity, with concentrated black fruit, spicy intense notes of black and green pepper, and elegant balsamic notes along with tobacco and earthy aromas; ending with coffee, moka and toasty aromas. Wide palate, very precise and tight, with fruitiness and impressive mineralty. Fine and seductive tannic structure linked to long persistence ending. Certainly a wine for the next decades.

Region: Portugal
Grape variety: Touriga Nacional,Touriga Franca,Tinto Cão,Tinta Francisca,Tinta Amarela,Sousão,Tinta Roriz

Background: 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.

Tasting notes: 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 persistence. A worthy “drinking Port” At Niepoort we believe that the colour of the port should be inspired by the "ruby stone" (instead of black dark colour Ruby). Niepoort Ruby is a fresh, young and fruity (lots of red cherries and red fruits).

Award: CellarTracker - 88 Points: "Dark red in colour, with a fresh vibrant aroma of dark fruits which follows through on the palate along with a mineral character, a youthful wine with good extract and great balance, offering superb "drinkability". Ready to drink now, after a meal, on its own or with soft cheeses."

75CL
Port wine
Recommended serving at a temperature of 16 to 18 degrees

Region: Portugal
Background: 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.

Tasting notes: Brick red tawny appearance. A velvety mouth feel with a fine blend of old wines giving richness, balanced with younger wines giving freshness and complexity.

Region: Portugal
Background: 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.
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.

Winemaking process: To produce a port wine with a fine and balanced flavour, Niepoort Tawny ages in oak casks for 3 years.

Tasting notes: Freshness, lightness and balance are the key elements of this wine. Tawny has a shiny bright colour and soft and sweet tannins.

Food pairing: 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. A Port easy to drink on any occasion.

Region: Portugal
Tasting notes: This is what 20 year old is all about. Subtle aromas of toffee, caramel and flan, with hints of dried fruits. Medium-to-full-bodied with sweet fruit and a long coffee aftertaste that turns to honey and apricots.

Region: Portugal
Grape variety: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela, Sousão, Tinta Roriz & others
Tasting notes: A brick-red appearance with some light orange tinges leads into a fine slightly smokey aroma with hints of dried fruits. The palate is refreshing, with wonderful acidity and hints of dried apricots and crystallised fruit, leading to a lengthy mellow spirit driven finish.