2004 Niepoort LBV Port

[Glenn E.]

I saw this on the shelf at a local wine store while I was attending a Washington Wine & Cheese tasting, and since it was very reasonably priced I picked up a bottle to try. It was bottled in 2008, and makes no mention of whether or not it is filtered. I took this note with a glass poured immediately after opening, so it hasn't had any decant time at all.

2004 Niepoort LBV

It is a very deep red with some purple tendencies in the glass. It fades through red and pink before becoming clear right at the rim.

There's something mildly funky about the nose, but I can't place it. Oddly (at least to me), the fruits start out more purple than red, and there's a bit of a compote going on. There's a noticeable amount of alcohol, too. With a little bit of time in the glass, the fruits migrate toward the expected (due to the color) red end of the spectrum. Almost like strawberry jam, but not that sweet.

What hits first in the mouth is grapes, then the feel of some very fine tannins accompanied by a moderately savory flavor that could almost be beef boullion, and then a distinct sensation of milk chocolate as it pours around the tongue. It's not a creamy, silky smooth milk chocolate like I often detect in the 2003 Taylor Fladgate LBV, but more of a Hershey's milk chocolate which (at least to me) isn't as smooth as a really high quality chocolate.

The tannins are present and firm, but not gripping. They linger through the finish to the very end. The finish is of moderate length and consists mostly of purple fruits, grape skin, and just a tiny bit of licorice.

All in all, a decent LBV. My guess would be that it is not filtered, but that's only because I know that the 2003 Taylor Fladgate is filtered and this feels rougher in the mouth. Were I ranking them, I'd have to put the Niepoort below the Taylor Fladgate for drinking right now, but I suspect that the Niepoort will age better and might actually need 5-10 years before it's truly in its prime.