TNs: A little kindness goes a long way: Niepoort table wines

[Otto Nieminen]

A while back I attended a massive Port wine tasting held in Helsinki. Dirk van der Niepoort was a guest at the event. He seemed like a jolly fellow and I really enjoyed talking with him about both his ports and his table wines. None of his table wines were on show at the event but I had heard such great things about them that I naturally asked a little about them. All of a sudden, Mr. Niepoort asked for my address. I gave it to him thinking that he would send brochures about his table wines. Much to my surprise I received wines instead! He sent me the Vertente 2003 (promising, but disjointed at present), Redoma Branco 2004 (stunning!), Batuta 2003 (very pleasant stuff, though I can't help thinking that a cooler vintage would be better) and the Charme 2004 (stunning though apparently not of the same components as will be bottled). I decided that as Dirk had been so generous, I would spread his generosity and invite a few friends, whom I know to be lovers of Portuguese wines, over to taste them. Thanks to them we got to taste a few more interesting wines like the Redoma 1997 (drinking well, but will probably better in a few years), Q. do Passadouro (lovely now) and the desserts. The Moscatel was very nice but was unfortunately overshadowed by an outstanding Madeira. This was a lovely evening with great wines, not so great food (because made by me, ha ha) and great company! We ended the day with a lovely wine - though humble in comparison with the rest: the Montesodi 1993 which is à point and a great food wine.

I must confess a special interest in the Batuta. I am a lover of all things Arabic - especially the medieval Arab traveller Ibn Battuta who travelled far wider than Marco Polo and who wrote a much more interesting account of his travels! My interest in Niepoort lays not only with their usage of this name (though not connected at all to the traveller) but with their stunning wines. Their Vintage Port 2003 is one of the highlights of my year. It would seem that their table wines are of the same standard.

2004 Niepoort Douro Redoma Branco Reserva - Portugal, Douro (1/24/2006)
Yellow/light gold. The nose is rather funky with notes of sweat, much citrus, quite a bit of oak which is in perfect balance with all the other components, much fruit. The palate is very thick and luscious - very much fruit-forward - but it does have a fine citrussy acidity and even a saline minerality on the aftertaste. Excellent, bordering on outstanding.
1997 Niepoort Douro Redoma - Portugal, Douro (1/24/2006)
Dark. The nose is tangy, with much dark fruit, a bit rustic, meaty, savoury with Chateau Musar-like notes - a fantastic nose! The palate is big with much fruit but it is of a dark, savoury character, red berries, pleasantly rustic, rather tannic but the tannins are soft and long. Very good.
1997 Quinta do Passadouro - Portugal, Douro (1/24/2006)
Dark. The nose is dominated by red berry scents. It is big but elegant with a prominent note of lavender and a touch of dung (yum!) - deep and nuanced. The palate has much sweet fruit, resolved structure, good depth and and exceptionally fine and ripely acidic aftertaste. Very good.
2003 Niepoort Douro Vertente - Portugal, Douro (1/24/2006)
Bottled, but not on sale yet. Very dark purple. The nose is a bit disjointed with the alcohol showing through. The components seem fine however: lilacs, fine ripe (maybe even over-ripe? too warm year) fruit with a bit of balancing darker scents and earthiness. Probably very fine, but hard to say as it's very disjointed.
2003 Niepoort Douro Batuta - Portugal, Douro (1/24/2006)
Very dark purple. The nose is rather closed: tar, dark fruit and a hint of fresh greenness. The palate is much more expressive than the nose with big and very ripe fruit, much tannins, fine acidity and a fresh green note to it. It even has a bit of salinity/minerality to the very long aftertaste. Excellent, bordering on outstanding.
2004 Niepoort Douro Charme - Portugal, Douro (1/24/2006)
A barrel sample - not the same components as the finished product I was informed today! Very dark red (n.b. not purple!!). The nose is very full on and fruity but still has an elegance to it. There are notes of strawberry youghurt, hints of dark fruit though red is the most prominent colour on the nose, some savoury green elements, boiled meat and lilacs. The palate has sweet fruit, much tannins (of course), a bit of savoury greenness bringing freshness, and a very fine acidity indeed. Excellent, bordering on outstanding.
N.V. Moscatel Niepoort - Portugal (1/24/2006)
Orange. A nose of orange, ripe strawberry, toffee - a bit simple but very pleasant indeed. The palate is very sweet with notes of butterscotch, much alcohol and acidity. Long and good.
1834 Barbeito Madeira Malvazia Vintage - Portugal, Madeira (1/24/2006)
Brown-green-gold. The nose is lovely and expressive with notes of coffee, rancio, tomato, rust, espresso, dried figs...descriptors ad. inf. - great depth and nuance. The palate is fairly sweet with a pleasant degree of oxidation, fine fruit, and utterly beguiling rapier-sharp acidity. Immortal aftertaste. Outstanding.
1993 Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Montesodi - Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Rufina (1/24/2006)
Deep core, light rim - evolved but good colour. The nose is lovely with much vegetal character, a hint of dung, herbs, red cherry and red apples. The palate is also vegeatal with lots of red berry notes, fully integrated oak, fine acidity. Quite a lovely food wine!

[Frederick Blais]

Wow!! this is generosity.

This is the treatment you get when you visit them, you are very lucky. This is a shame these products are some limited and hard to get. The Redoma Branco reserva is so much interesting, but I was only able to get some 2003 yet.

For the Batuta 2003, I'd not drop the towel so early, this wine need some time to see the tannins integrate and the structure open up a bit to get real freshness and complexity

For the Charme 2004, if I had the money, I'd buy the entire production. Luis the wine maker told me it should be bottle in december 2005, so if they stood with that decision, we should see it this spring in shop!

[Roy Hersh]

Otto,

Thanks for this excellent post on the great reds of Dirk and a few bonus wines like the ever-enjoyable 1834 Barbeito.

I am kind of surprised that Dirk did not taste you on his fantastic new white wine "invention" called Tiara. The 2004 Tiara is a unique cross of Riesling and Chardonnay of all things. Tasting Notes to follow.

[Jan-Tore Egge]

Riesling and chardonnay in the Douro? Are you sure? I looked it up on the Niepoort web site, and they mention a host of grape varieties, including arinto "and others", but no mention of riesling. Old vines, it seems. Do you you happen to know the "legal reasons" for this wine being available only in Portgugal?

[Frederick Blais]

I think what Roy meant is that the wine reminds him of a mixt of the 2 grapes. When I tasted it I had the same impression, the nose of a chardonnay and the mouth of a riesling. There is no riesling nor chardonnay in this wine. Though actually Niepoort bought experimental vineyards from Cockburn's in the 90's with Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted on it. A friend of mine tasted the Pinot Noir last year and he found it really good.

[Jan-Tore Egge]

Ahh!

Looking at the Niepoort web site, by the way, there were also one or two other table wines that I didn't know about. No great surprise in that, I suppose, but still.