TN: 2003 Niepoort Vertente Douro

[Andy Velebil]

Compared to when this was young, this has now lost most of what made it enjoyable a few years ago. It's now just a lean, simple, lack luster Douro wine. The 2001 is holding up far better than this one. This is the second bottle of this I've had recently with the previous showing a bit better. 83 points

[Brian C.]

Is this a cautionary tale about either Niepoort table wines or Douro wines in general? That note is certainly one that causes me to take notice, anyway.

[Moses Botbol]

Is this a cautionary tale about either Niepoort table wines or Douro wines in general? That note is certainly one that causes me to take notice, anyway.

I don't this is cautionary of Neither except this particular bottle. Niepoort has made plenty of top wines and Douro wines are generally good. I can't think of many 2003 Douro red's I have had...

[Brian C.]

Is this a cautionary tale about either Niepoort table wines or Douro wines in general? That note is certainly one that causes me to take notice, anyway.

I don't this is cautionary of Neither except this particular bottle. Niepoort has made plenty of top wines and Douro wines are generally good. I can't think of many 2003 Douro red's I have had...

I'm just wondering about aging, if either Niepoort or Douro don't age well. I gathered that Douro was relatively new compared to other regions for table wine.

[Andy Velebil]

Brian,

This tasting note is only for this particular wine, which I've had a number of times over the years. This particular 2003 Niepoort Vertente doesn't seem to be holding up very well as it ages. But keep in mind this is an inexpensive Douro (about $15 or so when I bought it, IIRC) and is really meant for drinking younger. Although the 2001 Vertente is holding up better, and a testiment that some inexpensive Douro wine can and do age well.

Niepoort Douro wines can and do age very well. Matter of fact Dirk Niepoort is one of the top Douro wine makers and it's impressive that even his lower priced wines (red and white) generally can handle some degree of age well. And his top end wines are amazing good and aging very well, the legendary 1990 Niepoort Robustus is amazingly young still. But nothing is perfect and not all wines can age endlessly. This may be more a tesitment to the vintage, that while good for Ports, was very hot for Douro wines resulting in lower acidity levels required for extended aging. That said, I need to add there are some very good 2003 Douro wines that are still doing very well (2003 Quinta do Crasto Vinha Maria Teresa rocks), so don't take this to mean that all 2003 Douro wines won't age. The Douro is huge with massive amounts of micro-climates.

If you do happen to own some of the 2003 Vertente's I'd recommend you drink them up sooner rather than later, based on the past couple bottles of it I've recently had.

[Brian C.]

Andy,

Thanks for the response. I asked partly because I debated getting the Niepoort Redoma Tinto (I think it was 2004, can't remember) the last time I was at Binny's. At the entry level, I had a Twisted once (I think I posted about it on here awhile back) , and enjoyed it.

[Andy Velebil]

Andy,

Thanks for the response. I asked partly because I debated getting the Niepoort Redoma Tinto (I think it was 2004, can't remember) the last time I was at Binny's. At the entry level, I had a Twisted once (I think I posted about it on here awhile back) , and enjoyed it.

It's been a bit since I last had the 2004 Redoma, but i would have no issues recommending getting it (as I would buy it for myself to be honest). The Redoma is a middle-upper end wine and they generally age very well. And 2004 was an excellent year for Douro wines.