A few Niepoort's wines

[Frederick Blais]

Rencently I did open a few bottles, without taking any notes, here the remaining impressions.

Redoma Branco Reserva 2006 : I had this wine 2 times in the last couple of months. It is fantastic. Still young and vivid displaying great purity and balance with its flavours and structure. Lingering finish. With half cook lobster and sauce au beurre blanc, the match was perfect.

Redoma tinto 2006 On release this wine was showing too much oak and less acidity than normally putting this cuvée less Douro wild than it is usually. Time change! The oak is less obvious, acidity and square tannins are taking over this mostly shut and austere wine today. It needs time.

Projectos Pinot Noir 2006 Placed as a Pirate in a Burgoundy tasting. Before starting to pour, some guest called a Pinot from the Douro... I guess I've becomed too predictable. The wine is in a ready to drink state but has room for improvement. It has great fruit on the nose, some spiciness reminding me of Tinta Roriz from Douro or Rioja and some sweet toasty flavours not yet integrated. The palate is fresh, it has good weight for a pinot but nothing is too much, the ripeness and oakiness on the palate mostly made this wine looks like out of Burgundy but the freshness and fruit purity was very Burgundy.

[Roy Hersh]

I agree the 2006 Branco Reserva is a very nice wine. It still shows plenty of oak though and I think this will be significantly more enjoyable as that component integrates over the next several years. Do you like it better than the 2005 version?

[Frederick Blais]

Do you like it better than the 2005 version?

That's a very good question!!! I don't recall having the 2005 reserva since probably 2006 or 2007 in Portugal. 2005 produced intense and complex wines with good purity of flavours. It has more density than the fresh and precise 2006 . I don't know what 2005 taste today, but if it has not change much, I'd probably go for 2006 with food and 2005 for enjoying a better made wine.