TN: 2003 Niepoort Vertente Douro

[Andy Velebil]

I bought a number of these on release and while I drank most them in short order, I did manage to tuck a few away to see how they would hold up with some medium term aging. I last had one almost three years ago...January 2008 to be precise. Now mind you these are really meant to be consumed on the younger side to enjoy the fresh fruit they offer, and to help you keep your hands off the Redoma's and Batuta's while they age. After opening this I almost wrote it off, as the fruit was very lean with some faint aged leather and tar, but short on fruit and a massively out of balance tannic finish. About one and a half hours later this started to make a dramatic turn around. The fruit all of a sudden put on significantly more body weight and started to give this more dimension. The medium bodied white cherries and tar that finally showed themselves helped offset some of the dense tannins. While the fruit on the palate was still holding in there, the tannins on the finish were obtrusive. While I was pleasantly surprised after some decanting how well this was holding up, this is just past it's prime drinking window and I recommend drinking these up in the next year or so for maximum enjoyment.
87 Points