For The Love Of Port

Well after Roy and Fred recommended this last week in the Marketplace section I ran out to the Wine Exchange and got the Niepoort Vertente to try. WOW! I've only had a few douro reds and this is the best to date. I drank it the same day I got it (last thursday) with a friend over a wonderful authentic Mediteranian dinner. I didn't take any notes but remember it being very well integrated and a true pleasure to drink. I liked it so much the next day I went back and bought 4 more.

Thanks for the great recomendation guys!

Glad you like it Andy, I've got only one bottle left of this. But I think we should receive a new batch of this soon.

Now I'd suggest taking a step futher in quality and price and try the Redoma 2001 which I think is the best Redoma produced so far. 2001 was a great year for dry Douro wines.

Fred,

After the first couple of Douro reds I had I was getting a bit worried that I would not like them. This one really changed my mind and I am now excited to find more to try. I will have to try and hunt down the Redoma. Thanks again.

Fred_Quebec wrote:Glad you like it Andy, I've got only one bottle left of this. But I think we should receive a new batch of this soon.

Now I'd suggest taking a step futher in quality and price and try the Redoma 2001 which I think is the best Redoma produced so far. 2001 was a great year for dry Douro wines.

Fred, when was the last time that you had the Redoma 2001? I had it a couple of months ago and, I don't know if it was my inexperienced palate, but I found a little bit "shut" at the moment. Very tannic, a lot of acidity, but not much more. I didn't decant it, but I left in my glass for more than 2 hours and there was no noticeable change. This will probably will be a wonderful wine some years from now. What's your opinion?

Andy, last week I had what was probably the most memorable wine in my life: Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional 2001. Very expensive, but what a wine!!! You'll find it wine-searcher. Now, I definitely wanna try the Vertente.

Joao,

Thanks for the recommendation. When my pocket book recovers from the holiday spending spree I will track a bottle down to try.

As for the Niepoort, I forgot to add. As Fred mentioned in an earlier thread, give it about 20-30 minutes of air prior to drinking. If not, It is quite a noticiable change (for the better) if you start drinking it right away and see how it evolves.

João, I had it 2 times already this year, the last one in September. Both time the wine has been decanted for at least 2 hours. It was not shut down. I agree that the wine is very tannic and has nice acidity, it should age very well. Still I have 6 bottles left and I'll wait another 2 years for the next one.

Fred,

i picked up 3 of the 2001 Redoma today. I guess based on what was said I guess these need a couple of years, at minimum, to age?

Andy, if you want to open one right now go ahead, just decant it 1/2 hour before and you'll have lots of fun but of course this wine needs 2-3 years for its tannins to settle. It depends ont how you like your wines.

cofidis2 wrote:Fred,

i picked up 3 of the 2001 Redoma today. I guess based on what was said I guess these need a couple of years, at minimum, to age?

Anyway, you have 3 bottles so go ahead and share your thoughts with us. :)

Andy,

I am pleased you had a great experience with the Vertente. I think you'll really like the Redoma too. Then comes the Niepoort Betuta and finally the Niepoort Charme. What a lineup but they get pricier as you step up the ladder.


The 2001 Crasto Touriga Nacional was a fabulous drink. I had it while dining at Crasto in late Oct. Great wine although I can't say that like João, it was the best wine of my life. But it was in the top ten best Douro Reds I have had (not including older Barca Velha bottles).


So many great Douro reds, so little time. I like to let mine age and am very patient. I still have nearly 40-50 TNs from my trip on the Douro reds. Sheesh.

I think I may pop open a bottle soon, just to try and tuck the other two away for a bit to age. When i do I will be sure to post the TN's. Thanks again for the great recommendations

Opened a bottle of Vertente at dinner this evening. My wife loved it and said, "we need a case of this stuff" and that was all the music my ears needed to hear.

I was very happy with this wine too. Loved it in Portugal, but sometimes the situation(s) and food pairings make the experience so much better. I had brought back some 30 year old Tawny and it has NOT performed as well as the wine did in Portugal. I spoke to one of the guys who went on the trip who also brought this particular wine back. He felt exactly the same way, that it did not live up to the greatness of the wine we had while there. It was from the same size format too.

Anyway, the Vertente rocks ... and given the price, it is a fantastic QPR wine!