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Wine Description
The Story
Vintage Port maintains Niepoort's tradition of making balanced Ports with great concentration, being at the same time fine and delicate. We strongly believe we can make a Vintage Port with potencial to last for decades. Vintage Port must be bottled within two or three years of the harvest date.
The magic of Vintage Port is different in every phase: as a young wine it captures the youthful fruit characters. Then, after 20 years or more, the effects of the slow bottle age integration are revealed and finally, after many decades, the spirit dominates the wine. Vintage Port is amazing in all the three phases. Half sweet taste, combining with its strong structure. Firm and long tannins, but balanced as a whole. Please, note that Vintage Port needs to be decanted. Perfect with "Queijo da Serra", Stilton or other blue cheeses and with egg desserts, like the portuguese "Pão de Ló".
Soil Type: Schist
Vineyards: Vinha da Pisca, Pinhão e Ferrão
Average Vine Age: 60 and over 100 years
Varieties: Touriga nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela, Sousão and Tinta Roriz
Vines per Ha: 4000 - 6000
Wine Information
Niepoort Vintage Port 2005
“I don’t believe in a perfect wine, but this one is the closest to perfection that I have ever been able to produce. It has tannins like Romanée-Conti, it has more Burgundy aromas than port. You feel the tension in it but it does not hit you. It is 100% stems, foot-trodden, 12-14 hl/ha. I like to make the basic blend during the harvest at the winery in Douro. Many times it is just an experiment but in 2005 we used the same blend in the final wine. For me, this is perfect. It is so subtle and smooth, with the perfect quality of the tannins and a perfect length.” – Dirk Niepoort
Harvest Report:
The harvest occurred from from 7th September until 12th October Following a relatively cold and a very dry winter, the growing season was also low in rainfall, hence with low humidity the absence of diseases in the vineyard was evident. A very hot summer, gave rise to vine stress which was most evident especially in hot low lying south facing vineyards leading to berry shrivel and slightly unbalanced fruit. However a light rain shower in early September allowed fruit maturation to achieve completion. The harvest started early, with very clean fruit arriving at the Winery at Quinta de Napoles (dedicated to Niepoort table wines) and at the Winery at Vale de Mendiz (dedicated to Niepoort port wines) and the sorting table, used to remove any poor fruit, also allowed us to remove berry shrivel. The weather during harvest was perfect with no rain, warm days and cool nights, the wines showed very good colour and aroma during fermentation, with yields marginally higher than in 2004. Quinta de Napoles: Some very fine, elegant wines with good acidity have been made with a lot of personality; especially those sourced from cooler north, east facing old vineyards on higher ground exhibiting great freshness. Overall, a better picture of the wines will emerge after the malolactic fermentation but at this stage the wines show a lot of promise and with careful selection of fruit on receival at the winery, the wines show concentration and balance while avoiding the overripe characters which could be expected in such a year.
Vale de Mendiz: Some very fine, elegant port wines have been made with a lot of personality; especially those sourced from cooler north facing vineyards on higher ground exhibiting great freshness. Overall, a better picture of the wines will emerge in the spring but at this stage the wines show a lot of promise and with careful selection of fruit on receival at the winery, the wines show concentration and balance while avoiding the overripe characters which could be expected in such a year
Fine, elegant, mineral but not balsamic, the floral and fruity character are enhanced. The taste continues fine, although it's a tannic wine. Rich but not excessive and with a long spicy aftertaste.
Vinification:
In 2005 the harvest had very hot and also very humid days. The production was high but with small berries that have concentrated the tannins and colour. Overripe and dry grapes were taken out to reassure the finesse of the wine. Vinha da Pisca (very old vineyard) with notes of coffee and black berries gave the final blend the desired freshness.
Harvest Period: September/October 2005
Way of Harvest: Hand picked
Fermentation: Lagares/FootTreading
Ageing: 2 years in cask
Alcohol: 20 % vol
Baumé: 3,6
Bottled: July 2007
Production: 32 000 bottles
Tasting Notes:
Fine, elegant, mineral but not balsamic, the floral and fruity character are enhanced. The taste continues fine, althow it's a tannic wine. Rich but not excessive and with a long spicy aftertaste. Impressive finesse even though robust.
