Niepoort : Vintage Port 2015

Niepoort crafts a Vintage Port of exceptional quality

The estate

Founded in 1842 in the heart of the Douro, Niepoort is an essential name among the finest Duriense wines. For five generations, the Niepoort family has passionately crafted Ports renowned for their outstanding quality, the result of ancestral expertise combined with a great terroir. Displaying rare concentration and elegance, these exceptional wines are acclaimed internationally by many critics.

The vineyard

Niepoort tends a vineyard that enjoys a continental microclimate, sheltered from maritime influences by the surrounding mountains. Deeply rooted, the vines are planted on predominantly schist soils.

The wine

Niepoort's Vintage Port 2015 is a Vintage Port made from grapes sourced 40% from the Pisca vineyard and 60% from a selection of very old plots in Vale de Mendiz, in the Cima Corgo sub-region. The vines on these terroirs are around 80 to 100 years old. The residual sugar content of Niepoort's Vintage Port 2015 is 101 g/litre.

The vintage

2015 was marked by weather conditions ideal for producing a Port of exceptional quality, regarded by some as the finest Port of the 21st century.

A cold and particularly dry winter was followed by a dry, hot spring and summer. Three heatwaves in June and July were offset by cooler temperatures in August. Thanks to low humidity, the vineyard was protected from the risk of disease and was in outstanding health at harvest time. The harvest began on 28 August and was punctuated by rainfall on 15 and 16 September, which, combined with lower temperatures, encouraged the grapes to ripen.

Structured and balanced, this great vintage charms with its fine yet intense tannins, lovely concentration and balance, as well as fruit of great purity.

Vinification and ageing

Hand-harvested, the grapes are foot-trodden in circular lagares. Vinification is carried out with 100% of the stems. The wine is racked and then aged for 2 years in wooden vats before blending. It is during ageing that the estate's teams select the finest wines that go into this Vintage Port. The wine was bottled in June 2017.

Blend

Niepoort's Vintage Port 2015 is a blend of several grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela, Sousão, Tinta Roriz…

Tasting

Nose
Discreet and precise, the nose elegantly combines a pure expression of fruit with a complex aromatic bouquet.

Palate
The palate charms with its concentration, liveliness, complexity, finesse and great freshness. 2015 is an impressive vintage, silky, structured and balanced, thanks to firm acidity and a lower sugar content that lends the wine greater freshness.

Food and wine pairing

This Vintage Port pairs perfectly with cheeses (“Queijo da Serra”, Stilton, blue cheeses) or with egg-based desserts served with “Pão de Ló” (Portuguese sponge cake).

Ageing potential

Approachable in its youth, this great Port can be cellared until between 2035 and 2055 to reveal its full aromatic range.