niepoort vintage 2015 port

Niepoort Vintage 2015 Port

Notes from Niepoort:

"2015 was as perfect as it gets, particularly for Port – a year where we had time to think and make the right decisions, with the weather helping enormously.

Picked at the perfect time, 40% originating from our Pisca vineyard and 60% from different small parcels, all over 80 years old, the Ports were foot-trodden and made in lagares in Vale de Mendiz, with 100% of the stems.

This resulted in incredible Ports with an unusual dimension, impressive structure with fine and intense tannins, great concentration but always accompanied by balance and harmony.

All the elements seem to have fallen into place to ensure that this Vintage will outlive the 1955, 1970 perhaps even the 1945 Ports (but after vastly different harvest conditions)…

The sweetness is masked by the wonderfully robust tannins, the alcohol by the generous concentration, with the fantastic natural acidity of 2015 providing an overall balance.

The nose is shy but focused, no overripe prune-like characteristics, just a gentle and elegant expression of fruit and complexity – it is a joy just to smell all the hidden elements.

The balance and harmony in the bottle promise a great future: these are bottles to taste in the coming years in order to smile at its youth, to drink properly in 20 years and to enjoy fully in 40 years. A Vintage which is actually destined for the next generations so they can admire the beauty that the Douro is able to deliver".

from Niepoort:

"In a great year like 2015, the big challenge was selecting the final blend from more than 60 000 litres of very good quality wines, all of them worthy of great Vintage Port status. For more than a year, Dirk Niepoort, Nicholas Delaforce and Rodrigo Nogueira examined the wines carefully and meticulously selected the best vats.

In April 2017 near perfection was achieved when a blend of 20 000 litres was finalised. We have a great Vintage on our hands, showing beautiful concentration, vigour and complexity, but with plenty of finesse and remarkable freshness. Compared to the 2011 vintage, despite the tannins also being very robust, the 2015 gives us a silky wine, with great structure and incredible balance thanks to its taut acidity and lower level of sweetness, which results in a fresher wine".