Niepoort 1997 Colheita Port (Single Vintage Tawny Port)

Description

Niepoort 1997 Colheita Port is a single vintage tawny Port made with grapes harvested in 2007. Colheita Port is a dated tawny Port aged in cask – the minimum age requirement Colheita Port is that it has to be aged for at least 7 years in cask. It is the tradition at Niepoort is to age their Ports for at least 10 years in casks before bottling.

Niepoort is a family company now in its fifth generation and presently managed by Dirk Niepoort. Despite being the second smallest shippers in the trade they are second to none in quality. Already famous for their classic tawny ports, they have now joined the ranks of the great producers of Vintage Port. “Niepoort is to Vintage Port what Krug is to Champagne. They are both small houses in a world dominated by large competitors but they are producing outstanding wines which very few can match.” (James Suckling, Vintage Port).

The grapes for Niepoort Colheita Port come from vineyards in Vale do Pinhão and Ferrão in the Douro Valley where the vines are over 60 years old. The soils are schistous and grape varities included in the blend are Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela, Sousão, Tinta Roriz and other Douro varieties. The grapes are hand harvested and then then trodden in in “lagares” at Vale de Mendiz. After vinification the wine is put into barrels and later the Port is aged in small old oak barrels at Niepoort’s lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia.

Niepoort 1997 Colheita Port, bottled in 2015.