|
The
2007 REDOMA BRANCO
was aged for 8 months in French oak. It is mostly
Rabigato, with a healthy dollop of Codega. The alcohol
comes in at 12.7%. Refreshing and friendly, this is
showing its oak a bit too much on opening, but I was
surprised to see how quickly the oak integrated and how
much steeliness the wine could project. It rounded into
form quickly and should be drinking just fine on
release. This has little intensity. I would tend to
drink this on the young side for best results. There
were approximately 1,335 cases produced. Drink now-2010
The 2007 REDOMA
RESERVA Branco is a typical Douro white blend
of Rabigato, Codega, Viosinho and others from 80 year
old vines. It was aged in French oak for 9 months. The
alcohol is 13.5%. This seems to be a somewhat small
scaled Reserva this year, compact and delicate, more
subtle than intense. Although I was not always sure it
had the necessary penetration on the finish that I have
always loved in this wine, the balance between oak and
fruit is rather good and gets better with air. It is
thoroughly charming, elegantly crafted and a pleasure to
drink. I tend to think it will be early maturing,
though, and best drunk on the younger side. I’m leaning
up a little, even though with some doubts. I liked the
finesse here. A Portuguese white at this price point may
have some difficulty in today’s economy, though. There
were approximately 583 cases produced. Drink now-2011.
The
2007 VERTENTE is a
typical Douro blend aged 18 months in French oak. It is
another Niepoort old vines product, with the blend of
vineyards and vines ranging from 17-70 years. It is a
lovely Vertente this year, sunny and charming, graceful,
yet gripping, with some oaky nuances around the edges.
Its elegance will make it a gracious guest, and it is at
a pretty good price point in Niepoort’s lineup. Its
finish is average, there is not a lot of mid-palate
concentration, and it did start to thin noticeably after
being open an hour or two, but it will be a pleasure to
drink for short to mid-term consumption. There were
3,165 cases produced, of which 250 were imported. Drink
now-2017.
The 2007 REDOMA
Tinto is a Douro blend from old vines (60-120
years) aged for 22 months in French oak. I really liked
this Redoma, which is showing even better now than when
I had it in the Douro last year. It adds a layer or two
of depth to the Vertente, sports better structure, and
will likely age well, as these have a tradition of
doing. At roughly half the price of the Batuta, it is
deeper and more complex this year. For all that, it
remains graceful and elegant, in Niepoort’s style. This
won’t impress with size, weight or pure power, but its
mid-palate depth is better than you think at first, its
balance is impeccable and it is beautifully structured.
It drank beautifully the next day, its structure more
obvious than ever. This is what you expect from Niepoort
at his best in a good vintage. This has a pretty good
chance of becoming the best ever Redoma. There were
2,578 cases produced, of which 100 were imported. It is
approachable now, but for best results, hold it a year
or two. Drink now-2025
The 2007 BATUTA
is a typical Douro blend (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz,
Touriga Franca and others) of grapes and old vine
(70-100 years) vineyards aged for 20 months in French
oak. There were 13,720 bottles produced. As with most of
Niepoort’s wines, especially in this vintage, this is
elegant and bright, more focused on being graceful than
big, and beautifully balanced. Classy and subtle in some
respects, it still has plenty of power this year,
though, and it is quite tight and rather tannic on the
finish at the moment. That said, while this is a very
nice Batuta, I’m not sure I see the complexity I’ve
lauded here before. For one thing, it is too well
nuanced with oak at the moment and showing little more.
With some age and opportunity to integrate the oak with
the rest of the wine, this will settle down and show
better, and its fine performance the next day gave me
some basis for saying that, but for now, my pick of the
litter in this vintage is the Redoma. Drink 2011-2022.
The 2007 CHARME is
my favorite since the very fine 2004. Richer, lusher and
deeper than in recent vintages—and with an oak and
vanilla tinge currently obvious on the wine-- it is
light in color, not unusual for this wine, and very
fragrant, with a hint of game. There are also obvious
tannins around the edges that make the wine a bit tight
at the moment, but it should come around quickly as an
hour or two open helped it a lot. The finish is average
and the mid-palate depth is on the lighter side, with
that nod to Burgundy. My main quibble here is the oak
nuance, and that really needs to integrate if this wine
wants to accomplish its goals. It showed awfully well
some 10 hours after being uncorked. Drink now-2017.
A step above is the 2007
Niepoort Vintage Port which delivers a superb
bouquet of fruitcake, plum, incense, blueberry, and
licorice. Elegant on the palate but with layers of rich,
succulent fruit, this intense, smooth-textured,
impeccably balanced wine will have a lengthy drinking
window extending from 2017 to 2037. It is one of the
stars of the vintage |
