Wine Cellar

Wine:  Batuta

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, although only 25 cases were imported. 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

Wine:  Charme

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.

Wine:  Dry White Port

Wine:  Late Bottled Vintage

Wine:  Redoma Branco

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.

Wine:  Redoma Branco Reserva

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.

Wine:  Redoma Tinto

The 2007 REDOMA Tinto, retasted from bottle in the USA for the first time here, 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

Wine:  Ruby Port

Wine:  Ubuntu

Wine:  Vintage Port

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.

Wine:  White Port