FTLOP Port Harvest Tour
Day 1 – Sunday
Coming out of COVID, the possibility of returning to Portugal for the 2021 edition of the FTLOP Port Harvest Tour seemed like the world slowly, ever so slowly, returning to its natural course. This was my eleventh Port Harvest Tour, and I remain amazed that these tours always manage to bring new experiences, new Quintas to visit, new Port releases to try, or unique tasting lineups to keep things fresh and interesting, even for those of us who have been on the tours many times.
As is customary, all the tour participants assembled Sunday afternoon in the hotel lobby to meet each other, discuss COVID protocols, and hear a little bit about what lay ahead for us in the coming week. For The Love Of Port Founder Roy Hersh and Tour Director Mario Ferreira welcomed us, and before long we were eagerly heading out the door to hop in our Ubers for our first appointment of the tour.
As a side note – Elio Vicente, a friend of Mario Ferreira (FTLOP Director of Tourism), came along on this trip and captured some amazing video with his cameras and his drone. He put together this five-minute video of some of our highlights visiting the Douro Valley.
Niepoort Lodge
For our first stop on the trip, we headed over to the Niepoort Lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia. Unlike many of the Port Lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia, this lodge does not generally host guests. I had only visited this lodge once before, on my first Port Harvest Tour in 2006. Although we had an incredible experience, back then the cellars and tasting room had felt more like a dusty, cobweb-filled working cellar than other Lodges that we visited on that trip. I had heard that Dirk Niepoort, Winemaker, and visionary at Niepoort, had done quite a lot of remodeling to the space, so I was very excited to see the changes, and of course, see Dirk again and try some of his amazing wines and Ports.
You only have to meet Dirk once to know he has a flair for the unusual, so I guess it should not have been a surprise to be greeted with some great artwork on some of the stainless steel tanks as we arrived at the Lodge.
As we walked into the lodge, we were greeted by Dirk and his son Daniel, who had joined his father in the winemaking craft and is the sixth generation of Niepoort’s involved in the trade.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim warehouse, I looked around and some things seemed familiar, such as the old wooden casks and the glass demijohns of Garrafeira Ports on shelves against the walls. We also took a walk through the small “laboratory” – which is more like a mini-museum – and that also seemed very familiar with old sample bottles, lab equipment and ledger books. It has a historical, nostalgic feel, as if Dirk’s father, Rolf, could walk in at any time, sit down, and start blending Port wines.
However, as we went into down into the tasting cellars, I discovered that the changes that had been made to that old dusty cellar had turned it into a welcoming, visitor-friendly place to visit and taste the fruits of Niepoort’s labors.
We all settled down at the table and began the tastings, with Dirk explaining a little bit about each wine as it was being served.
1982 Niepoort Late Bottled Vintage Port. Bottled in 1988. Unfiltered. This wine was made by Dirk’s father Rolf and was aged for six years in barrel and then bottled. Cinnamon and bright red fruit on the nose. Rich mouthfeel with balanced notes of cherry, Christmas spice and noticeable tannins on the pallet. Long, rich, spicy finish. 93 points. 9/26/2021
2019 Niepoort Vintage Port. Dark purple in color with violet on the edges. Still some primary dark fruit on the nose – blueberry, boysenberry and floral notes. On the palate, more primary blackberry and dark fruits with firm tannins. The tannins are noticeable but will end up resolving as this wine ages. 91 points. 9/26/2021
2017 Niepoort Vintage Port. Dark opaque in the center with magenta on the edges. Surprisingly integrated nose of violets, dark fruit, and raspberry. While the fruit is not fully integrated on the palate, this seems like it is going to be a really fabulous wine. Some noticeable tannins on the very long finish. 93 points. 9/26/2021
2017 Niepoort Bioma Vintage Port. Niepoort bought this vineyard in 2003. Dark opaque purple in color with violet on the outer edges. On the nose, there is a hint of minerality like the granite lagares, along with some primary fruit. There are noticeable tannins on the very long finish. 94 points. 9/26/2021
1987 Niepoort Vintage Port. This was Dirk’s first year producing a Vintage Port. Purple trending to pink on the very outer edge. Herbal notes of eucalyptus and esteva, along with some brambleberry. Red fruit on the initial, rich mouthfeel. Vanilla hints but the flavor profile is more dominated by cinnamon and spice. Nice, extremely good balance with a touch of spice on the long finish. 91 points. 9/26/2021
Next up, we got a chance to try one of Dirk’s famous Niepoort Garrafeira Ports. This is a rare style of Port wine that is made from the grapes of a single harvest. After aging in wood for three to six years, the wine is moved to glass demi-johns where they continue to age until they are ready for release. The aging in glass (as opposed to wooden casks) creates a Port wine that is a much more smooth and elegant style of Port.
1987 Niepoort Garrafeira Port. Amber-pink in color with some fine sediment. Subtle red fruit on the elegant nose. Rich, soft red fruits with an amazing balance and just a touch of red spice popping up on the mid palate. Very long, smooth finish. 96 points. 9/26/2021
1970 Niepoort Colheita Port. Bottled in 1987. Orange-brown in color with some fine settlement. Nose of rich vanilla and caramel. Warm, rich palette with smooth balance. It has a very long finish with well-balanced acidity and sweetness. 94 points. 9/26/2021
1970 Niepoort Vintage Port. Red fruit on the nose with some herbal notes. Rich strawberry and raspberry on the pallet with well-balanced tannins. Incredibly rich flavor profile and a rich balanced finish. 95 points. 9/26/2021
1931 Niepoort Vintage Port. Dark amber-orange in color. Cinnamon and some red fruit on the nose. Rich red fruit and some extremely rich balanced sweetness. Dirk said that there may be only two or three bottles of this Port Wine left. 95 points. 9/26/2021
We were also joined by Axel Probst, a long-time friend of For The Love Of Port. Axel helped organize a fantastic charity event that brought together twenty-five producers for this project, who contributed grapes and helped to produce a special O-Port-Unidade. The project helped raise €100,000 for Bagos d’Ouro, a charity organization that supports underprivileged children in the Douro Valley. Some of the wine was stored in cask at Niepoort, so we had the opportunity to try the wine with Axel, Dirk and Daniel.
2013 O-Port-Unidade. Twenty-five producers were involved in this project. Amber red in color. Spice and some dusty red fruit on the nose. Good acidity and balance. Nice round flavor profile, and a very long, pleasant finish. 93 points. 9/26/2021
All good things must come to an end, so we wrapped up our tasting, said our goodbyes to Dirk and Daniel, and thanked them for once again providing us with such a memorable visit.
We headed over to one of our favorite Gaia restaurants – Taberninha do Manel – for dinner and thereafter, back to the hotel, capping a wonderful first day of the Port Harvest Tour.
