Niepoort | Sarah Ahmed - The Wine Detective

Heads up on a couple of June case deals: Niepoort port & Australia’s First Families of Wine

Posted Thursday 9th June 2011

In theory pre-mixed cases are a great idea which encourage experimentation and I’m all for that. In practice, quite a few seem to contain makeweights which is off-putting. However, for fellow fans of Portugal and Australia with a spirit of adventure, here are a couple of high quality case deals well worth checking out: Niepoort [...]

Looking far and wide: Niepoort Finos do Mundo & Big Day Tastings

Posted Wednesday 11th May 2011

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Three years ago, Niepoort started to import wines for distribution in Portugal. The aim? “Quite simple” says Dirk Niepoort – “to import wines we like” - structured, elegant, tending to austerity even. The illustrious portfolio includes wines from Champagne R&L Legras, Schloss Gobelsburg, Soalheiro, Jean-Marc Pillot, Domaine Roulot, Telmo Rodríguez, Domaine Armand Rousseau and Fritz [...]

Heads up: 10% discount on Niepoort wines

Posted Tuesday 29th March 2011

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A quick post today but most worthwhile! Fareham Wine Cellars is offering ViniPortugal subscribers 10% discount on two Niepoort wines until the end of April, or until stocks last. Niepoort Vertente Tinto 2008 was £16.75, special offer price £15.00 per bottle Niepoort Tiara Branco 2007 was £18.75, special offer price £16.85 per bottle See ViniPortugal’s UK [...]

The holy grail of perfect balance: Álvaro de Castro & Dirk Niepoort Dado/Doda vertical

Posted Monday 21st March 2011

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Based a stone’s throw from Celorico da Beira, the venue for last week’s 1st Portugal International Wine Meeting & Tasting, leading local light Álvaro de Castro (pictured right) co-hosted a lunch with Douro dynamo Dirk Niepoort (pictured second from left) – a great opportunity to show a vertical of the pair’s red blend Dado/Doda, so-called because the [...]

First taste: The Douro Boys mineral-sluiced 2008 reds and powerfully fruity 2009 whites

Posted Friday 14th January 2011

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The Douro Boys are the energetic, quality-focused crew behind Quintas do Vallado, do Crasto, do Vale Dona Maria, do Vale Meao and Niepoort - standard bearers for region and country both in terms of the wines and the dynamic way in which they promote them. I’ve visited and met with the Douro Boys collectively and [...]

Niepoort Projectos tasting plus, first taste, Niepoort’s maiden crusted Port

Posted Friday 7th January 2011

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What really excites me about wine is its dynamic nature – its mutability according to variety, site, vintage, winemaking technique and age among other factors. How do so many winemakers resist the lure of working with other varieties, sites or regions? Most definitely not to be counted amongst their number is fifth generation Port producer [...]

The Big Fortified Tasting – a big thumbs up

Posted Monday 19th April 2010

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Nine out of 10 vegetarians miss bacon and I still hanker after BLT sandwiches. Happily a similar new acronym, BFT – short for Big Fortified Tasting – has entered my vocabulary and I feel well compensated! The name pulls no punches. With over 300 wines at today’s inaugural tasting, it provided a unique opportunity to [...]

The Douro Boys – 2007 table wines & port report

Posted Friday 18th September 2009

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Just to say I’ve posted my full report of my visit earlier this month to meet with the Douro Boys here. It features tasting notes of new releases (2008 whites, 2007 reds and ports) and a report of vertical tastings with each of the famous five – Quintas do Vallado, do Crasto, do Vale Dona [...]

The Douro nose to tail…

Posted Tuesday 8th September 2009

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So I’m back from the Douro Valley visit with the Douro Boys. No matter how many times I go, its scale and rugged beauty blow me away. One wag queried “Boys,” but this is why I think it remains an apt title. The Douro’s most famous product is port, so maybe you’re thinking pipe and [...]

The Douro Boys – the 2007 releases

Posted Tuesday 1st September 2009

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Hey, just to let you know I’m off to see the wizards today a.k.a. the Douro Boys! I’ll be reviewing the latest 07 vintage releases - I had a sneak preview when I visited with Dirk Niepoort in June and the wines were looking pretty fab though just bottled. As for the ports, check out [...]