On 17 September we will be launching the Niepoort 2017 vintage with a tasting.
Dirk Niepoort has declared his 2017 vintage port, hailing it as ‘the best wine I’ve ever done’ at a trade tasting at Lyle’s in London this April. ‘Even before harvesting the grapes this vintage looked perfect, yields were quite low, it had been hot and dry, but warm during harvest – not too hot – and it is a very balanced year.’ He predicts that this vintage will age forever. ‘The 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2015 were all incredible vintages for Niepoort but the 2017 is a culmination of experience from all those fantastic vintages,’ he adds.
The reviews for 2017 are all sharing the same sentiment as Dirk Niepoort’s. Mark Squires from Robert Parker Wine Advocate awards it 99-100 points. He laments, ‘It is hard to think of any basis on which this is not perfection just now – Niepoort says it is the best he’s ever made. It’s certainly the best I’ve seen from him, and it is a leading candidate for “Wine of the Vintage”.’
Julia Harding MW writing for Jancis Robinson comments, ‘I’ve put a start date of 2025 but this is ridiculously delicious now even though it clearly has massive potential longevity.’
The tasting notes?
‘An incredible dark, rocky purity with a long savoury finish, the fruit is intense but not ultra-fruity. This reminds me of the rocky Douro from which the wines come. Sheer beauty with hidden power. Glorious, very long, totally moreish even now.’ Julia Harding, Jancis Robinson (read whole review here.)
‘On opening, it was fragrant and delicious, but even then, there was plenty of muscle and evident concentration. The concentration and power merely improved as it aired out – unlike a lot of 2016s (which year Niepoort did not declare). Tasting it after several days open showed that it shut down and closed up in terms of expressiveness, but it definitely proved that it’s an oldschool, long-haul wine. Dry, stern and long on the finish, this is brilliant.’ Mark Squires, Robert Parker Wine Advocate (read whole review here.)
Tutored Vintage Port Tasting : 2pm – 3.30pm
Venue :Upstairs at No. 4 above the Corkscrew Wine Shop, Chatham Street, Dublin 2
email barbara@winemason.ie if you would like to reserve a place.
