Description
Niepoort Lagar de Baixo
Current Vintage: 2013
With a lighter colour than the first edition, it presents a cherry and blackberry aroma, with a slight vegetal profile, reminding stem. The wood is fully integrated, in a delicate, very fragrant, and expressive way. In the mouth, has vigour, great precision, and earthy tannins, very typical of the Baga variety. Although with a light volume on the mouth, the structure on the palate is strong, with a very refreshing and clean finish. With only 11.3% and an excellent balance, invites us immediately for another glass. It should be served in Burgundy glass and slightly chilled (14/15 ° C).
Background Story
The huge passion of Dirk Niepoort for Baga variety and the fantastic terroir of the Bairrada region led him to look for small parcels of Baga in very old vines, scattered throughout the Cantanhede region, over the past three years. These wines were light in color and alcoholic content, elegant and fine, soon after bottling, but with a huge ageing potential. In 2012, with the acquisition of Quinta de Baixo, it was possible to recreate the brand Lagar de Baixo with a classic profile that would dignify the nobility of Baga variety in Bairrada. Lagar de Baixo Tinto is the result of joining very old vines with younger ones: a complex and serious red wine, but with some youth and vigor.
Food Suggestions
Game dishes (partridge, wild boar), “feijoada” (bean stew), baked cod. Vegetarian suggestions: dishes with legumes (red beans, lentils).
Vinification
2013 was a wet year, with rain during the winter and spring. As a result, the budburst occurred fifteen days later than the previous year and the whole growing cycle was delayed. The summer was not as hot as usual and the nights were quite cold in the last two weeks of August.
The harvest began in early September in the younger vines. The ripening was balanced, with the grapes showing a good sugar level and a relatively high content of malic acid, resulting in a total acidity higher than the previous year. Lagar de Baixo 2013 was vinified in lagar where it fermented for 4 weeks. The fermentation finished in barrel and wooden cask. The malolactic fermentation occurred in 228L used barrels and in 2500L used wooden cask, where it aged for 18 months. It was bottled without filtration.
Technical Information
Soil Type: Calcareous-clay
Region: Bairrada
Average Vine Age: 20 and 80 years old
Grape Varieties: Baga
Vines Per Ha:2500
Pruning Method: Guyot
Alt. From Sea Level: At Sea Level
Harvest Period: Early September 2013
Fermentation: Lagar (wine press) with 20% of stem
Harvest Method: Hand picked
Malolactic: Barrels
Bottled: June 2015
Ageing: 18 months in barrels
Dry Extract: 22.1
Residual Sugar (G/DM3): 1.6
Alcohol (%):11.5
Ph:3.51
Total Acidity (G/Dm3):6.04
Volatile Acidity (G/Dm3): 0.79
Free so2 (mg/dm3): 25
About Dirk Niepoort
I regard him as one of the sharpest, most provocative and most thoughtful of all winemakers: always willing to experiment, and with a strong sense of direction that comes from being a student of the world’s great wines. Jamie Goode – http://www.wineanorak.com/dirk_van_der_niepoort.htm
“Dirk van der Niepoort is the New Douro: single-handedly he has cajoled, encouraged, persuaded and hauled the Douro into a D.O.C. age of enlightenment. Substituting his Dutch ancestor’s wooden clogs for fashionable plastic Crocs , with an enigmatic expression concealing dry humour, incisive vision and a passion for fine wine verging on the obsessive, he is the uncrowned king of the Cima Corgo. With irreconcilably curly hair and a complex character, this straight talking Beethoven of the bodega has created more stunning wines than might be thought possible in several oenological lifetimes. Beginning with the massively surly and delinquent Robustus in 1990, whose metamorphosis over more than ten years, from ugly duckling into graceful swan, stunned the wine world, not to mention his sceptical father Rolf. Paradoxically progressing to the refined muscularity of Batuta and Burgundian elegance of Charme, his winemaking virtuosity knows no frontiers and continues to push the boundaries of viticulture. Dirk’s skills are not simply confined to the adega, among his many talents are the respective abilities to combine quality with commercial success, develop stylish marketing and impeccable design, and above all, communicate in a direct and clear fashion.” A good nose – The Douro boys http://www.agoodnose.com