Description
Niepoort Vertente 2013
Vertente is an appealing wine: the fruit and concentration are the two main features of the Douro wines, and the elegance is a mark of Niepoort wines. This wine is dense, complex and fresh, pleasant to drink now but also with great potential for ageing and improving with time.
In 2013, this characteristics became even more pronounced with a clear change of style, where was highlighted the delicate extraction and the great elegance of this Douro wine.
The grapes for Vertente come from old vines with over 60 years, situated on the right bank of Douro river and from a small part of vines with about 30 years planted in river Tedo valley, at Quinta de Nápoles.
Tasting notes
Beautiful violet colour of medium concentration. While young, is restrained in the aroma, with profoundly mineral aromas, tense and with very soft floral aroma. Well integrated wood, bringing some good smoked and iodized notes. Good volume in the mouth, with determination and tannins that recall the schist. Acidity and fruit well combined. Long and fresh finish. A wine that will grow a lot in the bottle, although it already has a good balance.
Food Suggestions Roast beef (with yorkshire pudding), tradicional portuguese duck rice, tradicional codfish dishes, magré de canard. Cheese suggestions: Camembert, Sainte Albré, Brie.
Vinification
The 2013 harvest began on 19 August, earlier than usual, in order to maintain the high levels of acidity and avoid high degrees of alcohol. It was a more productive year, around 25% better than 2012. The decision to start harvesting earlier turned out to be the right one, since the main vineyards had already been harvested before it started raining heavily on the 27th September.
The harvest took place in September. After selection at the vine, a second selection on the sorting table took place. 70% of the wine fermented in stainless steel wine presses, with an automatic pressing system and the remaining 30% fermented in cone-shaped stainless steel vats. The wine aged for 20 months in French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place.
Technical Information
Region:Douro
Soil Type: Schist
Vineyards: Quinta de Nápoles and Vale do Pinhão
Average Vine Age: 25 to 60 years
Grape Varieties: Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and others
Vines Per Ha: 4000-6500
Pruning Method:Guyot and Royat
Alt. From Sea Level: 150-500
Harvest Period:September
Harvest Method:Hand picked
Malolactic: Barrels
Fermentation: Stainless steel vats
Bottled: May 2013
Ageing: 18 months in French oak barrels (228l)
Dry Extract:18 Alcohol (%) :27.9
Residual Sugar (G/DM3):2
Alcohol (%):14
Ph:3.61
Total Acidity (G/Dm3):5.1
Volatile Acidity (G/Dm3):0.7
Free So2 At Bottling (Mg/Dm3):18
Total So2 (Mg/Dm3):70
Volumic Mass (G/Cm3):0.99
Production:40.500 bottles
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
