1948 Niepoort Garrafeira Porto Porto

Description

In the national wine panorama there is no producer more consensus‑building than Niepoort. Any self‑respecting wine lover will likely have tasted one or more of the treasures that Niepoort has produced year after year. Almost we can say that a Niepoort wine is bottled art. The house’s long history begins in 1842 with the arrival of the first Van Der Niepoort in Portugal. He started as a Port wine trader and soon turned his business into a prosperous venture that would greatly facilitate the work of future generations. Despite staying firm even through the highs and lows of the Port wine sector, Niepoort has always felt the need to stay at the forefront of its ranks. To top it off, in the fifth generation came the one who would change everything in this centuries‑old house and in the Dão wine scene. That’s Dirk Niepoort, an inescapable figure in the wine world, recognized as one of the most important personalities who has worked—and continues to work—towards Portuguese wine. Dirk Niepoort enjoys a unique popularity, and his name is synonymous with dynamism, experimentation and, above all, a tremendous spirit of sacrifice for wine, which remains his greatest passion. He has collaborated with dozens of producers, helping them improve their wines and understand their vineyards. He sparked a revolution in the 1990s when his first Robustus was born—a mythical wine in the Douro still to this day. The trials at his house with numerous Dão winemakers also forever marked the quality of the Douro table wines. In 2006 he created the Niepoort Projects brand, where he showcases his experiences with fantastic, less common grape varieties in the Douro such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Riesling, starts importing some of the world’s best wines from Burgundy or the Rhône, and distributes wines he loves from several friend winemakers. In 2012 he launched a project in the Bairrada by acquiring Quinta de Baixo, an old dream, or perhaps he was the one who helped Gonçalves Faria, Quinta de Saima or Dores Simões become well known. Many other projects, across almost all Portuguese wine regions and some foreign ones, have benefited from Dirk Niepoort’s hand. As someone once said, Portugal needed four or five more Dirks, and we would not have wine to sell today. Niepoort’s Garrafeira wines are very special, as it is a category that only Niepoort still produces. These are very fine and elegant wines, almost feminine. They mature in demijohns of 7 to 12 litres for about 30 years before being bottled. Drinking a Niepoort Garrafeira is drinking the purest expression of a Port wine. The bottling year may not match the presented image. (Illustrative image only)