Wine-Making and Tasting in the Douro

THE QUINTA DE NÁPOLES in Santo Adrião is a very special place. Designed by Austrian architect Andreas Burghardt, it nestles into the hillside, at an altitude of 80-250 metres, and covers nearly 30 hectares. The winery is situated on top of a hill, overlooking the river, and offers a fantastic view to the valley.  Purchased by Niepoort in 1987, the winery was finally built in 2007 after two earlier designs were aborted due to costs.

Dirk Niepoort is not a man to compromise, on any level, and thus, rather than simplifying what existed, he preferred to commission completely new and independent designs each time. He also didn’t care about building something that he could pay off, he simply wanted something he could pay to keep going. Such is his ambition and dedication to the process of wine making.

Niepoort has existed as an independent family business since 1842 and Dirk is of the fifth generation. He has been in the Douro region for the past 30 years and, although he still has a Dutch passport, he feels Portuguese through and through.

Initially, Niepoort was set up to buy in Port Wine, age it and bottle it. Nowadays, however, they own some 62 hectares of land and produce everything themselves from scratch, as well as buying in grapes from other producers in the region. The Quinta de Nápoles estate is where they produce their unfortified red, white and rosé table wines. This aspect has become increasingly significant and now makes up 65% of Niepoort’s business. The age of the vines there varies between 26 and more than 80 years.

Grapes are received at the highest level of the Quinta. They are then sent down in open boxes to the pressing area and down again to the lowest level for the barrique stores. All storage rooms are kept at a constant temperature of 15C. The tasting room opens to a huge patio and has a cantilevered steel terrace overlooking the river.

As the TASTE PORTUGAL 2014/15 press trippers were shown around the cellars, we were also given seven distinctive wines to taste:

Coche 
A new white wine made by the process of malolactic fermentation, both in the barrel (for a couple of years) and stainless steel (for a couple of months). The mica schist soil contributes to the minerality and freshness of this wine and the longer ageing gives it stability.

Tiara
A fresh and elegant white wine fermented in large barrels for three to five months. The high altitude of the vines gives the wine a freshness, while the age of the vines (on average 60 years old) is responsible for the concentration.

Redoma
Redoma Tinto is Niepoort’s original Douro wine, first released in 1991. Niepoort don’t usually make single variety wines, and their products therefore have lively character. This red wine is no exception. It is filtered after three to four weeks of maceration.

Batuta
Made from two areas valued for their elegance, this is a light and fresh red wine, aged in barrels and with almost no stems. The name ‘Batuta’ comes from the baton used by an orchestral conductor, suggesting the harmony of this blend.

Pinot Noir
Made from grapes planted densely with 12,000 vines per hectare as opposed to the usual 3,500. This follows the Burgundian style of plantation.

Charme
A red wine produced in a 3,500 litre terracotta amphora (lagare), open to the sky, and dating from 1815. Made with 100% of stems, this is a vibrant wine.

As yet unnamed
A new wine, which has not yet been named. This white wine is also produced in the amphoras, using stems, leaves et al. The amphoras are then closed for a year before being opened to offer this sweet and cidery-smelling wine.