Very old wine brandy aged for decades in oak casks at Niepoort wine sellers.

Colheitas are vintage dated tawnies aged in the cask until bottled and carry the date of the harvest. The wine ages for at least 8 year in old oak cask.

The wine takes on a tawny hue and wood and nutty tones are evident on the palate due to the wine’s ageing taking place in cask.

[ 1991: ENG ]

The so-called garrafeiras are an absolute speciality of Niepoort, which is probably the only house in Oporto to continue the tradition of garrafeiras. These are ports from a single year age for decades, not in wood but in special small glass containers "demijohns " (7 to 11 litre glass balloons in the form of old apothecaries’ bottles). demijohns bottles are no longer produced today and only the 18th century demijohns are used and re-used. This type of aging adds a unique character derived from prolonged direct contact with the glass demijohns.

The Niepoorts’ garrafeira cellar is secluded from the bustle of the town, filled with tranquility and tradition, and inspires respect for the longevity of the wines.

The Junior Tinto under-goes an early filling, and spends the rest of its time in the bottle, where it is protected against outside influences. Through this, its youthness, dark colour, freshness and dark fruit aromas and flavours are optimally maintained. With its concentrated tannins, this is a full -bodied wine.

The Senior Tawny, however spends most of its time ageing in barrels. through the pores of the wood, it’s contact with air is soft and light, which results in a slow oxidation process over the years. This is an elegant port with a subtle expression – a light colour and a range of flavours and aromas that are based on red fruit tones.

[ ENG GER ]

Late Bottled Vintage port is a form a single vintage. The wine ages 4-6 years in old oak casks (Vintage ages 2-3). LBV fills the gap between the rubies and the vintage ports in the times when they are best drunk. Since a Ruby Port should be drunk quite young and a great Vintage Port may need 15 to 20 years to really open up and show its splendour, there was quite a gap to bridge. This led to the idea in the 1960s to age the wine 4 to 6 years in large casks before bottling it, thereby producing a wine with the style of a Vintage Port with its deep colour and concentration of fruit but with a more mature character caused by the longer ageing in wood.

Niepoort produced: …1996, 1997, 1998,, 2000

[ 2000: ENG ]

Niepoort produces 10, 20 and 30 years old Tawny. The indicated age indicates the average age of the blend.  The skilful aging and  blending of the different tawny ports is the art of master blender José Nogueira.

[ 10 Years: PT ENG GER  | 20 Years | 30 Years ]

Vintage Port must be bottled within two years of the harvest date and be 100 per cent wine from that harvest.

Maturation in the bottle is more reductive than cask ageing and the wine that results has a fruitiness and power which develops in the traditional ageing vessel, the classic, thick, black port bottle. The superb nose which results (known in the trade as 'bottle fever') opens up on maturity (the length of time depends on the vintage) but an average of twelve to fifteen years. The fruit and spirit are totally integrated and the palate bursts with warm, spicy fruit flavours.

[ 2003: ENG ]

White port is made from white grapes (Malvasia, Viosinho and Gouveio). The juice is fermented as a white wine until the fermentation is stopped by the addition of pure grape brandy. After spending one year in large wood tanks the wine is transferred to Pipes (550 liter oak barrels). It is then aged in wood until at least 3 years before bottling.