1997 Niepoort

Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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Tasting notes for individual Ports, with an index sorted by vintage and alphabetically.
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uncle tom
Dalva Golden White Colheita 1952
Posts: 3518
Joined: 23:43 Wed 20 Jun 2007
Location: Near Saffron Walden, England

1997 Niepoort

Post by uncle tom »

A bottle re-corked by me in 2012 following signs of seepage, so one of the 'affected' bottles.

Decanted 10/7/21 and consumed over four evenings.

This is a rich, complex and very spicy wine. It also has a little VA, but that doesn't do much harm unless you are really allergic to it. Unlike the problem bottles from the eighties, it isn't a flat murky wine - it's very clean and crisp on the palate.

Mulling whether to consider the VA a flaw or a characteristic, I popped a Ch. Musar, also from '97; mindful that these Lebanese wines often wear a hint of VA as part of their identity. As luck would have it, the bottle was entirely clear however.

Should the Niepoort '97 be written off and written out of tasting lineups? No, not at all. The VA on this bottle was modest, and the wine besides that is a mighty offering. Aside from fearing the worst and then being pleasantly surprised, I really enjoyed quaffing this bottle.

Scoring is tricky. VA tends to be a disruptive factor when it comes to maturation and there's a risk this won't end well, but so far this wine appears to have aged normally. Very drinkable already, but hopefully with more to offer: 6-7
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly - W.S. Churchill
Glenn E.
Graham’s 1977
Posts: 4172
Joined: 22:27 Wed 09 Jul 2008
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: 1997 Niepoort

Post by Glenn E. »

In this particular case, I think it is safe to consider it a flaw. The mid-90's Ports produced by Niepoort were not intentionally made to have some VA in them; rather it was an infection at the winery that took years to eradicate.

In some cases, such as this bottle, the flaw is mild enough that it's almost an attribute. But in far too many cases the VA is so dominant that it ruins the bottle. Both are still flaws, even though the former is a tolerable flaw.
Glenn Elliott
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