NV Niepoort VV (bottled 1960s)
Posted: 17:41 Tue 06 Jun 2023
Niepoort VV, bottled in the early 1960s. Decanted 1 hour to remove the fine sediment. Olive brown colour with a green rim. So effusive on the nose! A huge volume of complex scents pour out of the glass - honeyed but with Jerez vinegar, apple and date bouncing off persimmon and star fruit and with an entire cupboard of spices packed into it. So rich, so complex. Honey thickness texture on the palate, powerful acidity but the acidity is beautifully balanced. Sweet dates, orange oil bitterness, perfume - too many flavours to dissect. Orange, grapefruit, dates and figs; such an astonishing complexity of flavours. The impression on the palate after 5 minutes is still of a thick coating of flavour all over the mouth - how can a wine be so sweet but without being cloying. Such a satisfying, wonderful wine. 97/100. Drunk 01-Jun-23. Decanted for 3 hours prior to drinking to remove the fine sediment in the wine. Interestingly, the wine benefitted from being decanted and was significantly better than when first opened.