1997 Niepoort Vintage Port

[Glenn E.]

2nd bottle from a 6-pack purchased years ago. Rumors of persistent VA and other atrocities prompted me to try another bottle - the first one was very nice.

1997 Niepoort VP

Color: Dark purple/red. Opaque broadly across the center, but not to the rim. Some bricking showing at the very edges, and the red has a slightly brickish hue to it as well.

Nose: Moderately juicy, showing ripe strawberries and black raspberries. Some faint green/wet tree bark like a fresh branch or sapling that you've stripped bare. Also some Christmas spices, but without the sweeter ones like cinnamon, clove, and allspice. The alcohol is controlled and of the aromatic type (vs the medicinal type). There's a very faint whiff of vinegar and just a little bit of nail polish remover, so there's clearly some VA but it really isn't bad at all. I'm not insensitive to VA, but it doesn't bother me like it does some people so this level of VA is barely noteworthy to me.

Palate: Very smooth and again moderately juicy. There's a controlled power to the fruits like a big V-12 engine at idle. Niepoort has a classic and distinct profile to me, but I have a hard time describing it. It shows beneath the fruits here making the Port very recognizable as a Niepoort. Black raspberry, sweet black cherry, and some blackberry. It seems to be trying to display some red fruits, but they're just not showing through yet for me. Very nice tannins - plenty of structure, but they're smooth and grip evenly. Very good acidity as well.

Finish: Moderate length for the fruits, but quite long overall. The tail is stalky/stemmy though, which is a slight detraction. Good grip from the tannins and just the right amount of warmth.

Score: 93 points. Get rid of the (slight) VA and attach a better finish, and this could have been worth 95. It's easy to tell that the underlying Port is outstanding, but those couple of minor quibbles drag it down just out of outstanding into "merely" excellent. The bottle isn't going to last the day, though, as I'm sure I'll finish it as I'm completing preparations for the FTLOP 10th Anniversary Tasting tomorrow and Sunday. I'm happy to have 4 more!