TN: 2011 Niepoort Batuta Douro red

[Rune EG]

Decanted 5 hrs. Medium red colour. Aroma of berries/minerals/oak in a fantastic combination. Full body. Taste is powerful and elegant. Tannins are “polished”, but still interesting. Well-structured and well-balanced Douro red. Medium to long aftertaste. 93 pts.

[Andy Velebil]

Where do you think this is on the aging curve?

[Rune EG]

Some background info:
February 2017, we purchased 18 btls of the 2011 at the Swedish Wine Monopoly, as they had a beneficial price. Have 4 left, so the other 14 btls have been consumed during the period feb.17 - dec.20 on a regular basis (abt 3 – 4 btls per year). We scored each and every btl 95 pts (and some 96) until autumn 2019 (= 8 yrs). At that time we could notice slightly less fruit. Last two bottles Sep.20 + Dec.20 got 93 pts. But still wonderful Douro red.

Emmy and I were guests at Dirk Niepoort (Napoles) May.18, and he said he did not expect the Batuta 2011 to last as long as f.ex the 2007.

We have had a case of 6 btls Batuta 2007 which we finished Oct.20 (= 13 years). The last btl got 93 pts, and was relatively stable throughout the years of consumption, but there were indications of being reduced in quality.

Our experience is by no means scientific, but there are signs that Dirk’s expectation is correct, as we noticed that 2011 (8 yrs) and 2007 (13 yrs) had the same stage (93 pts) on the way down. We will consume the last 4 btls 2011 probably during 2021.

[David Spriggs]

Great info. Thanks Rune!
I still have 2001 Batuta. I should probably have a vertical "Batutathon" tasting to go through these and see how they are holding up.

[Frederick Blais]

2001 is definitvely one of the best.

I was never a fan of 2011, always too big for my taste.

For me when a wine is loosing fruit, it is not a sign that it is going down. Simply a sign that it starts its secondary phase and who knows yet for these wines how long it can last.

[Andy Velebil]

2001 is definitvely one of the best.

I was never a fan of 2011, always too big for my taste.

For me when a wine is loosing fruit, it is not a sign that it is going down. Simply a sign that it starts its secondary phase and who knows yet for these wines how long it can last.

Agree.


I still have 3 bottles of the 2001. I guess later this year is a good time to see how a soon-to-be 20 year old wine is coming along.