1997 Niepoort Vintage Port
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 2:43 am
I wanted to check this particular bottling to see how it was. There has been a lot of talk about this particular vintage of Niepoort so i decided to open 1 of my bottles and give it a try.
At 7:30 in the morning i decanted it so i could taste the first glass at 5 in the afternoon, this according to Roy's rule of at least 10 hours of decanting.
The colour is very dark red, almost black which turns purple to the edge of the decanter. Excellent tearing when i swirl it around. I leave it alone and let it breathe throughout the day.
First glass at 5:15 PM. Lots of tannines is my first thought when i take my first sip. Spicy smell, though sweet. No signs of VA in this bottle although the taste is also a bit spicy, like cigar-box wood.
I swirl the glass and the good smells starting to come up, i smell cassis, blackberries. The taste is much sweeter now, appearantly it needs time, lots of time. The aftertaste is long and lasts for at least 30 minutes.
When i smell the decanter its sweet with raspberries.
2nd glass, sundaymorning at 10:50 AM ( i know, i'm a freak).
Wow ! Lots of red fruit this time, definately raspberries, cassis, blackberries. Still a little spicy, but not overwhelming. Maybe a little acrimonious, like coffee and tobacco. The tannines are gone, its been in the decanter more than 24 hours now.
I taste it with some Farmhouse Cheddar which is a treat.
So, my conclusion: I'm glad this bottle has no signs of VA although i choose this particular bottle because it had signs of leakage. Overall it was a good bottle but still way too young for this monster. It needs another 10-15 years to reach its prime.
Note: Like Tom already said in another thread, the cork might be of inferior quality. As i look at the cork it notice there are many many holes in it, it looks porous to me. My other bottles dont show sign of leakage so maybe its a small amount of bottles who have this problem.
Funny detail, exactly 1 year ago i tasted my first VP, a Niepoort 1985. When i look back at my TN, it also says cassis
92 points now
At 7:30 in the morning i decanted it so i could taste the first glass at 5 in the afternoon, this according to Roy's rule of at least 10 hours of decanting.
The colour is very dark red, almost black which turns purple to the edge of the decanter. Excellent tearing when i swirl it around. I leave it alone and let it breathe throughout the day.
First glass at 5:15 PM. Lots of tannines is my first thought when i take my first sip. Spicy smell, though sweet. No signs of VA in this bottle although the taste is also a bit spicy, like cigar-box wood.
I swirl the glass and the good smells starting to come up, i smell cassis, blackberries. The taste is much sweeter now, appearantly it needs time, lots of time. The aftertaste is long and lasts for at least 30 minutes.
When i smell the decanter its sweet with raspberries.
2nd glass, sundaymorning at 10:50 AM ( i know, i'm a freak).
Wow ! Lots of red fruit this time, definately raspberries, cassis, blackberries. Still a little spicy, but not overwhelming. Maybe a little acrimonious, like coffee and tobacco. The tannines are gone, its been in the decanter more than 24 hours now.
I taste it with some Farmhouse Cheddar which is a treat.
So, my conclusion: I'm glad this bottle has no signs of VA although i choose this particular bottle because it had signs of leakage. Overall it was a good bottle but still way too young for this monster. It needs another 10-15 years to reach its prime.
Note: Like Tom already said in another thread, the cork might be of inferior quality. As i look at the cork it notice there are many many holes in it, it looks porous to me. My other bottles dont show sign of leakage so maybe its a small amount of bottles who have this problem.
Funny detail, exactly 1 year ago i tasted my first VP, a Niepoort 1985. When i look back at my TN, it also says cassis
92 points now