2005 Niepoort Charme Douro

[Andy Velebil]

2005 Niepoort Charme

I've been checking in on this wine every year and it was again time. I decanted this for about 3 hours and then served it double blind over the course of 2 more hours to a good friend of mine who's worked in the wine industry all his life. This wine was a constant change in progress (for the better) and no two glasses where exactly the same. Still very youthful, this went from a well made wine to an excellent wine by the last glass. Initially the vanilla and bourbon from the oak was a bit protruding and was a bit much for the fruit. The more air this got the more the fruit took center stage and the oak integrated better. Not an easy wine to describe since it was changing so much with each glass, but what I really loved was the subtle yet powerful presence of the light red fruit. Don't get me wrong, this is not your typical big fruit forward Douro wine, actually just the opposite. This is an elegant wine with restrained fruit that is still a baby, yet possesses amazing grip and a finish that is deceiving. The finish at first seems to drop just for a split second then comes back again with some spicy berries that seem to last for several minutes. I wish I would have decanted this for about 5-7 hours as think that would have done this wine better justice. I only have a few precious bottles left and I've put them away for another 5 years to mature. This wine has come a long way since I first had it and I fully admit I wasn't a big an of this vintage of Charme on release, I can admit when I'm wrong and this is one of those times. This just needs a lot longer to age or a really long decant if you're going to open one young. I love where this wine is heading and can't wait to try it again.
94(+) Points