For The Love Of Port

Wow, this was a treat. The bottle had been decanted in 1970 and had no sediment in the bottle. The cork came out perfect. A primary nose and taste of toffee and caramel. Lighter red color and soft alcohol; light on sweetness too. Tasted old, but in a good way. One of finest old ports I have had in some time. Bottle did not last long

We also had 1977 Fonseca that was quite grapy tasting and drank more like an '83 than '77! The Fonseca seems like it should go for the long haul! 30 years barely put a dent in this vintage.

Moses Botbol wrote:The bottle had been decanted in 1970 and had no sediment in the bottle. .

Would that be a Garrafeira from Niepoort and not a Vintage?

Frédérick Blais wrote:

Moses Botbol wrote:The bottle had been decanted in 1970 and had no sediment in the bottle. .

Would that be a Garrafeira from Niepoort and not a Vintage?

Sean C will post pictures, the bottle was quite clear that it was 1940 Niepoort Vintage. The sediment was gone because it was filtered/rebottled in 1970. The bottle itself was a little unusual also. The color was a very light green and had a bubbled texture to the outside. The cork was a Niepoort, and it tasted like an old vintage.

That does sound like a Garrafeira. If Sean can post a link to the pic, it would be appreciated.

Yep, I look forward to seeing that bottle too. I have enjoyed the '70 Niepoort on several occasions, usually with Dirk and this is a fabulous bottling.



Andy,

Which one of the Niepoort Garrafeira Ports have you enjoyed most?

Still my elusive holy grail...but I got a great pic of me and a '73

One day...Garrafeira >>:winebath: <<< Me

I suppose this could be a Garrafeira, but I didn't see any mention of this on the label. It definetely was not your standard Vintage Port. The decanting back in 1970 did change the port some. It wasn't as heavy, had more of a tawny color, but was not a tawny at all; it retained the vintage taste and did have fine sediment, but noting a mesh filter would pick up.

Sorry for the delay..don't know if it is a Garrafeira or not..I've never had anything like it as it's not the typical vintage Port bottling that I'm used to. The bottle says "Niepoort's 1940 Port" "bottled in 1945 - decanted 1970". It was very good though and did taste like it was from the early 40's ...in many ways similar to the 1935's I have had in past but ending with less sediment.
Take a look as well at the color difference between the 1977 Taylor's in the decanter and the '40 in the glass..very typical of the 50+ year olds!

We finished both bottles that night... :devil:

Thanks for the TN! Bottling year was 1945? Then it was indeed a Garrafeira.

Steven is right, this is a garrafeira. I would have loved to taste this one! 8)

Ronald Wortel wrote:Steven is right, this is a garrafeira. I would have loved to taste this one! 8)

Yes, you would have; it was one of the best ports I have ever had. Wonder why Niepoort did not pot Garrafeira on the label? It had a generic stamped Niepoort cork.

I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with the fact that garrafeira is not an official category.

Anyway, Niepoort is the only producer who makes this kind of port, and all garrafeiras have the same kind of label, so once you know what it is, it pretty easily recognisable. I trust you know how garrafeira is made, but just in case, you can find an explanation here.

I only tasted the 1952 garrafeira, it was great! I'm glad I still have one bottle left.

Roy Hersh wrote:Yep, I look forward to seeing that bottle too. I have enjoyed the '70 Niepoort on several occasions, usually with Dirk and this is a fabulous bottling.

There is a '70 Garrafeira? Please, tell me more! Or do you mean the '70 VP? There is a seperate thread on that one, Roy!

Moses, I took some picture of an (empty) '52 Garrafeira this evening - I post them tomorrow, highlighting the differences between a Vintage and Garrafeira bottling.

(BTW: why is this in the VTR and not in the regular Port Forum? This thread should be moved!)

Ronald Wortel wrote: I trust you know how garrafeira is made, but just in case, you can find an explanation here.

I only tasted the 1952 garrafeira, it was great! I'm glad I still have one bottle left.

Thanks for the link. I never read an official description of garrafeira, but from what the bottle said it was, is the same as the definition. I look forward to the next one! Is Niepoort originally Dutch?

Yes, and Dirk Niepoort still has a Dutch passport next to his Portuguese, but he doesn't speak the language.

Thanks for all the info..I ended up purchasing the last two bottles available a month ago after tasting this wonderful Port with my friend Moses. Thankfully I now have a grand total of 3 bottles left in my collection!! I had never seen the '40 Niepoort before but I assumed it would taste decent and knew it was rare.. and the price was right!

Brown Derby says they have 1 bottle left, at $349. I'm not going to buy it, so I thought I would post it in case someone else is interested.

John

Actually they sold it today during their January sale (see the MARKETPLACE). It is the ONLY Garrafeira currently in bottle by Niepoort that I had not tried, so I had to buy this bottle, especially at the price they let it go for.

Roy Hersh wrote:Actually they sold it today during their January sale (see the MARKETPLACE). It is the ONLY Garrafeira currently in bottle by Niepoort that I had not tried, so I had to buy this bottle, especially at the price they let it go for.

Roy,
I split the '40 Niepoort with Moses and we both thought it was excellent, let us know what you think! I originally only purchased two bottles and ended up drinking one then bought two more ..one bottle escaped me!! Hopefully it was the one that you just bought..although mine were from NYC. Who knows?