Niepoort, Colheita Port, 2008

The Rothschilds in Bordeaux, Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy in Burgundy, Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot in Champagne, Angelo Gaja in Piedmont, Serge Hochar in Lebanon, Edouardo Chadwick in Chile... towering figures whose impact and importance to their respective wine regions ensures their names are the very first mentioned in association. To these and others we must surely add Portugal’s Dirk Niepoort, one of the most visionary and pioneering winemakers working today, honoured as such as the 2023 recipient of Decanter’s vaunted “Hall of Fame” Award.

Having just increased his reviewing brief to include the wines of Portugal, in his very first article, The Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutiérrez focuses heavily on Dirk Niepoort, whom he describes as "the most influential person in Portuguese wine—a pioneer, visionary, leader and ambassador. A person I deeply admire." In charting Portugal’s fine wine evolution (revolution?), he declares “to me, the engine of Portuguese wine is Niepoort” adding “the table wines, a game to which they are very new (1990), compared with the Port business, are better than ever.” He backs this up with exceptional scores: Of the 255 wines reviewed for the piece, the top 10 (96+ to 100 points) are all Niepoort.

The 2008 Colheita Port is an excellent and maturing year which, counter to the British tradition of ageing port for 30-40 years, is perfectly enjoyable now, complex and characterful yet fresh and energetic.

"2008 was an excellent year in the Douro wine region, rains occurred during the spring and early part of the Summer, allowing soils to maintain good water levels until the harvest and the cooler conditions throughout the growing season coupled with a dry and relatively cool July and August led to a later harvest. The low yields due mainly to rain during flowering, were also important to obtain quality fruit with great acidity, freshness and balanced sugar levels - perfect for the Niepoort style."
Niepoort