Niepoort : Vintage Port 2022

Niepoort's 2022 Vintage Port comes from very old vines in the Cima Corgo zone (mostly around Pinhão), all made in lagar with 100% whole clusters and matured in large (5,000- to 10,000-liter) oak vats. Dirk Niepoort wants a combination of powerful, classical vineyards with others he likes for their elegance. The wine shows far more finesse, but it’s a little backward and closed and took a good couple of hours to lift off. It’s chewy and long, with plenty of tannin, yet the tannins are very refined. It has power and concentration; Niepoort seeks a lot of concentration, unlike in the table wines, but the wine has an ethereal quality. Power and lightness—it’s a wine that dances, with the energy of a ballet dancer, very long, with a dry finish. It has around 95 grams of sugar, less than it usually has, and the sugar is very well integrated. They produced 35,000 bottles. It was bottled in June 2024.

This has an intense nose of bramble fruit, together with dried fruit, very floral notes of violets, earth, peppercorn and a touch of graphite. It’s full-bodied with remarkable concentration that is counterbalanced by brilliant acidity and sophisticated tannins. It has an orderly and harmonious sense that will result in an exceptional wine. It's all about balance here — thought-provoking even in such a premature state. A mighty vintage from Niepoort. Better from 2030.