Crusted Port is a style few producers still bother with today - unfiltered, unsettled in the glass, and leaving a deposit that demands both patience and a decanter. Niepoort is one of the few houses still making it by the book.
Expert's Description
Niepoort Bioma Crusted Vinha Velha is a Portuguese Crusted Port from old vines in the Douro Valley, bottled at 19.5%.
The grapes come from Vinha da Pisca, a vineyard in the Pinhão Valley where a large share of the vines are more than 80 years old. The wine is a blend of several harvests, fermented traditionally and aged in large, old oak vats before being bottled completely unfiltered. It is precisely this lack of filtration that gives the style its name: over time the wine forms a firm deposit - a "crust" - in the bottle, requiring decanting before serving.
Niepoort was founded in 1842 by the Dutch van der Niepoort family and, since the late 1980s under Dirk Niepoort's leadership, has complemented its classic Port styles with more experimental releases. "Bioma" is the name of the house's work with organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards, of which Vinha da Pisca is one of the oldest.
Crusted Port was originally a 19th-century British invention, conceived as an easier-to-produce alternative to Vintage Port, but today the style itself has become a rarity that only a handful of houses continue to produce.
Tasting Notes
Nose
Dark berries, blackberry and plum, underpinned by a discreet, earthy aroma from the old vines.
Palate
Rich and silky with concentrated dark fruit, firm structure and a lively acidity that keeps the sweetness in balance.
Finish
Long and full, with lingering plum and blackberry notes and a faintly earthy, mineral close.
Specifications
Name: Niepoort Bioma Crusted Vinha Velha
Winery: Niepoort
Region/Country: Douro, Portugal
Type: Portuguese Port Wine (Crusted, unfiltered)
Grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Francisca, Tinto Cão
ABV: 19.5%
Size: 70 CL
Ageing: Oak vats (large, old vessels), unfiltered
EAN no.: 5602840010406
Serving suggestion: Decant before serving and drink at 16-18°C in a Port glass, with dark chocolate or mature blue cheese
Flavour Profile
Concentrated · Dark fruit · Silky · Earthy
Investment Potential
Crusted Port is one of Port's rarest styles, as very few houses today continue to produce it in the traditional way. The combination of unfiltered bottling, old vines from a named vineyard, and a production method historically reserved for Vintage-like quality makes the bottle interesting for collectors with an eye for the lesser-known Port styles - though without the same broad recognition as a declared Vintage year.
Did You Know?
Because Crusted Port is bottled unfiltered and without a vintage on the label, several different batches of the same wine can, in practice, taste slightly different from bottling to bottling - making it one of the most artisanal styles in the entire Port category.
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