Niepoort Garrafeira Port 1940, bottled in 1945, decanted in 1963

Niepoort Garrafeira Port 1940 – Bottled in 1945, decanted in 1963: A ritualistic masterpiece from the Douro

The Niepoort Garrafeira Port 1940, bottled in 1945 and decanted into bottles in 1963, is no ordinary port – it is the result of a unique ageing ritual that the Niepoort family has practised for generations, reserved for only a few great vintages. The house’s history dates back to 1842, when Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort, originally from the Netherlands, came to Portugal and founded a port wine trading house in Vila Nova de Gaia. Over five generations, the family has maintained its uncompromising dedication to the art of port-making – a tradition that is tangibly embodied in this bottle in its most perfect form.

What makes this port so exceptional is the ‘Garrafeira’ style, which the Niepoort family has perfected. Towards the end of the 19th century, the family’s second generation purchased around 4,000 demijohns from a German glassworks in Oldenburg – dark green glass bottles modelled on old apothecary flasks, with a capacity of eight to eleven litres. Eduard Marius van der Niepoort, the grandfather of the current winemaker Dirk Niepoort, began in 1931 to age the best wines of the vintage in these demijohns, thereby establishing the ‘Garrafeira Niepoort’ style. The ageing process in these glass demijohns, sealed with cork, is still meticulously monitored to this day – an almost ‘sacred’ ritual for the Niepoort and Nogueira families. Niepoort is now the sole producer of this style of port.

The 1940 vintage in the Douro Valley was characterised by a dry, warm summer. The harvest proved healthy and concentrated, laying the foundation for a long-lived, structured port. The winemaking process followed the house’s traditions: the grapes – including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão and Tinta Barroca – were fermented in granite lagares, followed by the early addition of wine distillate. After initial ageing in wooden casks, the wine was transferred to demijohns in 1945, where it matured for 18 years before being bottled in 1963.

The tasting notes paint a picture of a wine of rare perfection. The tasting book describes a medium-red colour with orange highlights and a noticeably lighter rim, a spicy bouquet of honey, malt, chocolate and white pepper, underpinned by tobacco, a racy palate with notes of coffee, chocolate and toffee, perfect acidity and a long, balanced finish – rated 97 points. Garrafeira Pepe describes an amber hue with a greenish rim, a fragrant aroma of citrus fruits, candied fruits, honey and beeswax, nougat and a slight rancid note, velvety and silky on the palate with a very fruity, spiced finish, rich in glycerine and with tremendous persistence. A taster on CellarTracker noted a colour like iced tea with a golden raisin rim, toffee and cedar on the nose, and caramel, brown sugar, guava and apples on the palate. For The Love Of Port described the wine as “old, but in a good way” – with a primary bouquet of toffee and caramel, a pale red colour and soft alcohol.

The 1940 vintage is one of only ten Garrafeira vintages that Niepoort has ever produced – alongside 1931, 1933, 1938, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1964, 1967 and 1977. Among collectors, these vintages are regarded as the greatest Ports of the 20th century. For lovers of great port wines, this Niepoort Garrafeira 1940 offers a rare opportunity to experience a wine that bears the hallmark of one of Portugal’s most distinguished winemaking families and has retained remarkable vitality and elegance after over eight decades of ageing.