Niepoort Garrafeira Port 1964, bottled in 1971, decanted in 1979

Niepoort Garrafeira Port 1964 – Bottled in 1971, decanted in 1979: a ritualistic masterpiece of the art of port

The Niepoort Garrafeira Vintage Port 1964, bottled in 1971 and decanted in 1979, is no ordinary port – it is the result of a unique ageing ritual that the Niepoort family has upheld for generations and which is reserved for only a few great vintages. The house’s history dates back to 1842, when Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort, born in Hilversum in 1813, 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 second generation of the family 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 maturing the best wines of the harvest in these demijohns in 1931, thereby establishing the ‘Garrafeira Niepoort’ style. The ageing process in these cork-sealed glass demijohns is still meticulously monitored to this day – an almost ‘sacred’ ritual for the Niepoort and Nogueira families.

The 1964 vintage was a year of extremes in the Douro Valley. Unstable weather at the start of the year, rain and thunderstorms at the end of July, followed by a hot, dry August – whilst these conditions allowed the vines to develop well, the weather became unpredictable once again at harvest time. The grapes were more raisin-like than the winemakers would have wished, and the quantities produced were correspondingly small. It is precisely this scarcity that makes the 1964 vintage a rarity: only a small number of single-quinta ports were bottled that year, and these are now considered exceptionally rare.

The wine matured for seven years in wooden casks before being transferred to demijohns in 1971. Eight years later, in 1979, it was decanted into bottles – a step that slows the ageing process and preserves the wine’s remarkable freshness. The tasting notes paint a picture of a wine of rare perfection: Tastingbook describes a perfectly transparent, fresh red colour with bright highlights, a very balanced and elegant nose with floral notes and tea, and a fresh, integrated palate with very good acidity, malt and coffee, and a complex, fresh finish. Another taster on CellarTracker awarded 100 points and described the wine as ‘the most complex and hedonistic port I have ever tasted’, with explosive aromas of malt whisky, figs, plums, coffee and dried honey, with impeccable balance. The texture is powerful yet elegant, structured by fine tannins.

Today, the Niepoort Garrafeira Vintage Port 1964 is a sought-after collector’s item, highly prized at auctions and in specialist shops. For lovers of great port wines, it offers the rare opportunity to experience a wine that bears the hallmark of one of Portugal’s most distinguished winemaking families and has retained an impressive vitality after more than five decades of ageing.