Niepoort Colheita Port 1952

Niepoort Colheita Port 1952 – A masterpiece of the time-honoured port wine tradition

The Niepoort Colheita Port 1952 is an exceptional wine from one of Portugal’s most distinguished port wine dynasties. The Niepoort estate was founded in 1842 by Franciscus Marius van der Niepoort in Vila Nova de Gaia and is now run by Dirk Niepoort, the fifth generation of the family. The house’s wines enjoy a legendary reputation amongst connoisseurs, and the Colheita style – a Tawny Port from a single vintage – is regarded as a particular speciality of the house.

What makes this port so unique is its long ageing in wooden casks. After an exceptional 32 years’ ageing in oak casks, the wine was bottled and decanted by Niepoort in 1984 – a practice that lends the wine remarkable complexity and depth. Colheitas are vintage Tawnies that mature in small casks; the minimum requirement is seven years, but the tradition at Niepoort is to allow the wine to mature for several years longer before bottling.

The tasting notes paint a picture of a wine of rare perfection. The colour is a deep mahogany with amber highlights. The nose is wonderfully complex, with aromas of roasted hazelnuts, dried figs, candied orange peel, coffee, warm spices and aged tobacco. Another tasting description highlights an elegant, refined and subtly powerful nose with notes of lemon, tea and mandarin, accompanied by hints of apple sauce, wood, spices, rancio and a subtle hint of walnuts. On the palate, the wine is concentrated and well-balanced, with notes of dark berries, baked plums, liquorice, dark chocolate, espresso and cedar spice – a medium-bodied to full-bodied, elegant and seamlessly integrated palate.

Jancis Robinson awarded the 1952 Niepoort Colheita 17.5/20 points and described it as a “pale-pink tawny, firm and lively with a dry finish” – not the purest or most complete, but certainly entertaining. Other tasters on ThePortForum noted a deep brown core with fine particles, which makes the wine appear slightly cloudy, with a nose dominated by bottle odour and wet nappies – an indication of the range of bottle variation in such an old wine.