Niepoort Colheita Port 1937 with OC

Niepoort Colheita Port 1937 – A monument to the time-honoured tradition of port

The Niepoort Colheita Port 1937 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 the fifth generation of the family, Dirk Niepoort, who is regarded as one of Portugal’s most influential winemakers. The house’s wines enjoy a legendary reputation amongst connoisseurs, and the Colheita style – a Tawny Port from a single vintage – is a speciality that Niepoort has been cultivating for many decades.

What makes this port so unique is its exceptionally long ageing in wooden casks. Colheitas are aged in small casks; the minimum requirement is seven years, but the tradition at Niepoort is to leave the wine in the wood for considerably longer. The 1937 vintage spent decades in old 550-litre oak casks before being bottled – bottlings from 1973 and 1977 are documented. This extended barrel ageing lends the wine remarkable complexity and depth.

The tasting notes paint a picture of a wine of rare perfection. James Suckling awarded the 1937 vintage 96 points and described it as follows: “I am amazed by the aromas and flavours of dried fruit, iodine, cedar and caramel. A hint of peach too. Full-bodied, semi-dry. Toffee, dried apple, crème brûlée. Candied lemons. A hint of balsamic and rancio. Great length. This wine was bottled recently and spent all those years in old wooden casks. Wow.” .Jancis Robinson awarded it18/20 points and noted: “Fragrant, ginger, spices, very complex, a hint of coffee, orange peel, candied pear. Intense, a hint of coffee and plenty of spice and orange peel. Very long, with a hint of burnt toffee and nuts on the finish. Silky.”. Sarah Ahmed (The Wine Detective) described it as: “A green rim with a tawny centre, sediment. A deep, spicy nose reveals dried spices and fleshy tamarind. On the palate, very concentrated, spicy and lively, with liquorice and darker notes of molasses and toffee. A hint of bitterness in the slightly spirit-like finish, but deliciously spicy with plenty of vitality.”.

The Tastingbook awards 93 points and describes the winemaking process as follows: The grapes come from vines over 60 years old in the Vale do Pinhão and Ferrão vineyards on schist soils; they are trodden by foot in lagares with 100 per cent stems and further processed at the port wine production centre in Vale de Mendiz. Ageing takes place in the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia in old 550-litre casks. The drinking window is given as 2005 to 2030, with an optimal decanting time of two hours.

Today, the Niepoort Colheita Port 1937 is a sought-after rarity. Auction prices have recently ranged from 424 to 896 US dollars, with an average of 582 US dollars. Individual bottles are available from specialist retailers for the equivalent of around 745 to 869 euros. For lovers of great port wines, this wine offers a rare opportunity to experience a Colheita that bears the hallmark of one of Portugal’s most distinguished winemaking families and has retained remarkable vitality, elegance and depth after over eight decades of ageing.