"When I arrived in the Douro , Port was the only wine that mattered . But I am a very curious person , so I decided to go see and experiment .” Dirk Niepoort
At the age of 20, he tasted a phenomenal simple table wine, made under who knows what conditions.Why would he not be able to also produce such a wine? This is how,in 1990,Niepoort went from being a business only selling Port wines to a company which also produced unfortified Douro DOC wines.
Quinta de Nápoles
Discover Quinta de NápolesThis quinta was the first winery bought by Niepoort, in 1987, when Dirk joined his father Rolf in the family business. It is one of the oldest quintas in the region, with historical recordsdating back to the year 1756. Situated on the left bank of the Tedo River, many of its vineyards face North, growing at 80 to 250m above sea level, an altitude which is especially favourable for creating crisp, well-balanced and elegant wines.
“There is alwaysthis freshness which gives the Douro wines a truly unique balance,” says Dirk, also addressing those who call him a “wine assassin” for harvesting grapes comparatively early. But why disregard empirical knowledge if the result is good?
Today, the quinta is an important centre forencounters, tastings and exchanges with other consumers and producers from around the globe. It is equipped with highly modern winemaking facilitiesand generously sized cellars for ageing wines in vats, barrels, stainless steel tanks and clay. In this creative laboratory, Niepoort imagines, experiments and influences the future of the companyand the region.
Quinta do Carril
Niepoort owns 62 hectares of organic vineyards in the Douro, divided between Quinta de Nápoles and Quinta do Carril, an adjacent property bought by the family in 1988.
Thanks to its 60-year-old vines, it is Quinta do Carril that provides the grapes for prestigious wines such as the “Batuta”, “Redoma”, “Bioma”, “Vertente” and “Robustus”. In fact, the “Robustus” was the first red table wine produced by Niepoort, in 1990. The wine was never released on the market but remains as one of the company’s great icons.
Vale de Mendiz
Nestled within the beautiful Pinhão Valley, Vale de Mendiz is a magical place. This former museum was bought by Niepoort in 2003, and then converted into a winemaking facility.Today it is the cradle of Niepoort’s Port wines, which are crafted in its ancient round granite lagar tanks.
This is also where one of Niepoort’s most special red wines iscreated. With its captivating smooth tannins, the “Charme” gives a unique expression to the old vines of this terroir, witha nod tothe elegance of France’s Burgundy. This signature wine is the only unfortified wine made in the Vale de Mendiz winery.
