Niepoort Garrafeira Port 1987

Manufacturing

At the end of the 19th century, the second generation of the Niepoort family had the brilliant idea to buy around 4000 glass balloons in dark green glass from the German glass factory in Oldenburg. The 4,000 glass balloons could contain from 8 to 11 litres. Dirk's grandfather used the so-called demijohns and poured the best wine from the 1931 harvest into them, and in this way he created the Garrafeira Niepoort variety. Ever since, the maturation in demijohns, which are sealed with corks, has been carefully monitored. It is almost a sacred ritual. Garrafeira is not just a wine, it alone is a guarantee of quality above all standards.
After a hot and dry summer, the grapes were in good condition at harvest, some perhaps a little too ripe. But the result was wines of intensity, ideal for long aging. The 252 demijohns were bottled in 2018 in 3,200 bottles.

About the manufacturer

At Niepoort, the family has been in charge of operations for five generations, and today it is Eduard Dirk Niepoort who has taken over the helm. It has always been aimed at two generations working together in the company to preserve the spirit and style of the wine. For many years, Niepoort has been famous for their classic port wines, wines of high quality with great concentration and a long shelf life. Dirk Niepoort is a very charismatic winemaker who has his own ideas and points of view, and his main philosophy is that wines must have freshness to be interesting.

Niepoort port wine is produced from grapes that come from old vines in the Pinhão and Pisca valleys. The vines that Niepoort harvests from are more than 70 years old, and are planted in the best and most schist soil. The grapes are hand-picked in September and October, and are trodden by both men and women in lagares (low granite vats). The fermentation process is brought to an end by the addition of grape spirit, while the must still possesses large amounts of natural sweetness.