2015 Niepoort Batuta Tinto Douro, Portugal

The grapes used for this wine are sourced from Quinta do Carril, from a North-facing vineyard whose vines are more than 70 years old, and also an approximately 100-year-old vineyard near Quinta de Nápoles. The Batuta is the result of a very gentle winemaking, with a longer skin contact period but gentle extraction. All the details were carefully considered in order to produce a complex and elegant fine wine. It has the intense concentration of the old vines of the Douro, but it is at the same time fresh and delicate.

The 2014/15 viticultural year experienced a cold and very dry winter, with rainfall at a record low compared to previous years. The spring and summer were dry and hot with three heat waves occurring in June/July, prior to a cooler month of August – the low humidity ensured that the incidence of disease was at an all-time low, and as a result, the vineyards delivered superbly clean fruit. After the fruit was meticulously sorted in the vineyard as well as in the cellar, fermentation took place in conical stainless steel tanks, with a skin contact period of approximately 60 days. The wine aged for 22 months in French barrels (only 25% new wood), where it also completed its malolactic fermentation.

With an attractive medium ruby-red hue, this is the most elegant and light Batuta that we have ever produced. Its austere aromas of fruits of the forest are in perfect harmony with the wine’s minerality. The oak offers only discreet hints of wood and spice. Complex, with plenty of vigour and tension on the palate, the wine boasts subtlety and a beautiful balance between concentration and acidity. A silky texture and firm structure match the wine’s polished tannins and elegant flavour profile. Despite its youth, the wine impresses with its harmonious and linear character, ending in a very long, elegant and seductive finish. This is a wine which promises to age gracefully.

Producer

Niepoort (vinhos) S.A.

Region

Douro

Soil Type

Schist

Vineyards

Quinta do Carril and other old vineyards

Average Vine Age

70 and over 100 years old

Grape Varieties

Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Rufete, Malvazia Preta and others

Vines per HA

6000

Pruning Method

double guyot and royat

Alt. from Sea Level

350-750m

Harvest Period

September 2015

Harvest Method

Manual

Malolactic

yes, in barriques

Fermentation

22 months in French barriques (25% new wood)

Bottled

June 2017

Ageing

22 months in French barriques (25% new wood)

Residual Sugar (g/dm³)

0.6

Alcohol (%)

12.5

pH

3.58

Total Acidity (g/dm³)

5

Volatile Acidity (g/dm³)

0.7

Free SO₂ at Bottling (mg/dm³)

45

Total SO₂ (mg/dm³)

124