Niepoort 10 Year Tawny Port NV

Niepoort has been family-owned since 1842, one of the last independent houses in Porto, and its aged tawnies remain the work of the Nogueira family, master blenders here across five generations. Fruit comes from old, low-yielding Douro vineyards whose vines average more than six decades; the grapes are trodden by foot in lagares, and the wines age in small, old 550-liter oak casks in the cool cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia until the blend averages ten years. Brick-edged tawny in the glass, it offers dried apricot and crystallized tangerine peel woven into a nutty whole, full on the palate with a long, subtle finish. Serve at cellar temperature or lightly chilled. Everything the category promises, executed by one of its finest practitioners.