Niepoort Bioma Tinto 2015

We love port, it's like red wine but turned up to 11. More intensity of flavour, more alcohol and more sugar deliver a drinking experience similar to standing in front of a stack of amps as Spinal Tap blast out 'Big Bottom,' that will be sure to make you ask, "Why not just make 10 louder?" To which your decanter will respond "but this wine goes up to 11..."

As great as Spinal Tap are (we all know their quality is beyond reproach) they are a time and a place sort of band. Sometimes you want to sit in a quiet bar with a few close friends, your conversation accompanied by an acoustic guitar in the corner. Niepoort Bioma Tinto is the wine for this experience. This port producer utilises the same high-quality grapes and precision in their winemaking that they use for their world-famous ports, but they don't fortify the wine. This delivers a beautifully intense wine with notes of wild forest berries, baking spices and leather but at a delightfully easy drinking sub-13%abv.

Niepoort Vinhos was established in 1842, originally as a Dutch port shipper. Dirk Niepoort is the 5th generation incumbent, and the company now producers both fortified and non-fortified wines. Quinta de Napoles is their main winery for Douro table wines and was built/renovated in 2007.
Niepoort's mission is to maintain its position of "niche player", continuing to produce distinctive Porto and Douro wines, combining centuries-old tradition with innovation. The importance they attach to the need to interpret soils, climates and grape varieties has led them on the path of Organic and Biodynamic production methods, minimal intervention, while retaining high quality.
A beautifully intense red, the Bioma offers the deeply vinous and expressive aromas which are so typical of the Douro Valley. Some spiciness and leather aromas come through, accompanied by notes of wild blackberries, plums and a subtle floral touch, making for a very youthful aromatic profile. The palate is characterised by a wonderful youthful vivacity and purity of fruit. Compact and austere, the wine also boasts a full body and good acidity. This is a food wine which is best enjoyed with robust dishes. Thanks to its maturation period in wood the Bioma offers even more purity and precision. Its long and persistent finish provides plenty of freshness. The Douro could not have given us a better wine than this.